SketchGuess - React Native / Expo / WebSockets

Overview

SketchGuess is a fast multiplayer drawing and guessing game built around one simple loop: create a room, draw a word, guess in real time, and keep the match moving. The product includes a mobile client for the gameplay experience, a Node.js backend for room state and realtime updates, and a polished public web site for the marketing and privacy surface.

The project is designed for frictionless play. There are no accounts, the session is lightweight, and players can join public or private rooms quickly from Android or iOS. The public experience is intentionally simple so the game can be explained in seconds and picked up immediately.

The Problem

Most party games fail because they are too heavy to start and too fragile once people are in them.

Players do not want to create accounts before a casual game
Room joins need to be fast and obvious
Reconnects have to work when someone drops from the game
Drawing and guessing need to feel realtime, not turn-based and laggy
The product still needs a clean public face so new users understand it quickly

SketchGuess was built to remove those points of friction.

What I Built

Realtime Room Flow

The backend manages room creation, room joining, player state, and gameplay events so the match stays synchronized for everyone in the room. That keeps the experience tight even as people enter, leave, or reconnect.

Drawing and Guessing Loop

The game centers on a simple realtime loop: one player draws, everyone else guesses, and the room advances through rounds without extra setup. The gameplay is designed to be easy to explain but still competitive enough to keep a group engaged.

Reconnect Support

SketchGuess is built to survive the normal chaos of casual play. If a player loses connection, the session can recover instead of forcing everyone to restart the room.

Public Rooms and Private Rooms

Players can share a room code with friends or jump into a public room when they want to start quickly. That gives the game both a private party mode and a lower-friction public entry point.

Privacy-First Public Site

The public web experience is focused on clear messaging, app-store-ready presentation, and simple privacy communication. The site avoids tracking-heavy patterns and keeps the product story direct.

Technical Highlights

Expo and React Native for the mobile client
Node.js backend for realtime room and game logic
Prisma for structured persistence
Socket-driven gameplay updates
Next.js public web experience
Session and reconnect behavior designed for casual multiplayer play

Why It Matters

SketchGuess is a good example of building a product around speed and retention instead of feature bloat. The technical challenge is not just drawing on a canvas; it is keeping a realtime multiplayer session stable, understandable, and easy to rejoin while still feeling playful.

That combination of mobile UX, backend coordination, and public product presentation is the kind of work I want in a portfolio: a real shipped experience with enough moving parts to show product judgment and full-stack execution.