Just Divide - Kid Mode

A responsive ReactJS implementation of the "Just Divide - Kid Mode".

What is included

• Responsive 4x4 grid game interface
• Drag-and-drop tile placement for desktop and touch devices
• KEEP slot with swap support
• TRASH slot with limited uses
• Equal and divisible tile merge rules
• Undo, restart, hints, difficulty toggle, and persistent best score
• Session timer and level progression

Run locally

cd "JustDivideKidMode"
npm install
npm run dev

Then open the local Vite URL in your browser.

Notes

• Best score is saved in localStorage under just-divide-best-score.
• Difficulty keys: 1 = Easy, 2 = Medium, 3 = Hard.
• Keyboard shortcuts: Z = Undo, R = Restart, G = Toggle hints.

Approach

Built as a lightweight React app with a custom 4x4 grid state model and drag-and-drop tile placement. The game logic resolves tile merges by exact equality or divisibility, while the UI keeps controls simple with keep/trash slots, queue preview, and a level-based trash budget.

Key decisions

• Used React state hooks for grid, queue, score, undo history, timer, and difficulty.
• Implemented drag-and-drop using pointer events so the interface works on desktop and touch devices without extra libraries.
• Chose a divisibility merge rule to make gameplay strategic and visually easy to follow.
• Persisted best score in localStorage so performance is retained across browser sessions.

Challenges

• Balancing tile generation and difficulty: larger numbers and primes were added at higher difficulty levels to create more challenging board states.
• Handling merge resolution cleanly without introducing unstable grid updates or invalid chain reactions.
• Keeping the UI responsive and touch-friendly while preserving clear feedback for keep/trash actions and game over states.

What I would improve

• Add a score leaderboard for creating friendly competiton.
• Add a polished onboarding/tutorial overlay to explain the divisibility rules for new players.
• Add sound and animation feedback for merges, trash, and level progression.
• Introduce richer scoring and combo tracking to reward advanced play.
• Create a mobile-first layout optimization for smaller screens and improve accessibility support.