A fun word game where players unscramble emoji puzzles to guess phrases from movies, idioms, and songs. The game uses AI-powered phrase generation via Ollama to create endless puzzles.

The game requires Ollama to generate emoji puzzles. Follow these steps to install and set up Ollama:

# Download and install Ollama
brew install ollama

# Start Ollama service
ollama serve

# Download and install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh

# Start Ollama service
ollama serve

Download the installer from ollama.ai and run it.

The game uses the Qwen3:1.7b model for phrase generation. Pull the model using:

ollama pull Qwen3:1.7b

Note: You can use other models by modifying the server/ollamaClient.js file, but Qwen3:1.7b is recommended for optimal performance and quality.

Ensure Ollama is running and accessible:

# Check if Ollama is running
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags

# You should see a response with your models

npm install

# Start both frontend and backend servers
npm run dev

This will start:

• Frontend: http://localhost:3000
• Backend: http://localhost:3001

1. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser
2. The game should load with available categories (Movies, Idioms, Songs)
3. Click "Play" to start a game session
4. You should see scrambled words with emoji hints

• Multiple Categories: Movies, idioms, and songs
• AI-Powered Puzzles: Fresh puzzles generated using Ollama
• Smart Validation: Permissive answer validation that accepts mostly correct answers
• Session Management: Unique puzzles per game session
• Background Generation: Automatic phrase generation to ensure availability
• Difficulty Tracking: Adaptive difficulty based on player performance

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development servers (frontend + backend)
npm run dev

# Start only frontend development server
npm run dev:frontend

# Start only backend server
npm run dev:backend

# Build for production
npm run build

# Start production server
npm run start

# Run tests
npm run test

# Run specific server tests
npm run test:server
npm run test:unique
npm run test:multi-session

• GET /api/phrases/random?category=<category> - Get random phrase
• POST /api/phrases/guess-result - Record guess result
• GET /api/categories - Get available categories
• POST /api/session/reset - Reset game session

The application uses a JSON configuration file at server/config.json. You can customize:

• Ollama Settings: Change the model or base URL
• Server Port: Change the backend server port
• Database Path: Change the SQLite database location

{
  "ollama": {
    "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434",
    "model": "qwen3:1.7b"
  },
  "server": {
    "port": 3001
  },
  "database": {
    "path": "./server/phrases.db"
  }
}

1. "Ollama connection failed"

   • Ensure Ollama is running: ollama serve
   • Verify the model is pulled: ollama list
   • Check if port 11434 is accessible
   • Verify the model name in server/config.json

2. "No phrases available"

   • Wait for background generation to complete
   • Check server logs for generation errors
   • Verify Ollama is working correctly

3. Database errors

   • Delete server/phrases.db to reset the database
   • Restart the server

4. Configuration issues

   • Check server/config.json for syntax errors
   • Delete the config file to regenerate defaults

# Test Ollama connection directly
node server/test-ollama.js

# Test full server flow
node server/test-full-flow.js

• Frontend: Preact SPA with responsive design
• Backend: Node.js/Express server with SQLite database
• AI Integration: Ollama for phrase and emoji generation
• Session Management: Cookie-based session tracking
• Background Processing: Automatic phrase population
• Configuration: JSON-based config file for easy customization

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run tests: npm run test
5. Submit a pull request

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details