Safari (and Firefox) does not have https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/BeforeInsta... So you can’t have a custom button/way to prompt players to install.
However, they can install a PWA manually, by themselves; there is the option somewhere in their browser menu.
“it’s just opening a browser window with no actual browser controls”: yes, due to the `display` setting in the app manifest: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Manifest/displa...
It’s similar to a `WebView` component: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebView
But there is nothing a PWA can do that a website can’t do. It’s all about Web APIs. Take push notifications (https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web...): they make more sense for an (PW)app, but a simple website can do them too (if given permission).
See MDN intro on PWA: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web..., or https://web.dev/learn/pwa/ for more info.
If Apple supported this API it would be much easier to convince stakeholders that PWA is enough.
You can do browser detection and show a dismissible pop up with instructions but it will still just confuse some users and others with scoff at the need to do that.
The algorithm is described here: https://FreeSolitaire.win/strategy I came up with it by myself.
“The strategy presented here is the basis of the computer algorithm of FreeSolitaire.win, which is used to select finishable deals, offer hints, and detect dead-ends. You also see it surface when you are told that The computer could do it in N moves at the end of a game.
This strategy/algorithm is quite simple. It does not require to “count cards”, i.e. keep track of which cards were seen in the stock. It doesn’t require to make guesses on where such or such face-down card must be located. And the procedure is the same all along the game; there is no special treatement of the opening or ending. It’s stateless, a programmer would say. […]”
That is truly great, @palsecam. I love HN because of this!
(You can also choose the mode in the New Game dialog.)
And yes, it’s indeed harder. The solving algorithm has a winning rate of 52% in “turn one” mode, but only 18% in “turn three”.
How did you get it off the ground and gather first users?
Word of mouth, mainly. Posted it on Reddit back then, things like that. It grew organically from that. And, although it’s far from being on top results on SERP (search engine result pages), some people do find it that way.
Also: because it’s so lightweight, it got included some years ago in the Moya app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nu.bi.moya), a popular messaging app in South Africa that is “data-free” for users (it does reverse-billing). Now half the players are South Africans!
Maybe it's just a different style of solitaire? This one seems too easy, though. Well done app, regardless - cheers! :)
It’s because of https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1813213
I just spent a couple hours trying to find a clean workaround, without success… Will investigate more ASAP.
Thanks again!
/*
Work around Firefox Mobile getting the hit target (clickable area)
of the game control buttons wrong, when the (bottom) navigation bar
gets hidden (when scrolling down).
See https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1813213
and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/70893056/mozilla-android-addressbar-conflict-with-sticky-button-on-bottom
and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40733062 ← thanks @ttymck for the bug report!
*/
if (/Mobile.+Firefox/.test(navigator.userAgent)) {
self.addEventListener('resize', frameThrottle1(() => {
document.getElementById('metagame').style.position = (window.outerHeight > window.innerHeight)
? 'sticky'
: 'fixed';
}));
}I understand your will to disable vibrations. But thing is, right now I can’t think of how to offer that option properly. For instance, adding a Setting menu+icon just for that would be lame.
I’ll think about it more, tho.
Again, well done
It’s a Klondike Solitaire game. It used to bring ~$500/mo of advertising revenue, but that’s significantly down these days: I refuse to have a cookie/consent banner, so I refuse customized ads (in the UE, in some US states now, &c.)
Players do add it to homescreen. There is a non-intrusive button prompting them to do so, at the end of a game. People like to be able to play offline. Apart from that, I don’t use much PWA/browser features; no notifications, etc.
More info here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34483398 Happy to answer any question you may have! Happy to get some feedback too ;-)