Boo-Do! - The Haunted To-Do Arcade

Your to-do list is haunted. Banish distractions in 45 seconds, then tackle one tiny real-world task.

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Inspiration

To-do lists can feel like haunted houses: every unfinished task jumps out at you. Boo-Do! makes that feeling comically literal for Pumpkin Playground, combining silly arcade play with a small dose of real-world productivity.

What it does

Catch ghosts to score 20 points, collect candy for 10 points, dodge cursed alarm clocks that cost 15 points, and build combos in a 45-second arcade round. Save your personal best and export a custom 1200 x 630 PNG scorecard. Then add real tasks, check them off yourself, and focus with a 5-, 15-, or 25-minute timer. Game points never automatically mark a task complete.

How we built it

Boo-Do! is a lightweight, responsive web application built with semantic HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript, with no runtime dependencies. The 3-by-3 arcade board supports taps/clicks and keyboard input (keys 1–9), randomized targets, scores, combo logic, and a timed round. The task manager and focus timer use browser-local storage and timing APIs. Optional sound effects use the Web Audio API; scorecards are generated with Canvas. Hosted on Vercel.

Challenges

The main design challenge was making the game fun without treating playful points as actual productivity. We kept game scores and real task completion separate. Making the arcade responsive and keyboard-friendly across desktop and mobile was another challenge.

Accomplishments

  • Playable 45-second ghost-catching arcade with combo scoring
  • Task tracker with locally persisted progress
  • Practical focus timer (5 / 15 / 25 minutes)
  • Original Halloween-inspired visual design
  • Optional sound and PNG scorecard exports
  • Responsive desktop and mobile experience

What we learned

A humorous micro-game can make starting feel easier, but a trustworthy productivity tool must clearly distinguish play from genuine completed work.

What's next

Explore more themed levels, accessible interaction preferences, optional task import/export, and offline/PWA support.

Play it

https://boodo-haunted-arcade-samertalls-projects.vercel.app

Demo

https://youtu.be/OowiGWRdvY8

Technologies

HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Web Audio API, Canvas API, localStorage, Vercel, ChatGPT

AI usage and credits

ChatGPT assisted with the concept, copy, implementation, and quality-assurance automation. The app is an original single-page browser experience; no Codex session was used.

How to test

Open the live demo, play a full arcade round using mouse/touch or keys 1–9, test combo and score behavior, add/check/delete a real task, reload to verify task persistence, start/pause/reset the focus timer, and export a scorecard.

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