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Building Find That Word: A tactile syllable puzzle game in React Native

•Emmanouil Athanasopoulos•1 min read•212 words
React NativeExpoGame DevelopmentWord PuzzleMobile

The Motivation Behind the Project

Find That Word is a relaxing word trivia game that breaks words into syllable tiles that players must assemble. The goal was to build a clean, family-friendly mobile puzzle game with zero unnecessary bloat and smooth tactile feedback. Available on the Google Play Store.

Core Features and Design Goals

  • Syllable Tile Assembly: Players reconstruct target words from broken syllable bubbles guided by category clues.
  • Tactile Haptic Feedback: Smooth selection transitions, tile popping feedback, and gentle soundscapes.
  • Family-Safe & COPPA Compliant: Configured for children and general audiences with G-rated contextual ads only.
  • Offline First: Fully playable without Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Technical Implementation

  • Built with Expo Router and React Native, using a modular dictionary and category matrix stored locally for instant zero-latency loading.
  • Integrated react-native-google-mobile-ads configured at initialization with maxAdContentRating: MaxAdContentRating.G, tagForChildDirectedTreatment: true, and requestNonPersonalizedAdsOnly: true for Google Play Families compliance.
  • Engineered an offline sound manager with Expo Audio preloading crisp pop and chime cues without blocking UI threads.

The Technology Stack

Built with React Native, Expo SDK 52, TypeScript, react-native-google-mobile-ads, and RevenueCat for IAP ad-removal.

Final Reflections

Developing a family-friendly game reinforces the importance of code-level compliance, strict ad filtering, and tactile feedback. The game is live on the Google Play Store.