What Stax is
Stax is a free daily puzzle game built around a simple twist on a classic mechanic: instead of racing falling blocks, you are given a fixed queue of shapes and asked to recreate a target silhouette by stacking them. Every player in the world gets the same three puzzles each day — one Easy, one Medium, one Hard — and a new set unlocks at midnight Eastern Time.
There is no login, no account, no download. Open the site, play the puzzle, share your score. Your progress is stored locally in your browser so you can come back later and your streak survives a refresh.
Why we built it
We wanted the satisfying tactile feel of stacking blocks without the stress of an ever-rising tide. Daily puzzle games like crosswords and Wordle work because the puzzle is finite — you sit down, you finish, you move on with your day. Stax applies that same shape to a spatial puzzle: a five-minute mental warm-up, three difficulties to choose from, and a tidy result you can share with friends.
We also wanted a puzzle where the shape matters, not just the score. The silhouette you are building each day is a unique, hand-tuned target — the generator scores hundreds of candidates and keeps the one with the most interesting outline, so no two days feel the same.
How it works under the hood
Each day's puzzle is generated from a seeded random number generator keyed to the current date in Eastern Time. That means everyone playing on the same calendar day sees the same target silhouette and the same queue of pieces — there is nothing personal or adaptive about the puzzle, so comparing scores with a friend is fair.
The three difficulties differ in board size, piece count, and whether the target silhouette is visible while you play. Easy shows you the target the whole time. Medium shows it for a five-second peek. Hard hides it entirely — you have to remember it.
Who we are
Stax is built and maintained by an independent developer. If you have feedback, a puzzle suggestion, or a bug to report, please get in touch via our contact page. We read every email.
More to read
- How to play Stax — full rules and controls
- Strategy guide — tips for higher match percentages
- FAQ — common questions answered