Skip to content
iOS game

Solibrain: solitaire with words instead of playing cards

No ace, no two, no seven of diamonds. “Car” takes engine, steering wheel and clutch; “citrus” takes lime, pomelo and bergamot. Know the words and the board clears. Guess, and you pay in moves.

Coming soon to the App Store

The game is in testing and not published yet. Write to us if you would like to hear when it is available.

Let me know

iOS 15 or later · iPhone and iPad · portrait

Why we built a game

Because we felt like it. For twenty years every line of code that left this house was tied to a specification — to a standard, a client, an acceptance date. Solibrain is the opposite: an idea, a few evenings, and nobody to ask first.

What does not change is the standard we hold it to. No level ships that has not been solved first. The app asks no network, because it needs none. The same work we do on control units and operator interfaces — only on something we picked out ourselves.

How it plays

Solitaire, with rank replaced by belonging. Anyone who knows the classic rules is in within a minute.

  1. Open a category

    The category card takes the role of the ace. It goes onto a free foundation slot and shows how many words are still missing.

  2. Sort the words

    A word stack only accepts what belongs to the same category. Within a category there is no order to respect.

  3. Budget your moves

    Every level has a move budget. Drawing counts, placing counts, and a wrong attempt counts too — guessing is not free.

  4. Keep slots scarce

    There are always more categories than foundation slots. Which category gets a slot and which one waits is the actual decision.

The Solibrain board: move counter, discard pile and stock at the top, below them three occupied foundation slots for the categories sewing, restaurant and cheeses, and under those five columns of word cards.
Three categories already running, two slots still free.
The win screen: two of three stars, the number of moves used, and the categories solved in that level as a list.
Stars are earned by saving moves — the budget comes from the best solution.
The start screen: current level, chapter progress with stars, and the buttons to continue playing or to enter a level code.
Ten levels per chapter, the tenth being the hard one.

Every level is proven solvable

Levels are generated at random from a seed, but they do not ship unchecked. A solver searches every deal and determines the minimum number of moves; only then is the budget derived from it. If it finds no solution, the deal is discarded and redealt.

A second test removes what is too easy: a blunt player that always places whatever it can and otherwise draws plays the deal through. If it wins, the level demanded no decision — and is thrown away. Meanwhile the next level is computed in the background, so nothing keeps you waiting after a win.

172
categories in the German word list
2123
words, each in exactly one category
∞
levels, every one freshly shuffled

Buy it once, that's it

Solibrain is a one-time purchase. No ads, no in-app purchases, no account, no sign-up. The app opens no network connection, and the save file lives on the device and nowhere else.

  • No advertising and no in-app purchases
  • No account, no registration
  • No network access, no analytics, no tracking
  • Save file kept locally on the device only

A level code instead of a leaderboard

Every deal can be shared as a short code such as SB1-DE-37-9F3A2C71-2. Enter it and you get exactly that level back — same categories, same distribution. That is enough for a tricky round among friends, and enough for a bug report as well.

Frequently asked questions

Which devices does Solibrain run on?
iPhone and iPad from iOS 15, in portrait. An Android version is planned but not built yet.
Which languages does the game come in?
German at launch: 172 categories with 2123 words. Every language gets its own word list rather than a translation, because categories do not map one to one. Further languages are prepared and will follow.
Are there ads, subscriptions or in-app purchases?
No. Solibrain is bought once and is complete at that point. There is no advertising, there are no subscriptions and no in-app purchases.
Is any data collected?
No. The app has no network access, no analytics and no advertising libraries. The save file is stored locally on the device.
What happens when the moves run out?
The same level restarts: same categories, same words, a new distribution. Losing a level costs progress, but it never blocks you.
Can I replay a level or pass it on?
Yes. Every deal has a level code that reproduces it exactly. Levels opened from a code do not count towards chapter progress.
Do I need a good vocabulary to win?
A little helps. Easy levels use everyday categories only; hard ones reach into specialist fields. Misplacing a word costs moves — hints and undo make up for it.

You don't need an app like this one, but one like yours?

Our working week goes into C++, Qt/QML and Embedded Linux. Solibrain shows that we finish what we start. Tell us about your project.

Get in touch