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welcome to the Daily Cipher Game where clues are your weapon , guessing is your aim and winning is your target
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Explore the How to play Book to know the rules and game logic
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Smooth Comic Style UI with with 3 clues and 5 Attempts
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Community heat map plays an Important role for Guessing the Correct Answer
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Compete With the Community And Take Your Position in the Leaderboard Accordingly
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The new Game Drops Every 12 Hours
Inspiration
We were inspired by classic word puzzle games like Wordle and cryptogram challenges, but wanted to create something more competitive and community-driven. The idea was to bring the thrill of daily puzzles to Reddit, where communities could compete together, share strategies, and celebrate wins in real-time.
What it does
The Daily Cipher is an interactive word puzzle game that runs directly on Reddit posts. Every 12 hours, a new cipher puzzle is automatically generated where players must decode a secret word by figuring out letter substitutions. Players have 5 attempts to crack the code, and their solve times are tracked on a live leaderboard. The fastest solver becomes the champion and gets to set the next puzzle's word, creating a community-driven cycle. The game features real-time stats tracking, archive mode for past puzzles, and a privacy-focused leaderboard system where players can opt-in to be displayed.
How we built it
Built entirely on Reddit's Devvit platform using:
Frontend: React with TypeScript for the interactive game interface Backend: Devvit's serverless functions with Redis for state management Automation: Custom scheduler system that automatically creates new posts every 12 hours without external services Game Logic: Substitution cipher algorithm with validation and hint system Real-time Updates: Live countdown timers and leaderboard updates Architecture: Fully automatic post creation triggered by multiple events (user visits, countdown completion, background checks) The entire system runs natively on Reddit with no external dependencies - everything from game state to leaderboards is managed through Redis.
Challenges we ran into
Automatic Post Creation: Building a fully automatic system without external cron jobs was challenging. We solved it by implementing multiple trigger points (user visits, countdown completion, background checks) with a Redis lock mechanism to prevent duplicate posts. State Management: Handling game state across multiple concurrent players required careful Redis schema design to prevent race conditions. 12-Hour Cycles: Transitioning from 2-minute test cycles to 12-hour production cycles while maintaining all game logic and ensuring seamless post creation. Privacy & Fairness: Implementing an opt-in leaderboard system and fair play notices to encourage honest gameplay without AI assistance. Archive Mode: Creating a smooth transition from active games to archived puzzles that reveal answers and preserve leaderboards.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Zero Manual Intervention: The game runs completely automatically - new posts are created, winners are selected, and the cycle continues without any moderator action. Smooth User Experience: 3.5-second loading screen with fair play notice, intuitive UI, and real-time feedback. Community-Driven: Winners set the next word, creating engagement and ownership within the community. Production Ready: Successfully deployed with 12-hour game cycles, live leaderboards, and automatic post generation. Privacy-First Design: Opt-in leaderboard system respects user privacy while maintaining competitive elements.
What we learned
How to build complex state management systems using Redis on Devvit Creating fully automatic scheduling systems without external services Balancing competitive features with user privacy Designing engaging game mechanics that encourage community participation Building production-ready apps with proper error handling and edge case management The importance of testing with different time cycles (2 minutes vs 12 hours)
What's next for The Daily Cipher
Difficulty Levels: Easy, Medium, Hard puzzles with different word lengths Themed Puzzles: Special events with themed words (holidays, pop culture, etc.) Streak Tracking: Track consecutive days of solving puzzles Achievements System: Badges for milestones (first solve, 10-day streak, fastest time, etc.) Hint System: Optional hints that cost time penalties Community Features: Allow users to submit word suggestions for future puzzles Multi-Subreddit Support: Enable other communities to run their own Daily Cipher games Statistics Dashboard: Detailed analytics showing solve rates, average times, and popular words
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