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Wyrm

Solve algebra by touch, built on an open-source soundness engine

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There is a mobile game called DragonBox. It sort of tricks you into learning algebra by starting with very abstract manipulations of a puzzle that must follow rules... gradually the game teaches you more and more rules and also strips out the more abstract elements until on the last levels you are finally solving real equations. I loved it, it taught my kids algebra.... and it was just fun.Over the years I often thought that there should be a calculator for Algebra that works this way... something where you can drag terms around and cancel & distribute with gestures, but most importantly enter your own problems. It should also do more kinds of problems than DragonBox allowed. So I finally decided to build it.https://dicroce.github.io/wyrm/home.htmlHere's a video showing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_STbS4zvIlU. If you'd rather just play with it: there's a limited in-browser demo (real engine, a few example equations, no download) on the landing page — https://dicroce.github.io/wyrm/home.html.The app can be found on iOS (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wyrm-math/id6782342042) and as of this week on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dicroce.wy...).I also decided to open source the underlying math engine so others could build on it: https://github.com/dicroce/wyrm_math. My goal for the engine btw is to build it all the way up to Calculus.Monetization is deliberately boring: the engine is free (MIT), and the polished gesture app is $4.99 once. No subscriptions, ads, accounts, or analytics.I'd love feedback on the engine design — especially from anyone who's worked on CAS or proof-assistant-adjacent problems. And if you played DragonBox as a kid and wished it went further: this is for you!

HN · launched Jul 9, 2026 · 81 upvotes (top 10%) · 1 view

Niche: educational games and learning tools · 207 launches, 24 in the last 7 days ▲ +50% · Explore this niche →

Category and tags

  • Education
  • Content generation
  • B2C
  • Not AI
  • Hobby / open-source project

Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗

Could you build this?

Partial A colorful math game with touch gestures is easily vibe-coded, but the underlying formal soundness engine that proves algebraic transformations step-by-step requires formal verification knowledge.

What it would actually take: The stack pairs a mobile or web canvas UI (such as PixiJS, Flutter, or React Native) with an algebraic term-rewriting engine implemented in Rust or TypeScript. The hard part is designing a verified formal rewrite system that guarantees mathematical equivalence across arbitrary operations (e.g., inverses, distribution, commutativity) without generating invalid states or unsolvable cycles. This requires domain expertise in formal methods, abstract algebra, and symbolic computation.

Discussion

20 comments analyzed.

Competitors mentioned: DragonBox Algebra

Concerns raised: Roots/radical equations not solvable in some cases (x^3=8, sqrt operations limited), Unclear what operation clicking/dragging will perform, Limited to single equations, doesn't support systems of equations yet

Feature requests: Random practice problem generation, Leveled progression with ordered equations of increasing difficulty, Gamified practice mode, Support for systems of equations and variable elimination, User-defined algebra rules (group theory, custom operations)

Competitors

Other products that read as similar to this one : 287 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.

Attention rank: #29 of 288 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).

Launched 253 days after the earliest competitor.

The niche, labels, vibe code rating and competitor comparison on this page are analysis by Nicheloom. If you use them, please credit nicheloom.com. How you may use our data.