The five-second rule of small game design
A player who swipes onto a Batata gives it about two seconds before deciding whether to stay. So every game we build obeys one rule: a stranger must understand it in five seconds, with no tutorial, no rules screen, and no text beyond a title and one hint line.
One verb
Each game is built on a single input: tap, drag, or swipe. Never two. The moment a game needs a second verb, it needs an explanation, and an explanation is a fail. Hot Potato is tap-when-the-marker-is-hot. Mash Stack is tap-to-drop. The verb is the tutorial.
The screen explains itself
The idle scene has to carry the rules. A stack that wobbles says stack me. A timer bar that burns says hurry. If we find ourselves writing instructions, we redraw the scene until the instructions are unnecessary.
It ends
A run lasts under a minute and ends with a score and one button. Small games do not need saving, pausing, or menus. They need an ending sharp enough that you immediately want another one.