Ember Relay
A torch-and-mirror puzzle in the browser: rotate mirrors, wake every lantern and bring the signal home across three boards.
Official site adityam274.itch.io, verified Nov 3, 2026. The developer's own itch.io page (AdityaM274), linked from its official AI Browser Game Jam 5 submission page.
Where to play
Every platform this game is on. Links are checked against official sources; we never host or mirror games.
- Play free — itch.ioitch.ioReleasedFree
Plays in the browser on itch.io. No download.
Browser (no download) · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
- View on GitHubGitHubReleased · Source code (plain JavaScript, HTML and CSS, no build step; MIT licence)Free
Download from the GitHub releases page.
Desktop · Official link verified Nov 3, 2026.
About Ember Relay
Ember Relay is a short torch-and-mirror puzzle in the browser. You rotate mirrors, by clicking them or with Tab and Enter, to send the torch's light past every lantern and back home, across three boards that the game calls watches. There is undo and restart without penalty, hints that point along the shortest solution, keyboard controls and optional synthesized sound, and no timer, account or saved progress. Version 1.1 (25 Oct 2026) follows the tutorial with two redesigned routes that add crossings and decoy mirrors; the three boards have five, eight and nine mirrors, and their shortest starting solutions take 3, 5 and 6 turns. The developer says the update answers community feedback about repeated solutions. According to the itch.io page, OpenAI Codex generated the design, the JavaScript, the CSS visuals, the code for the synthesized sound, the tests and the documentation under Aditya Mittal's authorization, and the game uses no external assets and no AI model while it runs. The source code is on GitHub under the MIT licence. Made for AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: Torch) and free to play on itch.io.
How it was built
Partially verifiedThe itch.io page says OpenAI Codex generated the design, JavaScript, CSS visuals, synthesized-audio code, tests and documentation “under Aditya Mittal's authorization”, and calls the game majority AI-generated. The README adds that no manual human implementation and no testing with real users is claimed, and calls the three levels agent-designed. Per the page, five automated tests check all 800 board states and the hint distances, and agent browser checks cover winning, undo and restart, keyboard play and a narrow layout; it states that there was no human playtesting. Which Codex model was used is not stated.
- DeveloperJam submission, AI Tools Used: “OpenAI Codex — game design, JavaScript, CSS visuals, synthesized-audio code, tests and documentation. Majority AI-generated; no external asset generators or runtime AI.” — itch.io (AI Browser Game Jam 5, hosted by Focaccai)
- DeveloperREADME: “Aditya Mittal authorized the project and Codex generated design, code, tests and documentation. No manual human implementation or real-user testing claimed.” — GitHub (AdityaM274)
Per the README, a static web game with no build step and no npm packages: plain JavaScript modules, HTML and CSS, served from any static host, with tests run by Node's built-in test runner. The hints come from a breadth-first search over the 32, 256 and 512 mirror states of the three boards. Sound is synthesized with the Web Audio API, and only after the player has interacted. The README says there is no external code, no external assets, no packages and no AI at runtime, and that nothing is sent to a server or saved.
- Engine / framework
- None (vanilla JavaScript)
- Languages
- JavaScript, CSS
- Team size
- Not disclosed
- Development time
- Not disclosed
- Development cost
- Not disclosed
- AI-written code
- Not disclosed
“OpenAI Codex generated the design, JavaScript, CSS visuals, synthesized-audio code, tests and documentation under Aditya Mittal's authorization. Majority AI-generated; no external assets or runtime model.”Verification notes: Gameplay, the v1.1 changes and AI use from the developer's itch.io page (published 24 Oct 2026, 08:08 UTC; updated 25 Oct 2026, 04:11 UTC; status Released; HTML5), the AI Tools Used answer on the official AI Browser Game Jam 5 submission page and the GitHub README, read through raw.githubusercontent.com, all re-read on 4 Nov 2026. The MIT licence is from the repository's LICENSE file (© 2026 Aditya Mittal); github.com itself and the GitHub API did not answer our checks, so commit dates and stars are unchecked. The developer is recorded under the name given on the itch.io page, in the README and in the LICENSE; the itch.io account is AdityaM274. The sources say Codex generated the code but give no share, so no AI code share is recorded, and they do not say how many people worked on it. The web build's scripts were checked for calls to AI services and none were found. The jam requires each game to be heavily AI-assisted, with the majority AI-generated; submissions closed on 31 Oct 2026 and voting was still in progress on 4 Nov 2026, so no placement is recorded. On 4 Nov the submission page showed 2 jam ratings (observed; jam votes, not players or reviews, so not recorded as a metric). itch.io shows no public rating and no download count. The game was not played.
Development history
Published on itch.io (08:08 UTC) and submitted to AI Browser Game Jam 5 (theme: Torch), 6 days and 18 hours before the deadline.
Version 1.1: the tutorial is followed by two redesigned routes with crossings and decoy mirrors, in answer to community feedback about repeated solutions.
Developeritch.ioAI Browser Game Jam 5 submissions close; voting was still in progress on 4 Nov 2026.
Officialitch.io (Focaccai)
Game performance
Each figure measures something different — concurrent players, owners, downloads and sales are never interchangeable and are never added together. Labels show where each number comes from.
itch.io
Free in the browser (HTML5), with mouse or keyboard; no timer, account or saved progress, per the page.
Not publicly available: itch.io rating, Gross revenue.
GitHub
No public metrics recorded for this listing.
Not publicly available: GitHub stars.
Reviews & rankings
Not yet reviewed by our editors.
Not currently ranked.
Sources
| Source | Type | Published | Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ember Relay by AdityaM274 itch.io | Store page | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Rate Ember Relay for AI Browser Game Jam 5 itch.io (AI Browser Game Jam 5, hosted by Focaccai) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| AI Browser Game Jam 5 itch.io (Focaccai) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| AdityaM274/EmberRelay — README GitHub (AdityaM274) | Repository | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
| Official game page (language check) Aditya Mittal (AdityaM274) | Official site | Not confirmed | Nov 3, 2026 |
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