Thread of Clues

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  splash screen

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  landing page

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  map page

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  room page

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  clue

Inspiration

I’ve always loved mystery games and puzzles, but most are single-player experiences. I wanted to create a game where community collaboration is central - each player only has part of the puzzle, so progress depends on teamwork. Reddit threads offered a natural platform for social interaction and sharing clues.

What it does

Thread of Clues is a collaborative, community-driven mystery game on Reddit. Players explore different locations, discover clues, and share their fragment codes in the subreddit. By combining fragments from multiple players, they uncover location codes and ultimately solve the grand mystery.

How we built it

• Frontend: Devvit Web (React + TypeScript) to integrate directly with Reddit posts.
  
• Backend: Redis to track game state, player progress, and clue distribution.
  
• Styling: Tailwind CSS for a polished, immersive UI.
  
• Game Logic: Each mystery has multiple locations; each location has objects with clues split across players. Players must collaborate asynchronously to reconstruct fragment words and location codes.

Challenges we ran into

• Designing a system where clues are split across multiple players while keeping it intuitive.
  
• Ensuring real-time updates and state consistency across multiple players using Redis.
  
• Balancing clue distribution to keep the game challenging but not frustrating.
  
• Integrating with Reddit’s post system while keeping gameplay smooth.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Successfully implemented asynchronous multiplayer collaboration on Reddit.
  
• Built a system where multiple mysteries can run in parallel, with state tracked efficiently.
  
• Created an engaging UI that guides players through complex collaborative puzzles.

What we learned

• How to design collaborative puzzle mechanics where progress depends on sharing information.
  
• Techniques for managing real-time game state across many asynchronous players.
  
• Practical experience building community-driven games directly within a social platform.

What's next for Thread of Clues

• Add chat or hint systems for easier collaboration.
  
• Introduce new mystery cities and storylines.
  
• Experiment with AI-generated clues to make puzzles more dynamic.
  

Built With

• devvit
• react
• redis
• tailwind