I’ve been working on Cloakroom, a daily, non‑partisan puzzle about how Washington actually works, and I’d love feedback from people who care about good puzzle design.
Cloakroom turns the real machinery of the U.S. Congress into a 60‑second daily puzzle, built directly on data from Congress.gov and the FEC. Each day, you get one main puzzle plus optional bonus rounds, all sourced from actual bills, roll‑call votes, and campaign finance data. The goal isn’t to push a viewpoint; it’s to make the underlying systems legible and “playable” in a tight, repeatable format.
There are four core puzzle types:
- Whose Vote? – You see the partisan breakdown of a real roll‑call vote (e.g., how many Democrats/Republicans/independents voted yea or nay) with the bill name removed, and you have to identify the legislation from the shape of the coalition.
- Donor Detective – You see the top donor industries to a real lawmaker’s campaign (from FEC filings) and try to guess who the lawmaker is based on that pattern of support.
- Bill Predictor – You read a plain‑language summary of a real bill plus its political context and predict whether it passed, failed, died in committee, or was vetoed.
- The Grouping – You’re given eight congressional terms/procedures/figures that secretly fall into two categories, and you must sort them into the correct groups without a mistake.
A few design choices that might interest this sub:
- Daily ritual structure – One “official” puzzle per day that takes about 60 seconds, with streaks and badges built around consistency, plus optional bonus rounds for people who want more depth.
- Tight feedback loop – After you answer, you get an immediate reveal, plus a short audio briefing that explains the real story behind the puzzle in context.
- Non‑partisan by construction – All content comes from official public records (Congress.gov, the Congressional Record, FEC filings) with a focus on clarity and explanation over editorializing.
Love some feedback. Thank you
u/sureelkid — 9 days ago