Inkfold

Fold the page so each ink finds its own kind, but never let two inks touch.

Inkfold is a small puzzle about folding paper. A sheet lies on a walnut desk under one lamp, spotted with ink: round indigo drops, spiky madder-red splashes, square moss-green blots. Fold it along its grid lines until every colour has gathered into a single cell. Same-coloured ink soaks together and stacks. Two different inks that would land on each other bleed, so that fold is blocked and the clash is marked.

How to play

• Numbered fold buttons sit on every side of the sheet. On the left, button 2 folds two columns from the left over to the right; the right side folds from the right; the same above and below.
• Point at a button and the sheet shows exactly where the flap will land, before anything moves.
• Fold until each ink is one stack. Every sheet has a goal: the fewest folds that can solve it.
• Stuck? Undo, reset or retry at any time. Nothing is timed.

What is inside

• 18 sheets in three chapters (The first creases, Both ways, The full folio), from a single fold to a six-by-six folio that needs five.
• Goals proven by a computer search, not guessed: every sheet can be solved, and its goal is the true minimum. All 18 on their goals is 64 folds.
• A few twists: two sheets with a lone stain no other ink may touch, one earlier page that comes back with one new blot, and three sheets that punish the obvious first fold.
• A sheet list to replay anything; your best fold count per sheet is saved on your device. A short ending once the last sheet is pressed flat.
• Quiet background music with its own volume, separate from the sound effects (off, or three levels).
• No ads, no account, no network access, no purchases.

How long: about 25-40 minutes for a first play-through. That is a design estimate from the sheet count, not yet measured with players.

Controls

• Mouse: point at a fold button to preview, click to fold.
• Touch: tap a fold button to fold; hold it to preview, slide off to cancel, or drag the paper across a crease. Landscape is best on a phone.
• Keyboard: an arrow picks a side (Right = the left-side buttons, Left = the right side, Down = top, Up = bottom); press it again for 2, 3 ...; a digit picks the number; Enter or Space folds.
• U, Z or Backspace undo · R reset · N next sheet · Esc sheet list · M mute all sound · B music on/off · - and + music volume · C calm mode
• The Music button (top right, next to Sound) steps the music volume: 2, 3, off, 1.

Accessibility

• Mute (M) silences everything, music included. The music has its own on/off (B) and volume (- and +, or the Music button), separate from the effects; it starts at a gentle level after your first click, tap or key, and your choice is saved on your device.
• Calm mode (C) makes folds land instantly, and it starts on if your system asks for reduced motion.
• Playable with the keyboard alone, the mouse alone, or touch.
• Inks differ by shape as well as colour (round with a drip, spiked splash, rounded square); a blocked fold is explained in words; success is gold, never red.
• Not yet checked: colour-blind palettes, text size, key remapping, assistive technology, real phones. The game is drawn on a canvas, so it is not a screen-reader experience.

Credits

Made by Mathom Studio. Every sheet's goal was proven by a solver and automated tests.

This is version 1.1. If something felt unclear, a comment below helps.