Puzzle++ 🧩

Advanced word game and puzzle solver created in C++

A comprehensive C++ application that solves multiple popular word puzzles and games with both GUI and command-line interfaces. Supports interactive solving, automated batch processing, and entropy-based game assistance.

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Features

• Multiple Game Solvers: Letter Boxed, Spelling Bee, Wordle, Mastermind, Hangman, and Dungleon
• Dual Interface: Qt-based GUI and full-featured command-line interface
• Interactive & Automated Modes: User-guided solving or scriptable batch processing
• Entropy-Based Suggestions: Advanced algorithms for optimal move recommendations
• Configurable Solvers: Multiple presets and custom options for performance tuning
• Output Management: Save results to files, read previous solutions, benchmarking tools

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Installation & Building

1. Windows GUI (Recommended)

For the best Windows experience, use the Installer from the latest GitHub Release:

Download the latest installer

This installer bundles the GUI and required runtimes so no separate Qt or compiler setup is needed.

• No Setup Required: No need to install Qt or compilers.
• Easy Access: The installer creates an application shortcut in your Start Menu which can be used to launch the main application with the GUI.
• Uninstall: Easily removable via Windows "Add or Remove programs".

2. Building from Source

If you are on Linux/macOS, or prefer to build from source on Windows, follow the instructions below.

Requirements:

• C++ Compiler: Supports C++20 (GCC 10+, Clang 10+, MSVC 2019+)
• CMake: Version 3.16 or later
• Qt Framework: Version 6.0+ (Only required if building the GUI)

Preparation

git clone <repository-url>
cd word-games

Option A: Core Build Only (CLI)

For a lightweight build with no GUI dependency (command-line interface only), you can build using the core preset. This requires only a C++ compiler and CMake.

# Build using the core preset (No Qt required)
cmake --preset mingw-core
cmake --build --preset mingw-core

# Run the application (Interactive Mode)
cd build/mingw-core
./p++

Note: Since there is no GUI, running the executable directly enters interactive CLI mode.

Option B: Full Build (GUI + CLI)

To build the full application with the GUI, you must have Qt 6 installed.

Note: You may need to adjust the CMake presets (CMakePresets.json) to point to your specific Qt installation paths.

# Build using the release preset (Requires Qt)
cmake --preset mingw-release
cmake --build --preset mingw-release

# Run the application
cd build/mingw-release
./p++

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Quick Start

Interactive Mode

If you installed via the Windows Installer, simply launch Puzzle++ from your Start Menu.

If using the CLI, run the executable directly:

./p++ -i

Direct Command Examples

# Solve Letter Boxed puzzle
./p++ letterboxed --letters abcdefghijkl --preset 2

# Solve Spelling Bee with custom letters
./p++ spellingbee --letters nyhacked --reuse-letters true

# Get Wordle suggestions
./p++ wordle --guesses "CRANE 01120" --max-depth 1

# Mastermind solver assistance
./p++ mastermind --guesses "RGBC 1 2" --pegs 4 --colors "RGBCMY"

# Hangman letter suggestions
./p++ hangman --input "?A??? ???;etz"

Complete Documentation

For comprehensive usage instructions, all command-line options, game modes, and detailed examples, see:

📖 Complete Usage Guide

The usage guide covers:

• All supported game modes and solvers
• Complete command-line reference
• Advanced configuration options
• Benchmarking and performance tools
• Boolean value formats and examples

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Licensing

The source code for this project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Third-Party Dependencies

This project uses several third-party libraries with their respective licenses:

• Qt Framework: LGPLv3 License - See LICENSE-QT for full license text. Qt source code is available at the official Qt website. To enable relinking against a modified Qt library, the full source code for this application and its build scripts (CMake files) are provided here.
• Tracy Profiler: 3-Clause BSD License - Used for optional performance profiling support (development dependency).
• Google Test: 3-Clause BSD License - Used for unit testing framework (development dependency).
• Google Benchmark: Apache License 2.0 - Used for performance benchmarking (development dependency).

All third-party dependencies are automatically fetched during the CMake build process and do not need to be installed separately.

Game Assets

• Dungleon Images: The character and item images in resources/dungleon/ are sourced from the official Dungleon website and are used in this puzzle solver implementation.