ChatGPT might have created the next Wordle in the shape of Sumplete, an engaging online number puzzle game.
The rules of Sumplete (opens in new tab) are pretty simple. You’re given a grid of numbers – with sizes ranging from a three-by-three grid up to one that’s nine-by-nine – and you have to delete numbers such that the ones remaining in the columns and rows add up to specific totals.
As you can see in the example below, we’ve removed the six and nine from the leftmost column so that the remaining digits (two, two, and three) add up to seven, while for the middle row, we had to delete everything except the central nine to achieve the target of nine.
As the grids get larger there are more possible combinations of numbers in each row and column that add up to the targets, making it progressively more difficult to find a solution. Those of you who are up for the ultimate challenge will enjoy the nine-by-nine grid, as not only is it the largest, but it introduces negative numbers as well.
If Sumplete isn’t your thing, then you still have Wordle to sink your teeth into, and if you need a hand with today’s puzzle check out our Wordle clues for hints on how to solve it.
How did ChatGPT create Sumplete?
ChatGPT didn’t conjure up Sumplete entirely on its own, and it didn’t create Sumplete on its first attempt at a game either. Instead, it was steered by Substack user Puzzled Penguin (opens in new tab).
He initially asked the bot to suggest existing Sudoku-like puzzle games, but he’d played all of them before, so Puzzled Penguin thought the AI bot might be able to create something new. Several iterations later it had Sum Delete – which was later renamed Sumplete – and ChatGPT was even able to create HTML and JavaScript code for the game so that Puzzled Penguin could share the fun.
As for how the idea for Sumplete came about, ChatGPT seems to have combined two games into one. Sudoku is one of its inspirations, but Sumplete shares a few similarities with Picross too; just as in Sumplete, in Picross you use clues about each row and column’s contents to identify the correct points in a grid.
Only time will tell if Sumplete has the staying power of Wordle, but even if it doesn’t stick around we expect Sumplete won’t be the last game to be made using ChatGPT’s help.
