Updates

🇯🇵 Japan Update!

At last... You can now play Danobang in Japanese! We currently support kana and kanji game modes.

• Kana mode: Type a word that contains the given kana prompt (e.g. if prompt is "ゆき" valid words could be "ゆきだるま", "こゆき", "はつゆき", etc)
• Kanji mode: Type a word in kana whose kanji form contains the given kanji prompt (e.g. if prompt is "食", valid words could be "しょくじ", "たべる", "ゆうしょく", etc)
• Desktop input is romaji based but you don't need to convert to the Japanese keyboard since we auto-convert english to kana. On mobile we support both romaji and kana flick.
• The dictionary is sourced from JMDict with some filtering applied to exclude NSFW words and expressions/phrases.

• 📍 Added "Prompt Position" setting for custom rooms! This allows you to specify where prompts can appear in a given answer i.e. "anywhere", "start", "end". There's also a "random" option that will randomly choose a position each turn.
• 🎨 Removed blue and green bomb colors from daily challenges. Previously we used colors to indicate the prompt position i.e. red would be "anywhere", blue would be "starts with", and green would be "ends with". However this wasn't very clear, so now we use "..." in the prompt text to better indicate the prompt position.
• 🏷️ Adjusted feedback messages that appear when you submit invalid answers

• 📜 Added a post-match results modal that that show you how many new words you've collected + an inline match leaderboard.
• ✏️ Replaced "Danodex" copy with "Word Collection" for English locale
• 📊 Homepage, Word Collection page, Match History page, and Player page, now show you stats from ALL matches by default.
  • You still have the option to see stats from multiplayer only matches
  • Win count moved from homepage to match history page
• 🎨 Player card UI revamp (no more flip animations to keep things simple)

This update focuses on issues introduced by live typing in public rooms. While live typing can make gameplay feel more dynamic, it also enables real-time harassment and targeting.

To reduce these risks in public spaces (while still supporting trusted groups) live typing is now restricted in public rooms and remains available in private rooms.

More specifically:

• 👀 New "Live Typing" setting: Toggling this on this will enable live typing for everyone in the room. Toggling it off will hide live typing although you will still be able to see your own.
  • This setting will be toggled off by default for all public rooms and cannot be changed even if the host changes the room from public to private.
• 🔇 Player mute: You are now able to mute individual players’ typing + emotes from the left sidebar “...” menu.
• ⛔️ Cancel button added for custom rooms: Hosts are now able to cancel the lobby countdown after clicking "play"

Happy new year! Here are some updates to kick off 2026:

• 👈 Left sidebar: Rooms now have a left sidebar that displays player information.
• 🎨 Lobby UI revamp: Lobby UI has been simplified since player info, rules, and match history are all available in sidebars now.
• 😀 Emote polish: emote picker has been moved on both desktop and mobile to make it possible to emote even when it's not your turn and when you're spectating
• 🇯🇵 Japanese localization: Danobang now has Japanese localization! Note this refers to the site language not Japanese game modes.
• 🏠 Go home modal: When you press the home button in a room you will now be asked to confirm your decision instead of being immediately redirected.

• 📱 Added Progressive Web App (PWA) support for iOS and Android! PWAs allow you to install the website on your phone's homescreen for more convenient access. The UI is also slightly clearer since the browser URL bar is hidden in PWAs.
• 🔄 Added prompt rotation option in lobby settings! This allows you to control when the prompt changes.
• ⚙️ Improved number slider UI in lobby settings with plus/minus buttons

• 🧨 New game mode: Choseong ㅊㅅ!
  • Same mechanics as other modes but prompts are initial consonants (e.g. ㄱㅅ → 감사, 과식, 가시...)
  • Choseong daily challenges also added
  • Replaces Jamo mode since it felt too broad
• 🈴 Added Hanja daily challenges
• 🤖 CPUs now available in custom rooms
• 📱 Mobile UI revamp
  • New 10-key keyboard
  • New avatar/bomb positions so everything can fit on screen better and not have ant-sized fonts
• 📜 Incorrectly submitted words now visible in match history (can only see your own)
• ❤️ Max lives setting added to custom rooms
• 📋 Room rules now visible in sidebar during matches
• 💣 Improved bomb animations and sound effects

• 🔥 Added a simple streak system visible on the homepage. Reset time is the same as daily challenges (12am UTC).
• 📊 Match history and Danodex polish
  • Added game mode filters for more granular stats (e.g. how many syllable games have I played? how many hanja words have I collected?)
  • Added option to include solo game stats for those who prefer playing solo
  • Added total matches + win rate stats for match history
• ㅇㅅㅇ Clicking on an avatar now copies their face to your clipboard
• 🔊 Added more button sound effects

漢 Hanja mode is here! This is a bit of an experimental mode, but I'm curious to see if people enjoy it.

• Gameplay is similar to other modes; Submit Korean words containing the given hanja character
• Example: prompt "學" → 학생, 학교, 학문
• Difficulty ranges from 8급 (easiest) to 특급 (hardest)

The dictionary has also been updated with many more words from stdict.

• ☃️ Winter is here! Gave the site a more seasonal aesthetic that'll last throughout the holidays
• 📖 Danodex now displays play counts per word

• 🏆 Daily challenges now have:
  • Leaderboard (only tracks first attempt)
  • Retry button
  • Dictionary page link that shows possible answers
• 💀 Eliminated players can now see their stats right away
• 💡 Extra hints now display when the bomb explodes on your turn

• 📖 Dictionary page added! You can now search for words containing prompts you don't recognize.
• 📏 Removed proper noun rule for more gameplay flexibility

• ⚙️ New game mode selector: Replaced room level selector with game mode selector to be more explicit about gameplay differences
• 📊 Homepage stats: Homepage now displays basic player stats for logged in users
• 📜 Match history addition: Match history page now shows your last 100 matches instead of 10

• 🔥 Daily Challenges: Introducing daily challenges! Play a new challenge every day, resets daily at midnight UTC
• ☀️ Light/Dark Mode: Added a toggle for switching between light and dark mode

🎨 Homepage redesign! Cleaned up the layout and improved visuals while keeping all the same functionality.

⌨️ Mobile devices now use a custom in-game keyboard instead of the native keyboard!

• Auto-suggestion prevention: The native Android keyboard previously showed word suggestions, making it easy to cheat. The custom keyboard prevents this
• Improved turn start: You can now start typing immediately when your turn begins. No need to tap the input field anymore!

⏭️ You can now skip your turn during games!

• Useful when you want to end the game quickly or can't think of a word for the current prompt
• Note that skipping will cost you one life

• 🔡 Alphabet Bonus: You can now collect Hangul characters during a match. If you collect all 26, you earn a bonus life!
• 💡 Character Prompts:
  • To help make Danobang more beginner-friendly, beginner rooms now use "character" prompts that display individual jamos instead of complete syllables e.g. ㄱ, ㄴ, ㅏ, ㅓ, etc.
  • With character prompts, you can submit any word that contains the given character, regardless of position. For example if the prompt is "ㄴ" valid answers can be "누나", "배낭", "반대", etc.
  • Note that intermediate rooms still use "syllable" prompts

⚙️ Public setting added for custom rooms!

• Setting your room to public will make it discoverable in the public room list and accessible via the "Play" button
• Setting your room to private preserves the same behaviour as before, hiding it from public access

🪵 Room sidebar

• You can now open up a sidebar during games to see event logs! (eg new player joined room, word submissions, etc)
• Spectator answers will also appear in the logs. Help out your fellow players by giving them hints!
• On mobile devices, the sidebar appears at the bottom of the screen for easier access

✌️ User Accounts Are Here!

• You can now create an account to track your personal stats, words collected, and match history
• Note that accounts are completely optional and not required to play Danobang.

• 🧨 Failed prompts now visible in post-match stats
• 🫷 New sidebar UI added
• 🔊 Typing sound effects added

• 📜 Added a public room list on the homepage to help with game discovery.
• 🤏 Most avatars are now squishable. Please squish responsibly.

• 📕 Dictionary Improvements: Added more translations to the dictionary! You should rarely see empty translations during games now.
• 💡 Hints: Added a hints feature to help nudge players in the right direction.
• ⚙️ Skill level Selector: Players can now choose their preferred difficulty before starting a game.
  • 🌱 Beginner rooms: Easier prompts, more lives, more time, hints enabled
  • 🌳 Intermediate rooms: A balanced challenge with standard rules and pacing

📄 Updates are now viewable at danobang.com/updates!

⚙️ Revamped backend to improve performance and reliability

• 📜 Room match history is now viewable! After a game ends you'll be able to see stats like personal word count, answer time, strokes per minute, and a log of all submitted words
• 🎨 Updated lobby and game over UI

• ⏰ Added decay logic to the timer for public lobbies. The countdown will now gradually decrease as the game progresses to encourage more chaos ㅇㅅㅇ
• 📝 Added instructional text above footer input to make rules more clear

• 👀 Spectator Mode! Players can now continue to submit answers even after being eliminated or if they aren't playing
• 🙏 Emotes
• ⏰ Adjusted the timer to be a bit longer based on feedback

Hello world 🧨