Pirate Chest

A daily logic puzzle game where you dig for loot, avoid bombs, and compete for the title of the best Pirate Treasure Hunter.

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Inspiration

I saw a Reddit post about the hackathon and it caught my attention. I recently started learning GameMaker, and seeing them as a sponsor encouraged me to participate. I checked out the hackathon description and it looked like a cool, short initiative and an opportunity to publish a game and get players feedback.

What it does

Pirate Chest is a logic puzzle game played directly on Reddit. The goal is to find buried treasures (Gold, Chests, and Coconuts) on a grid while avoiding hidden Bombs.

Unlike traditional minesweeper games, the clues in Pirate Chest work like a radar: the numbers show the exact distance to the nearest treasure in a straight line (horizontally or vertically). Players must use logic to pinpoint the loot without running out of "Rum" (moves).

The game features two modes:

  • Daily Raid: A unique map generated every 24 hours. Everyone plays the exact same layout, but you only get one attempt to compete on the Daily Leaderboard.
  • Practice Mode: Unlimited random maps for players to improve their skills without pressure.

How I built it

As much as I wanted to, I didn't use GameMaker for this project because I am still new to it and I want to learn it properly first. I have experience with frontend technologies, so I decided to build Pirate Chest using React. This allowed me to use my existing skills to build the user interface. For the backend, I used Devvit to create an API that interacts with the Redis database. The backend handles the daily and weekly leaderboard, saves user statistics and generates atmospheric comments.

Challenges I ran into

I am a developer, not an UI designer. The biggest challenge for me was the visual design. I spent a lot of time working on the screens and elements, often starting over from scratch to make them look good. Balancing the style with clarity was quite difficult for me.

Accomplishments

I learned a lot about the Devvit platform during this hackathon. I learned how to:

  • Create custom API in devvit environment
  • Use their database to save information
  • Automate creating posts and comments based on game results

I really liked how easy it was to use the platform and the documentation. Connecting the client to the server was very smooth, which made the programming part of the project very enjoyable compared to the design work.

What I learned

  • First of all - how to even create a game on Reddit
  • To leave the UI design part to the end. Make necessary mechanics and then add your goal assets and polish your final design
  • Playtest a lot

What's next for Pirate Chest

I plan to expand the game with new map sizes and difficulty levels to keep the challenge fresh. I also want to introduce an achievement system ("Captain's Log") to reward long-term players. Finally, I would like to add more variety to the pirate-themed comments that the game generates when sharing results.

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