Tiny Crossword

• 

  Tiny Crossword

Inspiration

I like crosswords, but I rarely finish them. I wanted something that feels like a real crossword without the commitment. Also, Reddit felt like the perfect place for a quick daily puzzle you can play while scrolling.

What it does

Tiny Crossword lets you play a 5×5 mini crossword directly inside a Reddit post. You can jump into a daily puzzle, generate one from any theme, solve it in under a minute, and see how your time stacks up on the leaderboard.

How we built it

It’s built with Devvit Web using a webview-based UI and Devvit’s backend. I use Google Gemini to generate themed crossword puzzles, store daily puzzles and solve times in Reddit Redis, and handle leaderboards natively inside Devvit.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was making AI-generated crosswords feel reliable and fast. I had to balance generation speed, puzzle quality, and consistency so players wouldn’t run into broken grids or confusing clues.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that it feels like a real crossword, just smaller and easier. It runs smoothly inside a Reddit post, generates puzzles quickly, and supports both daily play and community-created themes with competitive leaderboards.

What we learned

I learned that for Reddit games, clarity beats complexity. If players understand what to do in the first few seconds, everything else clicks. I also learned how powerful Devvit can be when you lean into simple, asynchronous gameplay loops.

What's next for Tiny Crossword

I’d like to improve puzzle variety, highlight popular community themes, and add lightweight social features like sharing results or favorite puzzles. The goal is to make it a daily habit without adding friction.

Built With

• gemini