Steps to run

• Node.js version 16.1.0 was used at the time of submission. Also tested and working with LTS.
• Navigate to the project root directory in a command line tool.
• Use npm run setup to install dependencies and compile the application.
• Run with npm start or ts-node src/index.ts.
• To inspect the plain JS code that targets ESNext, please check project-dir/plainBuild and project-dir/client/plainBuild.
• Navigate to localhost:8080 and Scrabble away!

What I have achieved

• I've developed a fully functional web based Scrabble game that supports up to 4 player local and online multiplayer.
• The game features all relevant game mechanics and rules of Scrabble allowing for a full game to be played.
• The website is built as an SPA to allow more seamless navigation and UI updates.
• The functionality is processed solely on the server-side and not under a peer-to-peer system which defends against a host abusing cheats.
  • Though arguably this system may scale up poorly if this was deployed for a larger user base.
• I developed my own websocket system from scratch including the ability to
  • Easily create and manage rooms and connections
  • Develop a consistent and standard model for request/responses via JSON

What I would improve

• I would've liked to have written unit tests for my application. On several occasions I made a change that I thought I knew all the side effects of. Only to later find some bug that I luckily happened to stumble across.
• There is a lack of user feedback when actions fail on the server side. The program will handle server-side failures but will not inform the user explicitly.
• The CSS is somewhat responsive but it doesn't always scale well on smaller screens, especially with the grid and the individual boxes.

What was this project?

• This project was a first year university coursework project.
• The objective was to develop a Scrabble-like game with whatever extended functionality you see fit.

Technologies used in this application

• HTML, CSS (Styled Components), Javascript (Typescript)
• ReactJS w/ React Router, JSX/TSX, React-Spring
• Webpack
• Express.js