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I Shipped an iOS Puzzle Game: Trains Out — A One-Tap Sequence Puzzle

작성자

kevin

카테고리:

,

I finally shipped the iOS puzzle game I’d been building on the side. It’s called Trains Out. The rules take thirty seconds to learn, but every later level hinges on the exact order you tap.

👇 30 seconds of gameplay:

What the game is

A grid full of colored trains, each pointing in a fixed direction. Tap a train and it starts moving along its arrow — get it off the grid and it “escapes.” Collide with another train and you lose a heart. Lose all three hearts and the level restarts. Simple — until the order matters, which is immediately.

Trains Out level 1 tutorial - Tap a train
Level 1 tutorial: tap a train, it moves in its arrow direction, escape off the grid.

Bomb trains — beat the countdown

From level 11 onwards, the game changes shape. Bomb trains show up — each with a number on its body that counts down every time another train moves. If it hits zero, it explodes and takes a heart with it.

Suddenly the puzzle isn’t just “what order works” — it’s “what order works fast enough.” One extra rule, a completely different feel. This was the part I spent the most time tuning.

Bomb train tutorial
The number counts down. When it hits 0, you lose a heart.

Later levels, on purpose

The first ten levels are a gentle 3×3 and 4×4 warm-up. By the 40s, the grids are bigger, there are more colors, long “blocker” trains get in the way, and multiple bomb trains tick at once. That “where do I even start?” moment is the whole point.

Trains Out level 45 - crowded grid
Level 45. Two bomb trains, a long blocker, five colors tangled together.
Level 11 gameplay
Level 11 in action. Countdown from 8 — every move burns a tick.

What I optimized for

  • Respectful ads — a single interstitial, only when you lose all three hearts. Nothing interrupts a level mid-solve.
  • No IAP — no booster packs, no hint purchases, no “remove ads” tier. You solve it by thinking.
  • One-handed, one-minute runs — tuned for commutes and coffee breaks.
  • 300+ levels — progressive difficulty from 3×3 to 6×6.
Level clear three stars
Clear a level under par and you get three stars.

Why I’m writing this

“You can build anything with AI now” has become a cliché, but shipping something small to the App Store by yourself is still genuinely hard. This post is partly a launch note, but it’s also a marker for anyone walking the same path — a “this is the shape of a one-person release” reference. I’ll keep posting the build process, post-launch metrics, and monetization results in the side-project category here.

Try it right now

  1. Grab Trains Out on the App Store — free, no IAP, iOS only for now.
  2. The first ten levels take about five minutes, tutorial included. Get a feel for the rhythm.
  3. When bomb trains appear at level 11, clear the lowest countdown first. That’s the whole trick.
  4. Didn’t three-star it? Hit “Retry” and aim for par moves.

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