Word Cipher - Multiplayer Word Guessing Game

A real-time multiplayer word guessing game built with Ruby on Rails 8, ActionCable, Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus), and Tailwind CSS.

Game Description

Word Cipher is a team-based guessing game where players compete to guess words within a time limit. Players join either the Red or Blue team, and teams alternate turns. During each turn, one player becomes the "clue-giver" who can see a list of words that other players cannot see. The clue-giver gives verbal clues to help their teammates guess the words before time runs out!

Features

• ✅ Real-time multiplayer using ActionCable WebSockets
• ✅ Team-based gameplay (Red Team vs Blue Team)
• ✅ Turn-based system with automatic rotation
• ✅ 60-second timer for each turn
• ✅ Live scoring and point tracking
• ✅ Word visibility control (only clue-giver sees the word list)
• ✅ Instant guess validation and feedback
• ✅ Room code system for easy game joining
• ✅ Modern, responsive UI with Tailwind CSS

Tech Stack

• Backend: Ruby on Rails 8
• Database: SQLite (development)
• Real-time: ActionCable (WebSockets)
• Frontend: Hotwire (Turbo + Stimulus.js)
• Styling: Tailwind CSS (CDN)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

2. Install dependencies:

   bundle install

3. Set up the database:

   bin/rails db:migrate
   bin/rails db:seed

4. Start the Rails server:

   bin/rails server

5. Visit http://localhost:3000 in your browser

How to Play

1. Create or Join a Game

   • Create a new game from the homepage
   • Share the room code with other players
   • Or join an existing game by entering a room code

2. Choose Your Team

   • Select either Red Team or Blue Team
   • Wait for players on both teams

3. Start the Game

   • Once both teams have players, click "Start Game"

4. Playing a Turn

   • One player from the active team becomes the clue-giver
   • The clue-giver sees a list of 10 words
   • Other teammates type guesses in real-time
   • Correct guesses award 1 point to both the player and team
   • Each turn lasts 60 seconds

5. Winning

   • Teams alternate turns
   • The game continues until manually ended
   • The team with the most points wins!

Game Models

• Game: Manages game state, scores, and settings
• Player: Represents each connected player
• Word: Master list of words (99 words across 10 categories)
• GameWord: Words assigned to a specific game turn
• Guess: Tracks all guess attempts

Real-time Features

The game uses ActionCable to broadcast:

• Player joins/leaves
• Game state changes
• Turn transitions
• Guess submissions (correct/incorrect)
• Score updates
• Timer synchronization

Word Categories

The game includes 99 words across 10 categories:

• Animals
• Food
• Sports
• Objects
• Places
• Actions
• Professions
• Nature
• Entertainment
• Technology

Development

To add more words, edit db/seeds.rb and run:

bin/rails db:seed

To reset the database:

bin/rails db:reset

Architecture Highlights

Service Objects

• GameService: Handles game flow, turn management, and clue-giver selection
• GuessService: Processes guesses, validates matches, awards points

Real-time Communication

• GameChannel: ActionCable channel for broadcasting game events
• game_controller.js: Stimulus controller handling WebSocket messages and UI updates

Key Features Implementation

• Timer: Server-authoritative with client-side display
• Word Visibility: Conditional rendering based on player role
• Guess Matching: Normalized string comparison (case-insensitive)
• Session Management: UUID-based player sessions

Future Enhancements

Potential features to add:

• Sound effects and animations
• Player avatars
• Chat functionality
• Game history and statistics
• Difficulty levels
• Custom word lists
• Mobile app version
• Tournament mode

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.