Hexa Stack Project Report
1. The Concept
Hexa Stack is a mobile-first casual puzzle game where players place colorful hex-tile stacks onto a board. Matching top colors merge together, groups of 10 tiles clear, and chain reactions help the player complete each level objective. The game is designed in a cute, glossy 3D style for a 9:16 portrait screen.
2. The Stack
The Stack: Single-file HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript. The project runs directly from index.html and uses local PNG assets for backgrounds, icons, buttons, and the logo.
The AI Assist: Codex was used to help design and implement the game interface, game logic, level system, animations, PNG UI assets, responsive layout, documentation, and testing checks.
3. The 1 Day Sprint
Morning (Hours 1–3): Built the core game foundation, screen structure, colorful hex board, dock stacks, tap/drag placement, merging, clearing, level objectives, and basic UI.
Afternoon (Hours 4–6): Added the coin system, 50 progressive levels, persistence, Undo, Hint, Pause, tutorial, map-style level selection, and improved merge animations.
The Finish Line (Hour 7–8): Polished the visual direction with 3D tiles, custom PNG assets, gameplay and home backgrounds, updated HUD counters, responsive 9:16 layout, and project documentation.
4. The Roadblocks
Roadblocks: The largest challenge was preserving smooth gameplay while adding many visual improvements in a single HTML file. The board, dock, animations, level data, HUD, popups, and saved progress all needed to stay synchronized. Another challenge was ensuring that the map screen and gameplay layout remained usable on narrow portrait screens without reducing tile readability.
5. Key Takeaways
A focused single-file approach can still support a complete playable prototype when the state and UI updates are carefully organized.
Small visual details—tile depth, feedback animation, clear goals, and readable touch controls—have a large impact on how satisfying a puzzle game feels.
My final thought: Hexa Stack is now a complete, colorful puzzle-game prototype with a strong mobile identity and a solid base for future features such as purchasable boosters, more worlds, and additional level content.