Pocket Word Hunt

Tap connected letters. Make simple words. Beat the clock.

Score 0
Time 60

Found Words

 
Tap letters to build a word. Words auto-submit after 3+ letters.

POC rules: words must be 3+ letters. Letters must touch side-by-side, up and down, or diagonally. Each tile can be used once per word.

Pocket Word Hunt is a simple web-based word game where players tap connected letters to find short words before time runs out.

My Role: Product Concept · POC Requirements · Rapid Prototyping · Interactive Web Prototype · Squarespace Build · UX Flow · Game Design · No-Code/Low-Code · AI-Assisted Build · Icon Generation · Product Strategy · Creative Direction

Building “Pocket Word Hunt” A Tiny Web Game Experiment

Pocket Word Hunt started as a simple idea: build a lightweight word game that felt playful, fast, and easy to drop into a website. I wanted something that could live directly inside my Squarespace portfolio without needing a full app deployment, backend, or external dependencies.

The entire project became a rapid prototyping exercise focused on speed, iteration, and creative tooling.

The Process

I started by defining a very small scope:

  • 4x4 letter grid

  • simple word validation

  • score tracking

  • timed gameplay

  • mobile-friendly interactions

  • clean visual design

Instead of trying to build a polished production app, I treated this as a functional POC (proof of concept). The goal was to validate the interaction and overall feel as quickly as possible.

I first mapped the gameplay loop and requirements in a lightweight PRD:

  1. select letters

  2. form a word

  3. validate the word

  4. update score

  5. repeat before timer ends

Keeping the scope intentionally small helped avoid feature creep and made it possible to iterate quickly.

Workflow

The workflow was intentionally fast and iterative:

  • define the concept

  • generate a rough PRD

  • prototype directly in browser-friendly HTML/CSS/JS

  • continuously refine interactions and UI

  • test directly inside Squarespace

Rather than using a heavy framework, I kept everything dependency-free so the game could run as a single embeddable code block.

A lot of the workflow involved rapid feedback loops:

  • adjusting interactions

  • simplifying mechanics

  • refining placement and layout

  • improving readability on mobile

  • reducing friction in gameplay

The project evolved through dozens of small micro-iterations rather than one large build phase.

Tools

Core Tools

  • ChatGPT — ideation, PRD drafting, gameplay logic, debugging, UI iteration

  • Squarespace — hosting and embedding the prototype

  • HTML / CSS / JavaScript — lightweight frontend implementation

AI-Assisted Workflow

I also used ChatGPT to:

  • generate the app icon

  • iterate on visual styling

  • refine gameplay UX

  • restructure logic quickly

  • troubleshoot embedded web behavior inside Squarespace

The icon itself was AI-generated as part of the experiment, which felt aligned with the overall rapid-prototyping approach of the project.

Challenges & Tradeoffs

One of the biggest challenges was balancing simplicity with responsiveness.

A few examples:

  • making the game feel interactive without overcomplicating controls

  • simplifying word submission into an auto-submit mechanic

  • handling adjacency validation cleanly

  • designing around Squarespace embed constraints

  • keeping the UI lightweight and mobile-friendly

I also made a few deliberate tradeoffs. Instead of optimizing gameplay feedback into floating lightboxes, I kept notifications as a visible section within the game screen. This made the experience simpler, more stable, and easier to maintain inside Squarespace.

Another tradeoff was minimizing animations. Since this was a rapid POC, the goal was not to make a fully polished game — it was to prove to myself that I could “vibe code” a playable web game from concept to working prototype.

Another challenge was resisting the urge to overbuild. It would have been easy to add:

  • larger dictionaries

  • more animations

  • multiplayer

  • accounts

  • leaderboards

  • persistent saves

But the real goal was to create a playful, functional experiment quickly.

What I Learned

This project reinforced how powerful rapid prototyping can be when paired with AI-assisted workflows.

Instead of spending days setting up infrastructure, I was able to focus almost entirely on:

  • interaction design

  • gameplay feel

  • iteration speed

  • user experience

It also showed me how lightweight web experiments can still feel polished and engaging when the scope is tightly controlled.

Pocket Word Hunt isn’t meant to be a fully scaled game product — it’s an experiment in fast product thinking, creative tooling, and shipping playful ideas quickly.