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🧩 UpvoteChain

Massively Multiplayer Word Chain Game on Reddit

💡 Inspiration

The inspiration came from classic word association games we all played as kids reimagined for Reddit’s community-driven environment.

I wanted to create something that:

Brings communities together through simple, accessible gameplay
Encourages participation without gaming expertise
Rewards engagement with achievements and leaderboards
Works asynchronously so players across timezones can contribute

Reddit’s collaborative nature makes it perfect for this imagine entire subreddits competing to build the longest word chain ever!

🎮 What It Does

UpvoteChain transforms Reddit posts into a collaborative word-chain experience.

Each player adds a new word starting with the last letter of the previous one: turtle → elephant → tiger → rabbit

✨ Core Gameplay

📝 Players submit words via modal forms
✅ Each word validated (starting letter, duplicates)
🔥 Streaks and achievements unlock as you play
🏆 Live leaderboard tracks top contributors
⏱️ Rounds auto-end via countdown timers
🌍 Asynchronous multiplayer global participation

📋 Key Features

Real-time countdown timer (auto-ends rounds)
16 unlockable achievements across 5 categories
Persistent leaderboard using Redis
Streak system for consecutive valid words
Configurable round durations (2, 5, or 10 mins)
Full state persistence across sessions

🛠️ How We Built It

Stack

Platform: Devvit Web v0.12.1 (Reddit’s post framework)
Language: TypeScript
State: Redis (persistence + leaderboards)
UI: Devvit Blocks + modal forms
Development: Kiro-enhanced workflow (.kiro/ specs, hooks, steering)
Architecture: Three layers

State Layer (Redis)

Stores chain, leaderboard, history, achievements
Atomic updates via zAdd, zRange

Logic Layer

Word validation (letter, format, duplicates)
Streak + achievement tracking
Round timer control

UI Layer

Splash screen
Game screen with timer
Leaderboard view

Kiro Layer (Development)

Specs (.kiro/specs/) - Feature requirements and validation rules Hooks (.kiro/hooks/) - Pre-commit quality gates Steering (.kiro/steering/) - Development patterns and guidelines

Config (kiro-config.json) - Project-wide settings

⚙️ Challenges We Ran Into

1. Async State Updates Don’t Trigger Renders

🧠 Learned Devvit’s render model differs from React
✅ Solved by using event-driven loading before screen switch

2. Real-Time Timer for All Players

Used context.useInterval() for 1s precision updates:

context.useInterval(async () => {
  if (!gameActive) return;
  const remaining = Math.max(0, roundEndTime - Date.now());
  setTimeRemaining(remaining);
  if (remaining <= 0) await endCurrentRound();
}, 1000);