Pocket Grids

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  Main Gameplay (Desktop)

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  Gameplay - check answers, reveal words/answers/full puzzle

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  Gameplay Setting - Customize how you solve the grid

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  Puzzle Builder - Choose grid, fill it in, add clues.

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  Puzzle Builder - Assisted mode, get pre-filled grid and fill in clues, or get suggested clues.

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  Review your puzzle before you post for others to solve

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  Discover other puzzle makers in the Community Puzzle Section

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  Follow your favorite puzzle makers

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  Play through the daily puzzle archive

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  Optimized for mobile also (1/3)

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  Optimized for mobile also (3/3)

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  Optimized for mobile also (2/3)

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  Gameplay - Dark mode

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  Puzzle Builder - Dark mode

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  Launch Screen

Inspiration

Crosswords are loved by many, but full-size grids are slow and don’t fit Reddit’s pace. I wanted to build a quick, social version for the scroll: jump in, solve in under five minutes, share, and keep browsing. Pocket Grids brings that mini-crossword habit to r/pocketgrids, with UGC tools so anyone can build and share puzzles, and followers can keep up with their favorite creators.

What it does

• Daily Mini: A fresh 5×5 crossword posts to r/pocketgrids every day.
• UGC Builder: Create from scratch or use assisted mode (pre-filled grid + clue suggestions). Preview, customize, and post in one flow.
• Discovery: Browse hot/trending puzzles, follow favorite creators, and see community stats.
• Streaks & Achievements: Lightweight gamification that rewards daily play.
• Custom Gameplay Preferences: Choose from dark mode, sound effects, auto-advance on correct letters, timer display, and much more.

How I built it

• Platform: Devvit Web + React.
• Data & State: Redis-backed storage for puzzles, game state, attempts, streaks, and creator metadata.
• Discovery: Uses Reddit signals (upvotes/comments) + solve count + recency/quality scoring to rank puzzles.

Challenges I ran into

• Puzzle Generation: Scripts to generate thousands of valid 5×5 grids and clue suggestions for assisted creation.
• Grid Validation: Ensuring valid fills, symmetry, and cross-checks between clues and answers across all mini-crossword grid types.
• Devvit Web: First build on Devvit Web, ran into issues with flair assignment and limitations around splash screens.
• Moderation: Still experimenting with guardrails to curb low-quality or offensive posts (rate limits, min-solve requirements, reporting, auto-flags).

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

• Completed the initial release of the game within the limited hackathon timeline.
• Built a UGC puzzle builder (from-scratch + assisted) with a preview to post flow, really happy with how it came out.
• Designed a Redis-backed data model for puzzles, attempts, streaks, and creator metadata.
• Implemented state persistence so solvers can pause and seamlessly resume.
• Prototyped a discovery ranker combining votes, comments, solves, and freshness.
• Set up CI checks and JSON Schema validation to keep puzzle payloads reliable.
• Optimized the UX for both desktop and mobile.

What I learned

• Devvit Web fundamentals and the new devvit.json config.
• How to generate crossword puzzles programmatically.
• Leveraging Reddit API signals to power a discovery ranker.
• Designing moderation guardrails for a UGC subreddit.

What's next for Pocket Grids

• Richer Stats: Personal bests, solve-time percentiles, creator dashboards.
• Discovery Upgrades: More ways to find puzzles and follow creators.
• Themed Puzzles: Weekly themes and community challenges.
• Stronger Moderation: Posting limits and quality checks to keep r/pocketgrids engaging and inclusive.
• Flair & Awards: More flairs and community awards to celebrate creators and solvers.
• UI and Performance Improvements - I plan to add more polish to this app once the hackathon judging is complete.

Built With

• devvit
• react
• redis