The animal is already in the wood.
Woodcarvers have said it for centuries: the figure is already inside the block — the carver simply removes everything that isn't it. Animalwood turns that old workshop wisdom into Whittle, a free daily puzzle where you memorize an animal outline, then carve it out from memory with a gouge, a chisel, and a knife.
Why we built Whittle
Most daily puzzles exercise your vocabulary or your arithmetic. We wanted one that exercises your hands and your visual memory — the same quiet skills a real whittler uses at a workbench. The result is a game about restraint: every stroke removes wood forever, so the tension isn't what to add, but what to leave alone.
We also wanted the warmth of a workshop, not the glare of an arcade. The cream paper, walnut browns, and amber accents of Animalwood are borrowed from real carving benches: wood shavings, worn tool handles, and afternoon light.
Whittle launched in 2026 as an independent project. It has no investors, no engagement team — just a daily animal, a block of wood, and whoever shows up to carve it.
What we believe
Cozy over competitive
Whittle is a moment of calm, not a leaderboard rat race. Your only real opponent is the block of wood in front of you.
One puzzle a day
A single, shared daily animal keeps the game special. Everyone in the world carves the same block on the same date.
Free and lightweight
No download, no account, no paywall. Whittle runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet, or desktop.
Made to be shared
Your daily result copies into a small, spoiler-free scorecard — perfect for group chats and friendly rivalries.
How a daily puzzle is made
Choosing the animal
Each daily animal is picked for its silhouette: it must be recognizable at a glance yet tricky to hold in memory. A whale reads differently from a fox, and both carve differently from an owl.
Tuning the outline
Every silhouette is hand-tuned so the carving area, edge detail, and negative space feel fair with the three tools. Too much fine detail is frustrating; too little is boring.
Balancing the score
The scoring model weighs waste wood removed against animal kept intact, so cautious carvers and bold carvers both have a path to Master Carver.
Why "Animalwood"?
Because that's exactly what the game is: animals, hiding in wood. We like names that say what they mean. It also sounds a little like a place — a forest town where every tree has a creature waiting inside it — and that's the world we intend to keep building, one carving at a time.
What's next
The workshop is never finished. On the bench right now: a bigger menagerie of animals, streak tracking so your daily habit counts for something, and a gallery of notable carvings from the community.
The best ideas come from players. If there's an animal you'd love to carve or a feature you're missing, tell us through the contact page. We read everything.
Today's animal is waiting in the block.
It takes about three minutes, and your first cut is always the bravest. Grab a chisel and see what you can free.
Carve today's puzzle