https://github.com/serhalp/hexymon
Daily linguistic puzzle game: find the shortest etymological path between two words
https://github.com/serhalp/hexymon
Last synced: 5 months ago
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Daily linguistic puzzle game: find the shortest etymological path between two words
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/serhalp/hexymon
- Owner: serhalp
- Created: 2025-12-29T01:19:37.000Z (6 months ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-12-30T03:56:23.000Z (6 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-01-08T13:15:56.517Z (5 months ago)
- Language: Svelte
- Size: 1.6 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
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Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Agents: AGENTS.md
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README
# Hexymon
Six degrees of etymological separation.
Hexymon is a daily linguistic puzzle game where players connect a start word to a target word by traversing an etymological graph. The gameplay mechanic resembles a word ladder, but operates on valid linguistic relationships (ancestry, descent, borrowing) rather than spelling changes.
## Data and Attribution
- Core etymology data comes from **EtymoLink: A Structured English Etymology Dataset** (Gao & Sun, 2024), ACL 2024. DOI: 10.18653/v1/2024.lchange-1.12.
- Dataset repository: https://github.com/yuan-w-gao/etymolink
- If you use this data, please cite the paper (see above DOI).
## Gameplay
The objective is to connect the Start Word (top) to the Target Word (bottom).
- **Input**: Players use a search input to find and select words.
- **Pathing**:
- **The Perfect Path**: Words belonging to the specific daily puzzle path snap into the main hexagonal chain.
- **Constraints**: The **Language** label on empty slots acts as a constraint. If multiple valid paths exist, these hints define which one is the "correct" solution.
- **Branching**: Valid words that are related but not on the target path appear as branches (detours).
- **Hints**: Empty nodes display the language of the target word.
- **Constraints**: Players have 6 "lives". An incorrect guess consumes a life but reveals a Part of Speech hint for one of the unrevealed nodes on the optimal path.
## Contributing
This project uses [SvelteKit](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/introduction) and is deployed to [Netlify](https://www.netlify.com/).
For documentation on the architecture, local development setup, and code standards, please refer to [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).
## License
MIT
## Funding
I made this for fun. If you like it, please consider donating to a local food bank.