What if Nothing made games? I asked myself that question and let my imagination run with it.
It ended up becoming two things: a website for quizzes and puzzles, and an arcade game I’m still developing. They share the Glyph Arcade name, but each has its own way of playing with Nothing’s world.
The web is live today, and everything on it is free. You can already play at glypharcade.com
🧠It started with a Pokédex
My friend @RuudHesp made the Nothing Pokédex, putting each Pokémon codename next to its Nothing product. I looked at it and thought: if someone made a quiz out of this, I wouldn’t get half of them right.
So I made the quiz. The rest snowballed from there.
I’ve always wanted to make games, and Nothing’s playful, retro approach to technology gave me something I wanted to work with. This is my interpretation of that feeling, made into something you can play.
I also liked the idea of giving the Glyphverse another place. We already have a museum for art. An arcade seemed like a good place for the games.
👾 Who’s that product?
You know those Pokémon that appear when Nothing starts teasing a product? Those are its codenames. This game asks whether you can connect the Pokémon to the product. Some questions flip it around and show you the product first.
Phone (1) is Abra, and Phone (2) is Alakazam. Phone (2a) is Aerodactyl, while Phone (2a) Plus gets its own upgrade to Mega Aerodactyl.
You might remember those. Now try the rest of the catalog.
🟥 Nothingdle
One mystery product every day, with eight guesses to find it. Everyone gets the same one.
You start with a guess and follow the clues. Each attempt compares the brand, product type, release year, launch price and colours. Matches light up, and arrows tell you whether to look higher or lower for the year and price. The fewer guesses you need, the better.
My favourite part is that I’ve included some very random Nothing merchandise. Knowing every phone might still leave you sweating over something you barely remember existed.
đź’ˇ Name that Glyph
How quickly can you recognise a Nothing phone from its lights?
I think this is the easiest of the three, but I’m curious to see how quickly people recognise the layouts when the rest of the phone is taken away. In HARD, the lights appear in fragments, and answering sooner earns you more points.
🏆 Put your name on the board
You don’t need to know every product, codename or specification to enjoy the games. The quizzes have easier modes to get you started, and you’ll pick things up as you play.
For the competitive side of the community, there are harder modes and community leaderboards. Set a personal best in a scored mode, enter your name and see where you land. I wanted it to feel like leaving your name on an arcade machine.
This is one of the things I’m most excited about: seeing people find their favourite game and keep coming back to beat each other’s scores. If you end up knowing the entire catalog because someone took your first place, I’ll consider that a success.
đź‘€ There are two more games
Two extra games are hidden in the web. Finding them is part of the fun, so I’ll leave you with the same hints you’ll find there:
Some codes never get old.
Every missing page hides a game.
I wanted a bit of that feeling of stumbling across an Easter egg in a game you thought you already knew.
📱 Next, the arcade game
Nothing’s phones also have codenames based on retro games. I kept thinking those names deserved to become something you could actually play, so that’s the idea behind the arcade game.
I’m taking those classics and building my own versions, with new mechanics, modes and difficulties. I want you to recognise the game, then have to rethink how you play when a new mechanic comes in. The app and the web will share a few games in Classic mode, but they’re different experiences.
The CRT filter and Glyph integration are two of my favourite parts. I’m building it for Android 7.0 and up, with support for the traditional Glyph lights, Glyph Matrix and Glyph Bar on compatible Nothing phones. You can play on other Android phones too; the lights add something extra on Nothing hardware.
Closed beta testing will open soon. If you’d like to try it early, join the community Discord.
That’s where I’ll be looking for testers.
🚀 The arcade is open
For now, come play a few rounds and tell me what you think. I’d love to hear which game you keep going back to, and see your name on the board.
🎮 Play Glyph Arcade
đź’¬ Join my community Discord
