Kudos! Hangman survived.
Alas! Better luck next time.
Hanging by a Thread

🎩 Hanging by a Thread - A Hangman Game for Reddit 🎮

💡 Inspiration

The inspiration behind Hanging by a Thread came from a love for classic word games and the desire to bring interactive experiences to Reddit communities. Hangman is a simple yet engaging game that encourages collaboration and competition. With Devvit's custom post type feature, we saw an opportunity to reimagine Hangman as a Reddit-native game where users can play directly within posts.

We wanted to create a game that:
✅ Enhances community engagement by allowing Redditors to play together.
✅ Leverages Reddit’s post system to turn ordinary posts into interactive experiences.
✅ Brings nostalgia with a modern twist by integrating an animated Hangman and a clickable keyboard.

🎮 What It Does

Hanging by a Thread is a fully playable Hangman game on Reddit.

🔹 The game is posted as a custom post type in a subreddit.
🔹 Players guess letters using a QWERTY keyboard interface.
🔹 An animated Hangman figure appears piece by piece for every incorrect guess.
🔹 If the player guesses the word, they win! Otherwise, the Hangman is fully drawn, and they lose.
🔹 The keyboard disappears after game completion to indicate the game is over.
🔹 It works seamlessly on both desktop and mobile!

🛠 How We Built It

Tech Stack

Devvit – For integrating the game as a Reddit custom post type
TypeScript – For building the core game logic
React (JSX in Devvit) – For rendering the UI components
Devvit API – For handling user interactions and updating post content

Development Process

Understanding Devvit: We explored Devvit’s capabilities and how custom post types work.
Designing the Game Flow: We mapped out the word selection process, user input handling, and win/lose conditions.
Building the UI: The Hangman drawing, QWERTY keyboard, and game state indicators were implemented.
Testing & Iteration: We refined gameplay using devvit playtest, ensuring smooth interactions.

🚧 Challenges We Ran Into

Learning Devvit: Since Devvit is relatively new, resources were limited. We had to experiment and troubleshoot many UI rendering and state management issues.
Handling State in a Reddit Post: Keeping track of the game’s progress and updating the UI dynamically within a Reddit post was tricky.
Deploying the Game: Initially, we encountered errors with devvit deploy, later realizing that installing the app via devvit install was the correct approach.
Mobile Responsiveness: Adapting the layout, font sizes, and button interactions for both desktop and mobile took extra effort.

🏆 Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

✅ Successfully built a fully playable Hangman game on Reddit using Devvit.
✅ Implemented an intuitive and responsive UI that works on all devices.
✅ Designed an interactive keyboard that makes gameplay fun and easy.
✅ Created an animated Hangman for visual engagement.
✅ Overcame Devvit-specific challenges to bring the idea to life.

📚 What We Learned

How to build interactive apps using Devvit.
State management within a Reddit post-type application.
Optimizing UI for both desktop & mobile experiences.
Debugging and troubleshooting Devvit CLI issues.
Best practices for user-friendly game design in a constrained environment.

🔮 What's Next for Hanging by a Thread

🚀 Future Plans:
🔹 Multiplayer Mode – Allow multiple Reddit users to collaborate on guessing words.
🔹 Custom Word Sets – Enable subreddit moderators to define word categories.
🔹 Leaderboard & Score Tracking – Add a scoring system and rankings for competitive gameplay.
🔹 Themed Hangman Drawings – Different styles for different subreddits.

We’re excited about where this project can go and hope to see Reddit communities enjoy playing it together! 🎉

💬 Feedback & Contributions Welcome!
Have ideas for improvements? Found a bug? Open an issue or contribute on GitHub!