ENDSTATE

Home Page and Logo
Different levels with live ranking!
Starting Page for the game
A simple how to play page

Inspiration - I grew up playing BrainVita (peg solitaire), and over time I realized I hadn’t seen many modern versions that felt both familiar and alive. I missed the quiet satisfaction of working through a puzzle, but I also wanted something that encouraged daily play and community discussion—something that fit naturally on Reddit. That nostalgia, combined with the idea of a daily challenge people could come back to and compare scores on, became the starting point for this project.

What we built - We built a modern BrainVita-inspired daily game for Reddit using Devvit. Each day presents a new puzzle, with a clear goal and a shared leaderboard so players can see how they stack up against others. The core gameplay stays true to the classic rules, but the daily format and competitive scoring give it a fresh reason to return every day.

How we built it - The game was built on Devvit Web, focusing on a clean, mobile-friendly interface that works directly inside a Reddit post. We implemented the game logic from scratch, added daily seeding so puzzles rotate automatically, and built a persistent leaderboard that updates a user’s best score rather than overwriting it. A big focus was making the experience intuitive, players should be able to open the post and start playing immediately without reading long instructions.

Challenges - The biggest challenge was balancing difficulty while keeping the game solvable and fun. We experimented with many ideas (including color-based rules and alternative mechanics) before realizing that the most effective “hard” puzzles come from smart starting conditions rather than complicated rules. Another challenge was handling leaderboard updates correctly so players could replay without losing their previous best scores. Debugging edge cases and ensuring a smooth mobile experience also took significant time.

What we learned - We learned that simplicity scales better than complexity, especially for daily games. Small, well-chosen constraints can create deep challenge without overwhelming players. We also learned a lot about designing for Reddit specifically, how important it is to encourage repeat play, conversation in the comments, and frictionless interaction.

What’s next - We’d love to expand the game with more curated daily challenges, additional difficulty variants, and deeper community features, while keeping the core experience simple, nostalgic, and fun.