Inspiration

We grew up learning problem-solving the same way a lot of gamers do: by playing games that made thinking feel exciting instead of exhausting. But when we looked at platforms like LeetCode, coding practice often felt repetitive, draining, and honestly… kinda lonely (those who know, know). We wanted to turn that grind into something social, competitive, and actually fun. That idea became WitWand.

What it does

WitWand is a Harry Potter–inspired two-player 2v2 characters turn-based coding battle game. Two players face off as wizard teams, and each turn begins with a short coding challenge instead of an attack. Players choose between an easy, medium or hard problem to earn mana which powers spells. In short: your coding skills literally become your magic.

How we built it

We built WitWand as a web-based multiplayer experience where two players can play against each other on the same device. When we make it free for public use later, we plan to impement features for host or join matches using an invitation code. We integrated a SnowFlake API to generate randomized coding challenges by difficulty, implemented a turn-based combat system with mana and HP mechanics, and designed a real-time gameplay flow where problem-solving directly affects battle outcomes.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was balancing gameplay with learning. We had to make sure coding questions were short enough for fast rounds but still meaningful. Implementing the in-game IDE along with the compiler took a lot of time. And designing a well-balanced game mechanics took some effort.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully transformed something typically seen as a solo grind into a competitive, social experience. The real-time coding-to-combat loop works smoothly, and players can genuinely feel their problem-solving impacting the battle. Most importantly, we created a game where learning feels like play instead of work.

What we learned

We learned how to merge education with game design in a way that keeps both engaging. We gained experience building multiplayer systems, integrating AI-generated content into live gameplay, and designing mechanics that motivate players without overwhelming them.

What's next for WitWand

Next steps include expanding question types, adding more characters, arenas, implementing the join/host system for multiplayer from two devices, implementing ranked matchmaking, more learning mechanics, and introducing single-player story mode and cooperative modes so players can team up instead of just battling. Our long-term goal is to evolve WitWand into a full learning platform where coding practice feels like an adventure, not a chore.

Built With

• css
• digitalocean
• express.js
• html
• node.js
• piston
• react
• snowflake
• typescript
• vite