Author: Bernardo Lares
Date: 2026-04-23

# Games & Puzzles

#### Bernardo Lares

#### 2026-04-23

## Introduction

Beyond data analysis and machine learning, `lares` includes a collection of fun game solvers and helpers! Challenge yourself with Wordle, Scrabble, Sudoku, mazes…

    library(lares)

## Wordle

Play or solve Wordle puzzles with validation, hints, and simulations.

### Basic Wordle Validation

    # Check your guess against a word
    wordle_check("OPENS", "ABBEY")

    #> O P E N S

    wordle_check("BABES", "ABBEY")

    #> B A B E S

    wordle_check("ABBEY", "ABBEY")

    #> A B B E Y

### Get Wordle Hints

Use `scrabble_words()` to find possible words:

    # After OPENS: O is not in word, P/E/N/S are not in positions 2/3/4/5
    hints <- scrabble_words(
      tiles = "abcdefghijklmrtuvwxyz", # Available letters
      exclude_here = list("2" = "p", "3" = "e", "4" = "n", "5" = "s"),
      force_exclude = c("o"),
      force_n = 5, # 5-letter words
      language = "en"
    )

    #> 274869 > 145893 > 8857 > 8857 > 1604 > 1604 > 1604 > 1604 > 1577 > 1577 > 1577 > 1577
    #>

    head(hints, 10)

    #> # A tibble: 10 × 3
    #>    word  scores length
    #>    <chr>  <int>  <int>
    #>  1 jacky     23      5
    #>  2 jumby     23      5
    #>  3 mujik     22      5
    #>  4 zymic     22      5
    #>  5 jambu     21      5
    #>  6 jaxie     21      5
    #>  7 avyze     20      5
    #>  8 bwazi     20      5
    #>  9 furzy     20      5
    #> 10 jakey     20      5

### Wordle Simulation

Simulate solving a Wordle puzzle:

    # Simulate solving with different starting words
    simulation <- wordle_simulation(
      input = "SAINT",
      word = "ABBEY",
      seed = 123
    )

    #> S A I N T reduced from 14,855 to 946

    #> C L A M P reduced from 946 to 195

    #> H O O K A reduced from 195 to 72

    #> A R G U E reduced from 72 to 6

    #> A D D E D reduced from 6 to 1

    #> A B B E Y reduced from 1 to 1

    print(simulation)
    #> Seed Word: SAINT
    #> Objective Word: ABBEY
    #> Iterations: 1
    #>   Mean to succeed: 6
    #>   Max to succeed: 6 [seed = 1]

### Wordle Dictionary

Access word lists for different languages:

    # Get English 5-letter words
    en_words <- wordle_dictionary("en")
    head(en_words, 20)

    # Spanish words
    es_words <- wordle_dictionary("es")

## Scrabble

Maximize your Scrabble score with word finders and calculators!

### Find Highest-Scoring Words

    # Find best words from your tiles
    scrabble_words(
      tiles = "aeiourtn",
      force_max = 8, # Max 8 letters
      language = "en",
      scores = "en"
    )

    #> 115977 > 115977 > 115977 > 115977 > 293 > 293 > 293 > 293
    #>

    #> # A tibble: 293 × 3
    #>    word    scores length
    #>    <chr>    <int>  <int>
    #>  1 outearn      9      7
    #>  2 rainout      9      7
    #>  3 routine      9      7
    #>  4 ruinate      9      7
    #>  5 taurine      9      7
    #>  6 uranite      9      7
    #>  7 urinate      9      7
    #>  8 aunter       8      6
    #>  9 auntie       8      6
    #> 10 nature       8      6
    #> # ℹ 283 more rows

### With Board Constraints

    # Must contain specific letters
    scrabble_words(
      tiles = "bernardo",
      force_str = "arn",
      force_max = 7,
      language = "en"
    )

    #> 115977 > 115977 > 115977 > 75329 > 245 > 245 > 245 > 6 > 6
    #>

    #> # A tibble: 6 × 3
    #>   word   scores length
    #>   <chr>   <int>  <int>
    #> 1 barned     11      6
    #> 2 barn        8      4
    #> 3 darner      8      6
    #> 4 dearn       7      5
    #> 5 darn        6      4
    #> 6 earn        5      4

### Calculate Word Scores

    # Get point values for each letter
    en_scores <- scrabble_points("en")
    print(en_scores)
    #>    tiles scores
    #> 1      a      1
    #> 2      b      4
    #> 3      c      4
    #> 4      d      2
    #> 5      e      1
    #> 6      f      4
    #> 7      g      3
    #> 8      h      3
    #> 9      i      1
    #> 10     j     10
    #> 11     k      5
    #> 12     l      2
    #> 13     m      4
    #> 14     n      2
    #> 15     o      1
    #> 16     p      4
    #> 17     q     10
    #> 18     r      1
    #> 19     s      1
    #> 20     t      1
    #> 21     u      2
    #> 22     v      5
    #> 23     w      4
    #> 24     x      8
    #> 25     y      3
    #> 26     z     10

    # Calculate scores for words
    words <- c("QUEEN", "QUIZ", "HELLO")
    scrabble_score(words, en_scores)
    #>    word scores length
    #> 1 QUEEN      0      5
    #> 2  QUIZ      0      4
    #> 3 HELLO      0      5

### Multi-Language Support

    # Spanish Scrabble
    scrabble_words(
      tiles = "españa",
      language = "es",
      scores = "es"
    )

    # French Scrabble
    scrabble_words(
      tiles = "bonjour",
      language = "fr",
      scores = "fr"
    )

## Sudoku

Solve Sudoku puzzles automatically!

### Simple Sudoku

    # Easy puzzle (0 represents empty cells)
    trivial <- matrix(c(
      0, 9, 0, 7, 0, 0, 8, 6, 0,
      0, 3, 1, 0, 0, 5, 0, 2, 0,
      8, 0, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
      0, 0, 7, 0, 5, 0, 0, 0, 6,
      0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 7, 0, 0, 0,
      5, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 7, 0, 0,
      0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 9,
      0, 2, 0, 6, 0, 0, 3, 5, 0,
      0, 5, 4, 0, 0, 8, 0, 7, 0
    ), nrow = 9, byrow = TRUE)

    solution <- sudoku_solver(trivial)
    #>       [,1] [,2] [,3] [,4] [,5] [,6] [,7] [,8] [,9]
    #>  [1,]    2    9    5    7    4    3    8    6    1
    #>  [2,]    4    3    1    8    6    5    9    2    7
    #>  [3,]    8    7    6    1    9    2    5    4    3
    #>  [4,]    3    8    7    4    5    9    2    1    6
    #>  [5,]    6    1    2    3    8    7    4    9    5
    #>  [6,]    5    4    9    2    1    6    7    3    8
    #>  [7,]    7    6    3    5    2    4    1    8    9
    #>  [8,]    9    2    8    6    7    1    3    5    4
    #>  [9,]    1    5    4    9    3    8    6    7    2
    print(solution)
    #> [1] TRUE

### Complex Sudoku

    # Harder puzzle
    difficult <- matrix(c(
      5, 3, 0, 0, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0,
      6, 0, 0, 1, 9, 5, 0, 0, 0,
      0, 9, 8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0,
      8, 0, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 0, 3,
      4, 0, 0, 8, 0, 3, 0, 0, 1,
      7, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 6,
      0, 6, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 8, 0,
      0, 0, 0, 4, 1, 9, 0, 0, 5,
      0, 0, 0, 0, 8, 0, 0, 7, 9
    ), nrow = 9, byrow = TRUE)

    sudoku_solver(difficult)

## Maze Solver

Solve mazes using depth-first search algorithms!

### Basic Maze

    # Create a simple maze (0 = path, 1 = wall)
    simple_maze <- matrix(c(
      0, 1, 0, 0, 0,
      0, 1, 0, 1, 0,
      0, 0, 0, 1, 0,
      1, 1, 0, 0, 0,
      0, 0, 0, 1, 0
    ), nrow = 5, byrow = TRUE)

    solution <- maze_solve(
      simple_maze,
      start = c(1, 1),
      end = c(5, 5)
    )
    #> Setup: Inertia (FALSE) | Aim (TRUE) | Random (FALSE)
    #>   Total steps:  6
    #>   Total turns:  4
    #>
    #>    1  2 3  4 5
    #> 1  ↓ []
    #> 2  ↘ []   []
    #> 3     ↘   []
    #> 4 [] [] →  ↘
    #> 5         [] X
    print(solution)
    #> Setup: Inertia (FALSE) | Aim (TRUE) | Random (FALSE)
    #>   Total steps:  6
    #>   Total turns:  4
    #>
    #>    1  2 3  4 5
    #> 1  ↓ []
    #> 2  ↘ []   []
    #> 3     ↘   []
    #> 4 [] [] →  ↘
    #> 5         [] X

### Micromouse Competition Maze

    # Classic Micromouse-style maze
    micromouse <- matrix(c(
      1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
      1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1,
      1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1,
      1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1,
      1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1,
      1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1,
      1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1,
      1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
    ), nrow = 8, byrow = TRUE)

    maze_solve(
      micromouse,
      start = c(2, 2),
      end = c(7, 7),
      diagonal = FALSE
    )

### Advanced Options

    # With diagonal movement and aiming toward goal
    maze_solve(
      micromouse,
      start = c(2, 2),
      end = c(7, 7),
      diagonal = TRUE, # Allow diagonal moves
      aim = TRUE, # Prefer directions toward goal
      inertia = TRUE, # Prefer continuing in same direction
      timeout = 5 # Max 5 seconds
    )

## Combining Games & Data Science

Use game functions for:

Text Analysis:

    # Find anagrams in your dataset
    words <- c("listen", "silent", "hello")
    scrabble_words(tiles = "listen", language = "en")

Algorithm Teaching:

    # Demonstrate recursion with maze solving
    maze_solve(simple_maze, start = c(1, 1), end = c(5, 5))

Pattern Recognition:

    # Wordle simulations for optimal starting words
    seeds <- 1:100
    results <- lapply(seeds, function(s) {
      wordle_simulation("SAINT", "ABBEY", seed = s, quiet = TRUE)
    })

## Further Reading

### Package Resources

- Package documentation: https://laresbernardo.github.io/lares/
- GitHub repository: https://github.com/laresbernardo/lares
- Report issues: https://github.com/laresbernardo/lares/issues

### Game References

- Wordle: The viral word game by Josh Wardle
- Sudoku: Japanese number puzzle
- Scrabble: Classic word board game
- Micromouse: Autonomous maze-solving competition

## Next Steps

- Explore data analysis features (see Data Wrangling vignette)
- Learn machine learning (see Machine Learning vignette)
- Try API integrations (see API Integrations vignette)
- Check game function documentation: `?wordle_check`, `?scrabble_words`, `?sudoku_solver`, `?maze_solve`