Village logic puzzle Development beta
Grumbles & Good Turns
A village. A few grumbles. A way through.
Find a connected path through a village of distinct neighbours. A Wave, a Hug and a little planning can change the possibilities in front of you.
Web beta · Chrome on macOS; WebKit desktop tested
Play the village betaHow to add it to your Home Screen
How it works
Look over the village
Read the current board, its goal and the moves available to you.
Make a good turn
Choose an action and notice how it changes the connections you can make.
Find a connected route
Work towards the level’s stated goal, revisiting your plan as the board changes.
Kindness becomes a puzzle move
Waves and Hugs are actions on the board. They change a villager’s state, which can change the connections you can make. Think about where a move will help before you use it.
The pleasure comes from seeing how a small choice affects the rest of the village. A welcoming place can still give you a worthwhile problem to work out.
Find the Happy Path
Build a connected Happy Path of smiling or delighted villagers from the bottom of the board to the Gate. The Gate opens when that path reaches it.
Watch the village as you play. A newly available neighbour or connection may give you another way forward.
A town with personality
The village has room for grumbles as well as good company. Its neighbours belong to an imagined world; their moods are part of the puzzle and story, not a judgement on how you ought to feel.
This is a village logic game. It is separate from the studio’s tower-defence work.
A closer look
Current build details
Before you start
- Devices & browsers
- Checked in desktop Chromium and WebKit, including narrow phone-sized layouts. A physical iPhone Safari and Home Screen check remains to be completed.
- Accounts
- No account is needed for the core beta.
- Internet & offline
- After the required content has downloaded, the tested game content can be played without a connection. Check the download details for what is included. Open the game online first and let its initial download finish. Browser storage may be removed by the browser; online feedback delivery needs a connection. The prepared cache includes the bundled levels and their artwork and audio; fetching an update needs a connection.
- Saving & returning
- Progress is saved on this device in this browser or installed web app. Clearing its stored data may remove that progress. Saves do not move between devices unless the app explicitly offers that option. Moving between marlowmanyways.com and its web.app mirror does not automatically transfer progress.
- Controls & access
- Tap or click the labelled controls. Keyboard focus and basic controls have been checked; full VoiceOver and physical-device accessibility checks remain.
- Permissions
- Core play needs no camera, microphone or location access.
Build 7815aeaf9ff92334a2f8 · checked 2026-10-17
Keep it on your Home Screen
You can open the beta from its web link. On iPhone, you can also add it to your Home Screen for a familiar app-like way to return.
- Open the app itself in Safari.
- Open the Share menu, then choose Add to Home Screen.
- If Open as Web App is offered, leave it on, then tap Add.
- Open the new icon to return to the app.
Home Screen installation does not by itself confirm offline access. Check this beta’s offline details below.
Open Grumbles & Good Turns itself before adding it. This product page does not install the app. Browser and Home Screen progress may be stored separately; do not assume a saved game transfers automatically.
Apple’s Home Screen instructions. Installation and reopening on a physical iPhone remain to be checked.
A few useful questions
Is this a tower-defence game?
No. Grumbles & Good Turns is the village logic puzzle. The studio’s tower-defence work is a separate project.
What is the Happy Path?
It is the connected route of smiling or delighted villagers leading from the bottom of the board to the Gate.
Do I need to make everyone happy?
The goal described here is to connect a path to the Gate. Read each level’s stated goal; filling the whole board with one mood is not the general promise.
Help shape the beta
Something useful, something awkward, or something missing? I would like to hear about it.
Include the app name, what you expected, what happened, and your device and browser. A screenshot can help. Please leave out passwords and personal or health information.
Send beta feedbackGet help