SubWordle

A daily Wordle for Reddit communities. Mods post themed puzzles, players guess and compete on leaderboards, and anyone can submit words. Your subreddit's new daily habit.

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SubWordle

Inspiration

I'm a huge Wordle fan. It's simple, addictive, and the perfect daily brain teaser.

That got me thinking: what if every subreddit had its own Wordle?

Communities already bond over shared interests, so a daily word game themed around those interests felt like a natural fit. That’s how SubWordle was born.

What It Does

SubWordle is a daily Wordle-style game built directly into Reddit.

Moderators can post a daily puzzle to their subreddit, and players get 6 tries to guess a 5-letter word.

What makes it unique is the use of themed categories such as:

  • Food
  • Tech
  • Sports
  • Movies
  • Science
  • Music

Each community plays with words that match its interests and culture.

Players can also:

  • View personal statistics
  • Climb a subreddit leaderboard
  • Submit their own words for future puzzles

How I Built It

SubWordle is built on the Devvit platform using:

  • React + TypeScript for the client-side UI
  • Hono for the server-side backend
  • Tailwind CSS for styling
  • Vite for bundling

The core game logic — including Wordle’s duplicate-letter handling — lives in a shared module used by both the client and server.

I wrote unit tests using Vitest to ensure the evaluation logic was reliable and consistent.

Challenges I Ran Into

1. Duplicate Letter Handling
Reproducing Wordle’s exact tile evaluation logic, especially with repeated letters, was more complex than it first appeared.

2. Server-Authoritative Architecture
The game state needed to remain server-authoritative so players couldn’t inspect or manipulate the answer. At the same time, the interface had to remain fast and responsive.

Balancing security with user experience required careful architectural decisions.

Accomplishments I'm Proud Of

I’m proud of how polished the full experience feels, from the animated tile board and keyboard to the leaderboard and stats views.

The community word submission feature stands out in particular. Unlike the original Wordle, SubWordle allows communities to contribute future words, helping keep the experience fresh and giving users a sense of ownership.

What I Learned

Building SubWordle deepened my understanding of:

  • Developing on the Devvit platform
  • Structuring a full-stack application inside Reddit
  • Sharing logic between client and server
  • Keeping the codebase DRY without exposing sensitive data like the correct answer

What’s Next for SubWordle

Planned improvements include:

  • Subreddit-specific curated word lists
  • A daily streak system
  • A cross-subreddit challenge mode
  • Shareable result grids using the familiar green and yellow square format

The goal is to make SubWordle more competitive, more social, and more community-driven.

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