Aileen's Game

In 1965 Mum (Aileen) and I took a Greyhound bus from Thunder Bay in Canada to Cleveland, Ohio. Mum's sister lived in Thunder Bay and her uncle lived in Cleveland. To wile away the time on this 900+ mile journey we played pencil and paper games. Part of the journey was spent making up a game which we called '5 by 5'. We've played it with paper and pencil ever since. It's an ideal game for journeys!

Since owning a smart phone I always thought the game would make a good 'app' but writing an 'app' just seemed to have too steep a learning curve.

When 'Wordle' came along I was interested to read that it was written in Javascript about which I had some (but very limited!) knowledge.

In February 2022 I decided to try and learn more about Javascript and to create an online version of '5 x 5'.

With some help and guidance from my son, Richard, much research on the internet and, on one occasion, putting a query to an online forum when I was completely stuck I've come up with Aileen's Game. (I also discovered I had to learn about PHP and MySQL!)

I've called the game 'Aileen's Game' in memory of Mum.

The game went public on 27 June 2022. Click/Tap here to play. It's completely free! I hope you enjoying playing.

Player Comments

'Just had my first go at your game. I like it. Don't think 33 is too bad a score for a first attempt 🤞. Good thing to get to know on holiday. Thank you. Will enjoy this.'

'Brilliant!! I just had a go - hopefully I will improve!'

'Not as easy as it looks! Which is what makes it fun and addictive!'

'Really impressed with the game. You must have put a lot of work in. I scored 40 on my first go!'

'I think you've got a winner here with lots of potential. I tried it this morning - loved it and scored 32.'

'I've been testing it and I think it's brilliant - very addictive!'

'Love it. 32 scored today but I will play it again, and again, just as I do Wordle!'

'How clever is that! Have played Aileen's Game a few times now and really enjoyed it.'

'Brilliant, thank you! First go score of 33. 😀 I will share the link!'

'Thank you so much for sending us the game. I scored 38 on my first attempt. It is great.'

'Brilliant game Ian! Very clever. Thank you for sharing it, as I love word games.'

'Awesome, thanks!'

'I played the game immediately and can see that it could become addictive. And of course I particularly like the back story and the picture of your mum - very recognisable and evoking some happy memories.'

'I have tried your new word game. It seemed the perfect thing to do on a hot Sunday afternoon when I had not enough energy for physical activity. It's very good, I enjoyed it. And I did not embarrass myself too much. I will certainly play it again.'