Clues by Sam
"A daily logic puzzle game that monetizes through puzzle packs instead of ads, growing steadily since May with enough revenue for the creator to decline consulting gigs and focus full-time on the game."
Marketing Channels
Organic growth / daily habit loop
Daily puzzle format creates a habit loop that drives retention and word-of-mouth; 1000+ organic visits in 6+ months
HN Show thread
Multiple commenters purchased puzzle packs directly after trying the game from the HN thread
Word of mouth
Users share the game and its use as an LLM benchmark, driving organic discovery
Growth Levers
- Move the CTA (puzzle pack purchase) higher and closer to gameplay — a commenter specifically suggested this
- Leverage the LLM benchmarking angle for virality — users are already using puzzles to test Claude vs ChatGPT, which generates shareable content
- Increase difficulty variation marketing (Monday easy to Sunday hard) to attract both casual and hardcore puzzle solvers
- Add themed puzzles (like the reindeer holiday puzzle) for seasonal marketing moments
- Fix small copy errors (e.g., tutorial text) to maintain polish and trust
- Consider adding a streak or daily completion sharing feature to drive social media virality
First Customer Strategy
The creator launched a free daily logic puzzle and let it grow organically through the habit-forming daily format. When users consistently asked for more puzzles, the creator responded by selling puzzle packs instead of monetizing with ads. The reception was strong — multiple users in the thread reported buying packs within days of discovering the game.
Pricing Insight
Puzzle packs are sold as one-time purchases rather than ads or subscriptions. The creator chose this model because the number one user request was more puzzles, making paid packs a natural monetization path. Multiple commenters in the thread purchased packs immediately after trying the free daily puzzle, suggesting the free-to-paid conversion is strong when users are engaged.
New Market Opportunities
- LLM benchmarking tool Users are already using Clues by Sam puzzles as LLM benchmarks (Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs ChatGPT 5.2) — this could be formalized as a benchmark dataset
- Educational logic training User described it as a daily mental workout, suggesting potential positioning for educational or cognitive training markets
- Advent-style seasonal puzzle events User mentioned using Clues by Sam as an alternative to Advent of Code during December, suggesting seasonal themed puzzle packs could drive spikes
Key Takeaways
- • Daily content formats create powerful habit loops that drive organic growth and retention — the daily puzzle model mirrors the success of Wordle
- • Listening to user requests (more puzzles) and monetizing accordingly (puzzle packs vs ads) creates a monetization path that users actively support rather than resist
- • A mix of algorithmic and manual puzzle creation maintains quality while scaling — pure automation risks quality, pure manual work does not scale
- • Free daily content with paid expansion packs is a proven freemium model for games that converts highly engaged users quickly
- • Difficulty progression (easy Monday to hard Sunday) broadens the audience by serving both casual and hardcore players
- • Unexpected use cases (LLM benchmarking) can become viral growth channels if recognized and amplified
Sentiment Analysis
10 Pos / 1 NeuNotable Quotes
"I do Clues by Sam every day when I'm walking my dog before I start work... Just bought both puzzle packs to support your great work! — insin"
"Love it, I discovered it last week and bought a supporter pack after two days! — DuncanCoffee"
"I love the puzzles, I played once and already got the Pack #1 — lucasqueiroz"
"I loved today's puzzle and will now be a regular user — nyhc99"
"1000+ organic visits in 6+ months - awesome traction. — macaskar"
"The algorithm that ensures all valid deductions are enabled hasn't been wrong a single time since it was finished in June. — tikotus"
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