pivot

Inspiration

19 percent of Canadians have low literacy proficiency. We wanted to make learning vocabulary fun and engaging rather than academic or boring. We were inspired by classic word puzzles and wanted to modernize them using APIs, animation, and scoring to make the experience more interactive.

What it does

Players connect two words by changing one letter at a time or swapping to a synonym. The game uses real dictionary definitions for every word, helping players naturally expand their vocabulary as they play. Each round is scored based on creativity and how efficiently the player reaches the target word.

How we built it

We built Pivot using React and JavaScript for the logic and Tailwind CSS for the design. We used dictionaryapi.dev to fetch word definitions and Datamuse to find synonyms and common word patterns. Framer Motion was used for smooth animations, and we added caching to reduce API calls and make the gameplay faster.

Challenges we ran into

We faced challenges handling inconsistent API results, especially when some words had missing definitions or limited synonym matches. Making puzzles that were challenging but still solvable within five moves was also tricky. Another challenge was keeping the game fast while fetching live data in real time.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that Pivot is a fully playable and polished word game built from scratch. We managed to integrate two APIs smoothly, added caching for performance, and created a clean interface that helps people learn new words through play. We also built a fair scoring system that rewards both logic and creativity.

What we learned

We learned how to connect and manage multiple APIs effectively and how to handle asynchronous data in React. We also gained experience with frontend design, animation, and user experience. Most importantly, we learned that language learning can be made enjoyable when combined with gameplay and interaction.

What's next for pivot

Next, we want to add a social aspect to the game. Features like leaderboards, daily puzzles, and friend challenges would create friendly competition and make players want to come back. We also plan to add multilingual support so that Pivot can help people learning English as a second language.