How to play

Start with an item you know

Factoriodle is a daily deduction game built around Factorio recipes. Search for any of the 241 items in the list, select one, and press Guess. Each guess shows six comparisons between that item and the hidden answer. You have 6 guesses to find it.

Every displayed value belongs to your guess. The signal beside it tells you how the answer differs. For example, “0.5 s · Target higher” means the answer takes longer than 0.5 seconds, not that its craft time is 0.5 seconds.

• ✓ ExactThe value or full set matches.
• ≈ RelatedRecipes share an input, or machine sets overlap.
• ↑ / ↓ Higher or lowerThe answer needs a larger or smaller value.
• × No matchThe category differs, or the sets have no overlap.

Signals have text labels as well as colors. The game’s Quick help dialog also has an Alternate palette option.

What the six clues mean

Crafting tab

The inventory category: Combat, Intermediate products, Logistics, Production, or Space. An exact result means the two items are in the same tab; it does not mean they have the same recipe or purpose.

Recipe

The direct ingredients for one recipe, including fluids. Each ingredient chip compares its identity and amount. An arrow on Copper Cable ×3 means the answer uses more or less than three Copper Cables. “Not in target” means that ingredient is absent. The input count measures distinct ingredients, not their total units. A recipe with 20 Steel Plates and 20 Copper Cables has two inputs.

Made in

The full set of compatible machine families. Assembler / Foundry compared with Foundry is related: one machine overlaps, but the sets differ. For a building, this means what crafts the building, not what the building produces after you place it.

Craft time

The base recipe time in seconds at crafting speed 1. Modules, beacons, machine speed bonuses, and quality do not change this clue. Follow the arrow toward a slower or faster recipe.

Recipe unlock

The recipe’s region or progression stage in the game’s dataset: Nauvis, Space, Vulcanus, Fulgora, Gleba, Aquilo, Cross-planet, or Deep space. This is not necessarily where the item can be placed. A space-related item can still have a Nauvis unlock.

Stack

The normal inventory stack size. A downward arrow next to 100 means the answer stacks to fewer than 100. It does not compare recipe output quantity, belt capacity, or how many items you own.

A worked example: two circuits

Suppose the hidden answer is Advanced Circuit and you guess Electronic Circuit. This is a teaching example, independent of today’s puzzle.

Keep the four exact properties: Intermediate products, Assembler / EM plant, Nauvis, and a stack of 200. The craft-time arrow asks for more than 0.5 seconds. The recipe needs more input types than the guessed recipe’s two.

Copper Cable is shared, but the answer needs more than the guess’s three. Iron Plate is absent from the answer’s direct recipe. Advanced Circuit fits: four Copper Cables, two Electronic Circuits, and two Plastic Bars, with a six-second craft time.

Make each guess follow the evidence

1. Keep exact values. If the answer stacks to 50 and unlocks on Nauvis, look for candidates that preserve both.
2. Turn arrows into bounds. A craft time above 0.5 seconds and below 10 seconds leaves a smaller range to explore.
3. Use the ingredient chips. An exact ingredient amount is more specific than “these are both electrical items.” Eliminate candidates with ingredients marked absent.
4. Cross-check every column. A promising recipe still has to fit the machine set, tab, time, unlock, and stack.

Some items have identical clues. Factoriodle accepts any item that matches all six comparisons, including the complete recipe. You do not have to distinguish names that the clues cannot separate.

Daily puzzles, practice, and progress

A new puzzle starts at 12:00 AM Eastern Time, including daylight-saving changes. Everyone gets the same daily puzzle. Today mode counts toward your streak; Yesterday lets you practice the previous puzzle without changing it. Redo clears the selected round’s guesses so you can replay the same item.

Progress and streaks are saved in this browser. Clearing site data removes them, and a different browser or device has its own progress. You can copy your result as a clue grid to share without including the answer’s name.

The catalogue uses Factorio 2.0.77 + Space Age default recipes at normal quality. Hidden and recycling recipes are excluded, and filled fluid barrels are not offered as guesses or daily answers. The recipe shown by Factoriodle is the one used for comparison, even when an item has other production routes in Factorio.