A tester solved my puzzle, but did they understand it or stumble into it?

A finished puzzle in a playtest proves less than it seems, because luck and trial and error finish puzzles too. This entry shows how to put a twin of the puzzle right behind it and turn the second result into an honest share of testers who got the idea.

Why this works

Finishing a puzzle shows that someone got through, not that they grasped the idea, since poking around also finishes puzzles. A second puzzle with the same idea in a new look rewards only the person who really took the idea with them.

When not to use it

Do not use it for a puzzle that has no single idea to learn, such as a pure test of memory or speed, or when you have too few testers for the share to mean anything. Then watch two or three people think aloud instead.

In the full entry

• What to build, step by step
• Starting values and the reason for each
• 3 common mistakes and the fix
• 21 lines of example code with 3 checks that pass
• How your AI shows you that it works

Say this to your AI

Use the Spielerando entry "A tester solved my puzzle, but did they understand it or stumble into it?" (read_entry solved-it-by-luck-or-by-understanding) in my game. Build it step by step, and show me how you checked that it works.

Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP