Kanban Flow is a free daily planning puzzle. A small project is waiting on the board: design, copy, testing, launch. Only two or three tasks can be in progress at once, and some tasks stay locked until others are finished. Each day you decide what to work on. Finish everything in the number of days shown, which is the fewest possible. Monday is 5 tasks, two at a time. Friday is 10 tasks, three at a time.
No sign-up and nothing to install. It runs in your browser on a computer or a phone, and your progress is saved on your device.
- Drag or tap. Drag a task to “Doing”, or tap it. Then end the day: every task in “Doing” gets one day of work.
- A limit on work in progress. Only two or three tasks fit in “Doing”. An empty place is a lost day of work.
- See your plan. The game lists what you worked on each day, and which places stayed empty.
- Stuck? The lightbulb picks good tasks for today, or takes you back to the last morning from which the plan still works.
How to play Kanban Flow
- Look at the tasks. The dots show how many days of work a task needs. A lock shows which tasks it waits for.
- Drag tasks to “Doing”, or tap them. Only as many as there are places.
- Press “End day”. Finished tasks move to “Done”, and tasks that waited for them open the next morning.
- Go on day by day. You win when everything is done in the number of days shown at the top.
What is on the board
| Part | What it means |
|---|---|
| To do | Tasks that are not finished and not in progress today. |
| Doing | The tasks you work on today. The number of places is the limit. |
| Done | Finished tasks. |
| Dots on a task | Days of work. Filled dots are done, empty dots are still to do. |
| Lock with letters | The task waits until the tasks with these letters are finished. |
| The plan so far | One line for every day: the tasks you worked on, and a dashed box for every place that stayed empty. |
Tips for a shorter project
- Count the work first. Add up the dots and divide by the number of places. If the result equals the number of days allowed, no place may ever stay empty.
- Unlock early. Start with the tasks that others are waiting for. A locked task cannot fill a place.
- Start the long chain on day one. A task that is followed by another task, which is followed by a third, cannot be squeezed in at the end.
- Keep a filler for later. A short task that nobody waits for is perfect for a day when everything else is locked. Do not use them all up early.
- Pausing is allowed. You may take a half-finished task out of “Doing” for a day and go on with it later.
How the week gets harder
| Day | Tasks | In progress at once | Days per task | Days to finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 5 | 2 | 1 or 2 | 4 or 5 |
| Tuesday | 6 | 2 | 1 or 2 | 5 or 6 |
| Wednesday | 7 | 2 | 1 to 3 | 6 to 8 |
| Thursday | 8 | 3 | 1 to 3 | 5 to 7 |
| Friday | 10 | 3 | 1 to 3 | 6 to 9 |
Saturday plays like a Wednesday and Sunday like a Tuesday. From Tuesday on, every puzzle is chosen so that at least one simple habit (always the first cards, always the shortest task, or always the longest task) loses a day.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kanban Flow free?
Yes. There is no account, no download and no paywall.
Do I have to finish in the fewest days?
Yes. The number of days shown is the smallest possible, and the puzzle is solved when you match it. If you need more days, undo some days and try another order.
Is there only one right plan?
Not always. Any plan that finishes in the number of days shown wins.
How does the game know the fewest days?
Every puzzle was solved by a program that tries every possible plan.
What is kanban?
A way of organising work with cards on a board. One of its ideas is a limit on how many tasks are in progress at the same time. The game is built on that idea.
When does the new puzzle appear?
At midnight in your local time.
Can I play earlier puzzles?
Yes. Open the calendar button at the top of the game and pick any day from the past eight weeks.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Tap a task to move it, or drag it with your finger.
More to play on WiseChecker
- Browser Games: every WiseChecker game in one place.
- Clean Desk: remember the desk and find what is gone.
- No Blind Spots: place cameras so that no square is a blind spot.
- Cell Value: find the number behind every letter.
- File Pairs: turn over two cards and find the pairs.