Hunt and Connect

Executive Summary

Hunt and Connect is a two-stage word game created by Tim Howley and adapted by Renaissance Solutions. Find 16 hidden words in a letter grid, then sort them into four groups of related terms. Each correct group reveals its category. ACT, AP, and STEM packs let learners practice with material that fits their goals.

Before You Play

Choose a pack and board. ACT rotates through five puzzles, changing at 00:00 UTC; a replay keeps that day's words and generates a fresh letter grid. AP offers Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. STEM offers Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Each new AP or STEM round chooses four categories from the selected subject.

Find all 16 words to open Connect. A found word earns 50 points and a correct group earns 100. Three hints are shared across both stages, at 15 points each. An incorrect group costs 25 points; four incorrect groups end the round. Scores never fall below zero. Completing the puzzle adds a time bonus of up to 600 points, reduced by one point per elapsed second.

The timer begins after the board is ready and counts upward without a time limit. It continues while the page remains open, including when you switch tabs. Only completed best scores are saved on this device, separately for each board; a faster time breaks a score tie. Leaving or reloading discards unfinished progress. If browser storage is unavailable, you can still play, but your best score cannot be saved.

Copy the play page's address to share the selected pack and board. It does not share the generated grid or your progress.

Controls and Accessibility

• In Hunt, select the first and last letter of a word, or drag between them. Words run in straight lines in any direction.
• On a keyboard, use arrow keys to move through the grid, Enter or Space to choose each endpoint, and Escape to clear a selection.
• In Connect, select four word tiles and choose Check group. Clear removes your selection; Shuffle rearranges the remaining tiles.
• Visible focus, labeled controls, and a persistent status region support keyboard and assistive-technology use. Native screen-reader speech has not yet been reviewed.
• A reduced-motion preference removes nonessential movement. Sound can be toggled.
• The interface adapts from a 320-pixel mobile viewport through desktop layouts.

How We Made This with Generative AI

Tim supplied the original StudyCraft word-hunt collection and its ACT, AP, and STEM games. Renaissance Solutions preserved those inputs with byte counts and SHA-256 hashes, then used Generative AI to help extract a common content shape, reason through deterministic board rules, implement the shared flow, and test failure cases.

The human creator and adapter remain responsible for the choices, source custody, educational framing, and approval. This record is a draft until review is complete.

The Gory Details

The portable artifact contains the Vite-built play application under /gameroom/games/hunt-and-connect/play/, this canonical brief, and the pinned RS frame. Metadata records the Word Games room, creator, source revision, frame version, canonical routes, health route, review status, and a digest over every shipped payload file.

The build validates all four preserved source files against provenance/UPSTREAM.json before assembly. It rejects a draft unless the caller selects the staging-review lane. Assembly happens in a candidate directory that is fully inspected before it replaces a previous artifact.

The play app accepts pack and board query parameters. The Game Room owns the catalog and room presentation; Hunt and Connect owns its gameplay, content, tests, and portable artifact.

Fonts are bundled locally under the SIL Open Font License: Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, Newsreader, and IBM Plex Mono. Play requires no external font or game service.