Word Duel

Word Duel: A 1v1 word game for Reddit. Not a solo puzzle, but a real-time duel. Set your own secret word, then race to guess your opponent's first. Play live against Redditors or a strategic AI.

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Inspiration

Most word puzzles are solo experiences. The "Community Play" theme of the Reddit & Kiro Hackathon inspired a different question: what if a word game wasn't just a puzzle, but a duel? Word Duel is the answer. It's a 1v1 word-guessing game built from the ground up for the Reddit community. The core idea was to create a strategic, turn-based duel. Players don't just guess a random word; they set their own secret word and then take turns trying to guess their opponent's word before their opponent guesses theirs.

What it does

Word Duel is a turn-based, 1v1 word-guessing game that can be played in two modes: Player-vs-Player: A user sets their own secret word and gets paired with another Reddit user who has done the same. They then take turns guessing each other's word. Player-vs-AI: A user sets their secret word and plays against a computer opponent. The AI has three difficulty levels ("Easy," "Medium," and "Difficult"), ranging from a simple guesser to a full deductive-logic bot. The game features themed UIs, a custom on-screen keyboard, and word validation using a local dictionary API. (All visual assets used in Word Duel were created specifically for this project. Audio assets were sourced from Pixabay under a Creative Commons license, allowing for free use).

How we built it

The project is a full-stack application built on the Devvit platform. Frontend: A responsive frontend was built from scratch using React and Typescript, including custom themes and UI components. Backend: A Devvit Server backend uses Redis to manage all game logic. Tooling: Kiro was integral to the backend construction. It was first used to set up the initial Devvit backend system, providing a structured foundation for the project. From there, it was used to translate the project brief into detailed technical specifications, generate clear requirements, and create a structured task list.

The build process involved: Spec-Driven Backend: Using the Kiro-generated specs, the turn-based game state management system in Redis was architected to handle turn order, player guesses, and timers. Kiro helped generate the initial data models for game sessions and API stubs for player actions, accelerating the development of this core logic. AI Opponent: Designing the challenging Player-vs-AI mode with its three distinct difficulties. API Integration: Hooking up the game to local dictionary APIs to validate every secret word and guess. Matchmaking: Creating a simple but effective matchmaking queue in Redis to pair players for 1v1 duels.

Challenges we ran into

Engineering a reliable turn-based state management system was the key challenge. This required careful logic in Redis to: Correctly track whose turn it was. Validate that only the active player could submit a guess. Reliably hand off the turn to the opponent after each guess. Properly handle timers and end-game conditions for both players.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A Full-Stack Devvit App: Building a complete, full-stack game from the ground up for the Devvit platform. Challenging AI: Creating an AI opponent with a "Difficult" mode that uses a full deductive-logic algorithm to filter a word dictionary, providing a genuinely challenging single-player experience. Solid Game Logic: Engineering the turn-based and matchmaking logic in Redis, which successfully manages concurrent games and player states.

What we learned

This project was an exercise in full-stack application development on a modern platform. Key learnings included: How to write a reliable, stateful backend using the Devvit platform. How to manage complex, turn-based game state in Redis. Community-focused game design to make a simple concept incredibly fun and engaging.

What's next for Word Duel

Leaderboard updates: A full leaderboard system to rank players based on wins and points. New Themes & Content: Adding new visual themes and expanding the word dictionaries. New Game Modes: Exploring new modes like longer word duels or a "timed" mode and tournaments

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