⏳ Tideglass Dispatch
Read a complete tide forecast, then dispatch barges by draft and final sailing window in the one order that keeps every route possible.
Play: The interactive game loads on this page in a modern JavaScript-enabled browser. The complete guide remains readable before it loads.
Controls
Desktop
Use arrows to select a barge, Enter or Space to dispatch, H for one route marker, P to pause and R to restart
Mobile
Study every future tide window, then tap the barge whose draft fits now without making a tighter deadline impossible
What is distinct here
Tideglass Dispatch combines visible tide capacity with deadline scheduling. Its defining choice is that a barge may be safe in the current window yet still be strategically wrong because it consumes the only slot that preserves the remaining manifest.
Rules
- Each manifest shows three to five waiting barges and the same number of tide windows. Every barge lists a draft from one to three and its final legal departure window.
- A barge can use a window only when its draft is no deeper than that tide and the current window has not passed its deadline. All future windows remain visible.
- Several barges may look safe now, but only one choice preserves a complete schedule. A locally safe dead end or an unsafe departure uses one of three signals without advancing time.
- Clear four generated manifests to win. Every manifest has exactly one complete schedule verified by exhaustive permutation tests; the best completed score stays in this browser.
Strategy tips
- Protect the earliest deadline group first. A later barge may fit the current tide, but taking its slot can strand two vessels that must leave sooner.
- When two barges share a deadline, compare their drafts with both tide windows. The deeper hull usually needs the higher of the pair.
- Use the one route marker only after planning the full row. It identifies the next proof-safe barge but reduces the score by 120 points.
What we tested
Every generated manifest is checked against every possible barge permutation and accepted only with exactly one complete schedule. Tests cover 160 seeded harbor sets, draft/deadline safety, locally safe route blockers, hints, pause, three-signal failure and the full four-manifest proof path.
Frequently asked questions
Can Tideglass Dispatch generate an impossible manifest?
No. Each manifest is built from paired tide constraints and then exhaustively checks every possible barge order. Publication tests require exactly one complete schedule across 160 seeded harbor sets.
Why was a barge marked wrong when its draft fit the current tide?
A departure can be locally safe but consume the only window needed by an earlier deadline group. The game keeps the full forecast visible and labels this case as a route blocker rather than a draft failure.
Does Tideglass Dispatch upload my plan or score?
No. The active harbor schedule stays in the current session, and only the best completed score is stored locally in this browser.
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