ChatGPT can do just about anything. It can write you a horror story about a killer clove of garlic, identify issues with your computer code, and teach you how to pronounce words in another language. It can also create new games out of thin air, and you can try one of them out right now.
ChatGPT’s new game is the result of a back-and-forth between the AI and one Daniel Tait, who was interested in seeing if the ChatGPT could recommend him a puzzle like Sodoku. ChatGPT responded with a list of five alternatives, all of which Tait had tried already. So, he upped the ante, asking ChatGPT to invent a Sodoku-like puzzle that didn’t already exist.
As easily as ChatGPT compiled a list of Sodoku alternatives, it returned with a brand-new puzzler, Labyrinth Sodoku, which is essentially Sodoku with barriers and paths to worry about. Tait liked it, but thought it could be better, and had ChatGPT run through some other games. By game number four, he had a winner—something ChatGPT called “Sum Delete.”
In the game, you’re presented with a grid of numbers—one through nine—with an additional number assigned to the end of each row and column. Your task is to delete numbers in the grid so that the sum of the line adds up to that number at the end. This isn’t just a concept, either: Tait asked ChatGPT to build a playable version of the game with Javascript and HTML, as well as CSS to bump up the design. He even workshopped the name with the AI, finally landing on Sumplete, a combination of “sum” and “complete.”
The playable version of Sumplete, which you can check out here, lets you set the grid from 3×3 (which it labels beginner) all the way to 9×9 (labeled “master”). The 3×3 grid is easy enough to solve: My first puzzle only had two numbers that needed deleting, and the pattern quickly revealed itself. I then tried upping the grid to the original concept’s 7×7, and…yikes. Suddenly, there are a lot more sums to keep track of. Things might work out for the first few rows, but you quickly realize you’re messing up other rows along the way. Luckily, if you get stuck, there are Hint and Reveal buttons to help you out.
It probably isn’t the next Wordle, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes off thanks to its ingenuity. Which is weird to think about: A free AI chatbot made a game, both in concept and execution, and you can play it, and it’s pretty good. Who knows what this thing will do next?
