A Beautiful Maths Game
Posted4 months agoActive3 months ago
sinerider.comOtherstory
calmmixed
Debate
40/100
Math EducationGame DesignInteractive Learning
Key topics
Math Education
Game Design
Interactive Learning
A new math game, Sinerider, was shared on HN, sparking discussion about its design, usability, and educational potential.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Active discussionFirst comment
2d
Peak period
13
48-54h
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Comment distribution31 data points
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Key moments
- 01Story posted
Sep 20, 2025 at 5:12 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Sep 22, 2025 at 9:30 AM EDT
2d after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
13 comments in 48-54h
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Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Sep 23, 2025 at 1:53 PM EDT
3 months ago
Step 04
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Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45311705Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 6:30:43 PM
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They should, in my view, have had y as a function of t, and dropped x. Or another solution that doesn't create confusion.
I also think it's weird that changing the equation changes the shape of the mountain, but the text is about changing the path of the sled.
But even ignoring that, nowhere does it define the relationship between t and x. What I assume they mean but don't say is that x=t. That's arbitrary.
Also I assume you mean the path of the sled is (t, f(t)) where f is the function defining the slope. If the path of the sled had a value of (x,y) it would be stationary :)
Perhaps "the shape of a path down a mountain" would make everyone happy.
If they'd just said the above, and I think not shown the value of t, it would have been a lot clearer, at least to me.
If in later levels they show formula(s) using gravity, and perhaps show the skier on different planets, with different values of G, then I can see the value in showing the value of t. But as it is, I think it's confusing.
Then you could have only had a flat floor that moved up and down. If you need shape that changes, you need it to be a function of both x and t.
So e.g. (x-t)^2 / 5 is a parabola shaped "bowl" that moves right at 1 unit per second.
In later levels, you use t to make a floor that actually moves.
The relationship between y and x is the coordinate plane behind the level (you can hold down right click to see it, IIRC).
Instead they say the task is to set path of skier - i.e. how the skier goes down the mountain. But that's not correct - the skier obviously doesn't need to just follow the mountain top. Common sense/reality is the opposite - you rarely just follow a mountain top.
If they'd just said the above, and I think not shown the value of t, it would have been a lot clearer, at least to me.
If in later levels they show formula(s) using gravity, and perhaps show the skier on different planets, with different values of G, then I can see the value in showing the value of t. But as it is, I think it's confusing.
The map should zoom with scroll, is that not working?
Clicking on the button that says "click here!" has no effect.
Clicking on the equation allows me to change it; this changes the slope of the ski slope. I think what's supposed to happen here is that when you change the slope under the sled to be non-horizontal, the sled should start moving — sliding down the slope you just created, toward the second snowman. But that doesn't happen in Chrome.
Clicking on the mountain leads to what I assume is a level-selection screen; I didn't investigate further.
Clicking on the gear leads to a settings screen; I didn't investigate further.
There's no obvious tutorial or "help text" button.
Also, the site doesn't really deal with the browser's back button correctly. I'm not sure what it's doing, but it seems to fill up the history with instances of itself, maybe on every click, which made it... more difficult than necessary... to get back to HN afterward.
For anyone who just wants a sense of what the game is like without the fuss of playing it, here is the launch trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35nDYoIwiA8
It definitely has a few rough edges, though. The equation in the first screen has the right behavior but is complex enough to probably be concerning for the target audience, and I'm not sure it clearly spells out what the player is going to be doing in the greater game. `y = x` is a great actual starting point and it clicked for me then. I'm not sure how to thread that first-level needle from a design perspective, to be honest.
Again, though, I do really like it. There's some trial-and-error on each level (at least for me) but I think that's part of what could make it an effective learning tool.