1.What Is Tonedoku?

Tonedoku is a fast, elegant logic puzzle built on the mathematics of the 12‑tone musical system. It works a bit like Sudoku — but instead of repeating digits from 1–9, you’re working with pitch‑classes 0–11, musical rows, musical columns, and the natural logic of the chromatic scale.

Every puzzle creates its own musical structure, and when you solve it, Tonedoku plays it back to you.

You don’t need musical training — the app does the math. You do the thinking.

2.The Goal of the Game

Fill the entire grid with the correct numbers 0–11 so that:

• Each row contains the correct musical pattern
• Each column contains the correct musical pattern
• No row or column contains duplicates
• All values fit the internal chromatic logic

When the entire grid is correct, the Victory Music plays, and you unlock playback options to hear rotations, retrogrades, and full permutations (“Play All”) of the musical structure you just solved.

3.Basic Rules

These rules define all Tonedoku puzzles.

3.1 Fixed Starting Point — The Tonic “0”

Every puzzle begins with a fixed tonic, the number 0, permanently placed in the top‑left cell of the grid. This is the anchor of the entire puzzle — think of it as “home base.” It never changes.

3.2 Fill the Top Row First

The puzzle cannot advance until the entire top row (left to right) is filled.

• Players alternate entering numbers
• Each correct entry scores a point
• Duplicates or invalid numbers are rejected
• The timer and scoreboard update from the very first move

The top row defines the puzzle’s initial pattern. Nothing else can be locked in until it is complete.

3.3 Then Fill Any One Column

After the top row is finished, players must fill one complete column of their choice.

• Players continue alternating turns
• Correct entries score
• Mistakes (duplicates, invalid moves) do not score

This first full column, combined with the top row, gives Tonedoku enough information to determine the entire solution.

3.4 Puzzle Lock‑In

Once the top row and one column are filled:

• Tonedoku calculates the entire correct puzzle internally using modulo‑12 logic
• All remaining correct cell values are now known to the engine
• The correct solution is hidden from view
• Every subsequent entry is fully validated against the computed solution

From this point forward, incorrect inputs simply do not stick.

3.5 Continue Filling the Grid Under Validation

The rest of the puzzle is solved by:

• Alternating turns between players
• Making logical, non‑duplicate entries
• Using “clock‑style” modulo‑12 thinking when helpful

Each correct entry increases the appropriate player’s score. The scoreboard reflects accuracy and efficiency.

3.6 Using Modulo‑12 (“Clock Style”) Thinking

Tonedoku uses the chromatic clock, 0–11, which wraps around naturally:

• After 11 comes 0
• Counting “forward” or “backward” simply moves you around the 12‑step circle

If you imagine the numbers arranged like a 12‑hour clock, then “wrapping around” becomes intuitive:

• 3 → 4 → 5 → … → 11 → 0 → 1 → 2 → …
• 0 → 11 → 10 → 9 → … when counting backward

You never have to do formal calculations, but thinking in terms of this 12‑step circle can help you spot patterns and reason about the puzzle more easily.

3.7 Entering Numbers with the Pop‑Up Number Pad

All moves in Tonedoku are made using a simple pop‑up number pad.

• Tap or click an empty cell
• A keypad (0–11) appears
• Select your number
• The pad closes and your entry is instantly evaluated

Valid entries appear in the cell and score points. Invalid entries are rejected and the cell remains empty. This prevents typing errors and keeps play smooth on both desktop and mobile (including iPhone SE).

3.8 Scoring and Two‑Player Mode

Tonedoku works for solo play or two players taking turns on the same device.

• Alternating turns — Player 1 and Player 2 alternate entries
• Correct entries score — including top‑row and first‑column entries
• Invalid entries do not score — and do not overwrite the grid

The scoreboard shows each player’s total. When the grid is complete, scores reflect how efficiently each player solved the puzzle.

3.9 Completing the Grid

When the final correct number is entered:

• The grid locks
• The timer stops
• Scores freeze
• The official Victory Playback begins
• All musical playback modes become available

4.Game Interface Overview

A quick guide to the main parts of the Tonedoku interface.

4.1 Game Preferences

Game Preferences is a modal pop‑up panel that:

• Appears automatically when the app first loads
• Appears again whenever you choose New Game from the Control Bar

In Game Preferences you choose things like:

• Grid size and puzzle type
• Difficulty level
• Starting instrument and volume
• Starting tempo and duration for playback
• One‑player or two‑player mode (when available)

After setting your preferences, click Start to generate a new puzzle and close the modal.

4.2 Control Bar

The Control Bar is always visible at the top of the app. It provides:

• New Game — opens Game Preferences to start fresh
• Play — plays the canonical Victory sequence for the current completed grid
• Playback Options — opens the advanced playback control panel
• Timer — shows elapsed game time
• Scoreboard — shows the current score (one or two players)

4.3 The Puzzle Grid

The grid is where the game happens.

• The top‑left cell is always 0 (fixed tonic)
• The rest of the cells begin empty
• You tap cells and use the number pad to enter values 0–11
• Correct values remain; incorrect ones are rejected

The grid is responsive and adapts to different devices, including phones, tablets, and desktop screens.

4.4 Playback Options Panel

Once a puzzle is complete and Victory has played, you can open the Playback Options panel to explore the musical structure of your solution.

Here you can:

• Select an instrument (piano, vibes, guitar, sax, strings, etc.)
• Set tempo (BPM)
• Choose duration (eighths, sixteenths, quarters, etc.)
• Switch between chords and arpeggios
• Choose a playback order (rows, columns, retrogrades, snakes, random, or Play All)
• Turn Loop on or off

Playback Options lets you hear your solved puzzle in many different ways, using the same underlying structure.

5.Play All and Grid Trivia

5.1 Play All

Play All is the exhaustive playback mode. It asks Tonedoku to walk through every unique chord‑change sequence that the current grid supports.

For any completed grid, the engine:

• Takes the fixed set of row and column “chord objects” your solution created
• Generates a collection of valid, non‑repeating orders for those chords (according to the rules chosen for that grid size)
• Plays them one after another as a long, self‑contained tour of the grid’s harmonic possibilities

The exact number of sequences depends on the grid. Some smaller boards yield only a few sequences, mid‑sized rectangular grids often produce a few dozen, and larger grids can grow well beyond that. For the player, the important point is that Play All always means “give me the full set of unique sequences this puzzle is allowed to have.”

Every sequence in Play All uses your current instrument, tempo, duration, style (chords or arpeggios), and loop settings, and follows the global rest rule so timing remains musical and consistent.

5.2 Grid Trivia

The Grid Trivia panel summarizes the mathematical and musical properties of the current grid. It updates automatically as you adjust playback settings.

Grid Trivia can show:

• Grid size (rows × columns)
• Total number of notes
• Total number of chord objects (rows + columns)
• Chord types represented (intervals, triads, tetrads, etc.)
• Number of Victory sequences
• Play All sequence count (varies by grid size and design)
• Total chords played in a full Play All run
• Current tempo and note value (e.g., “120 BPM · 1/8 notes”)
• Estimated time to complete a full Play All traversal

It’s a quick snapshot of how “big” and how long your puzzle’s musical universe really is.

6.Summary

Tonedoku is simple enough for a complete beginner, yet deep enough for musicians, mathematicians, and serious puzzle solvers.

Fill the top row → fill one column → the puzzle locks → math computes the solution → you finish under validation → music plays.

That’s Tonedoku.