Hidden Among Us

A community-powered social deduction game. Players get secret roles, debate in comments, and vote to expose the hidden impostor. Driven by Reddit chats, every match is unique and replayable.

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Hidden Among Us

Inspiration

Reddit is one of the world's largest communities for discussions, debates, and storytelling. We noticed that while Reddit has thousands of communities, there are very few games that truly leverage its greatest strength—people interacting through conversations.

We wanted to create a game where the discussion itself becomes the gameplay.

Inspired by classic social deduction games like Mafia and Werewolf, we reimagined the experience for Reddit. Instead of voice chat, players investigate, debate, accuse, and vote entirely through Reddit comments, making every discussion meaningful and every match unique.

Our goal was to build a game that feels native to Reddit and gives users a reason to return every day.

What it does

Hidden Among Us is a multiplayer social deduction game built for Reddit using Devvit.

Players join a game and are secretly assigned roles:

  • 🕵️ Detective
  • 🕵️ Hidden Impostor
  • 👥 Citizens

The game progresses through multiple phases:

  1. Players join the lobby.
  2. Secret roles are assigned.
  3. Everyone discusses suspicious behavior.
  4. The Detective investigates one player.
  5. The community votes.
  6. The Impostor is revealed—or escapes.

Every match creates a completely different story based on the players involved.

Core features include:

  • Secret role assignment
  • Multiplayer voting
  • Comment-based discussions
  • Automatic game progression
  • Win/Loss detection
  • Replayable social gameplay

How we built it

We built Hidden Among Us entirely on Reddit's Devvit platform using:

  • TypeScript
  • React (Devvit Blocks)
  • Node.js
  • Devvit KV Store for game state
  • Devvit Scheduler for managing game flow

The application is divided into modular components:

  • Lobby System
  • Role Assignment Engine
  • Voting Engine
  • Game State Manager
  • Win Condition Logic

Since Devvit provides built-in storage, we were able to build the game without relying on external databases or paid backend services.

Challenges we ran into

Building a multiplayer game inside Reddit presented several unique challenges.

One challenge was synchronizing game state across multiple players while ensuring everyone sees the correct phase of the game.

Designing intuitive gameplay using Reddit's UI constraints required simplifying interactions without sacrificing depth.

Balancing randomness, fairness, and replayability also required careful thinking so that every match feels exciting regardless of player count.

Finally, creating a social deduction experience without voice chat meant making discussions and voting engaging enough to carry the entire game.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud that Hidden Among Us feels like a game designed specifically for Reddit rather than a traditional game ported onto Reddit.

Highlights include:

  • Native Devvit integration
  • Community-driven gameplay
  • Comment-first social deduction mechanics
  • No external backend required
  • Fast and accessible multiplayer experience
  • Designed for high replayability

Most importantly, every game tells a different story because the players create it together.

What we learned

Through this project, we learned that designing for a platform is just as important as building for it.

We gained experience with:

  • Devvit development
  • Multiplayer game architecture
  • State management
  • Designing social game mechanics
  • Building within platform constraints
  • Rapid prototyping during a hackathon

We also learned that simple mechanics combined with strong community interaction can create highly engaging experiences.

What's next for Hidden Among Us

We're excited to continue expanding the game beyond this hackathon.

Our roadmap includes:

  • 🤖 AI-generated daily mystery scenarios
  • 🏆 Leaderboards and achievements
  • 🎖️ XP and player progression
  • 👥 Additional roles (Doctor, Hacker, Agent, Assassin)
  • 🎭 Multiple game modes
  • 🌎 Cross-subreddit tournaments
  • 📈 Player statistics and match history
  • 🔊 Improved animations and sound effects
  • 🎉 Seasonal events and limited-time challenges

Our long-term vision is to make Hidden Among Us one of the most engaging social games on Reddit—where every discussion can become a mystery and every community can create unforgettable stories together.

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