Official guide · Finding Needle in the Stack
Articles
Longer reads about Finding Needle in the Stack: how it is built, how the numbers work, advice for finding the needle faster, and some background on haystacks and the saying they gave us. New articles are added as the game grows.
All articles
Meaning and origin
What the saying means, how old it is and how other languages say it.
How the haystack works
The density grid, chunks and straws behind a haystack you can really dig through.
Why I made this game
How a viral clip turned into a free browser game, and what I learned building it.
Best upgrade order
The order that gets you money fastest, with every price in one place.
What a haystack is worth
How many of each valuable to expect and where the money really is.
How the detector works
Beep speed, range, the four levels and what the detector cannot find.
Auto-Sifters guide
What the machines do, what they cost and how to run six of them.
Purist mode tips
How to find the needle with no shop, no detector and no machines.
Find the needle fast
A plan to cut your search time, from the first minute to the needle.
Run it smoothly
What the quality settings change and how to fix lag on slow devices.
Why digging games work
The design ideas behind a dig, find, sell and upgrade loop.
Daily bonus and streaks
How much the bonus pays, how streaks grow and what resets them.
Search in computer science
Linear search, sorting, indexes and signal following, using the game as an example.
Saves and backups
How progress is saved, how to back it up and how to move it to another device.
A short history of haystacks
Why hay was stacked, how it was made and why stacks were once everywhere.
Ready to dig?
Free in your browser on PC and mobile. Your progress saves as you play.
Play Finding Needle in the Stack