DoodleArena

Inspiration

I wanted a Reddit-native game that feels instantly playable in a feed, with the quick thrill of guessing and the satisfaction of seeing sketches come to life. The idea was to blend classic Pictionary energy with fast rounds and a social leaderboard.

What it does

Doodle Arenaa is a timed drawing-guessing game. The computer animates a sketch, you guess the word before time runs out, earn XP based on performance, and see your score on a leaderboard. You can share your score as a Reddit post.

How we built it

I built two web views with Devvit: a splash entry for inline and a game entry for expanded mode. The UI and game logic are in React + TypeScript, bundled with Vite. The server uses Express on Devvit, with Redis for the leaderboard. Sharing creates a Reddit post from the server.

Challenges we ran into

Handling web view constraints like expanded mode sizing and inline scrolling restrictions. Keeping scoring consistent across UI elements and share posts. Dealing with large sketch datasets while keeping the game responsive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A smooth in-Reddit experience: tap to start, expand, and play immediately. Real-time sketch animation with clean visuals. A persistent leaderboard and share flow that feels native to Reddit.

What we learned

Devvit’s web view model works best when you design for host-controlled dimensions. Clear separation between inline splash and expanded gameplay improves UX. Consistent score handling is critical for player trust.

What's next for DoodleArenaa

More categories and difficulty tiers. Daily/weekly challenges and themed events. Better social features (friend leaderboard, streaks). Performance tuning and visual polish for low-end devices.

Built With

• devvit
• react
• redis
• sketchrnn
• typescript