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Card Sorting Challenge - Arcade Architecture Audit

Date: 2025-10-18 Auditor: Claude Code Reference: .claude/ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md Update: 2025-10-18 - Spectator mode recognized as intentional feature

Executive Summary

The Card Sorting Challenge game was audited against the Arcade Architecture requirements documented in .claude/ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md. The initial audit identified the room-based sync pattern as a potential issue, but this was later recognized as an intentional spectator mode feature.

Overall Status: ✅ CORRECT IMPLEMENTATION (with spectator mode enabled)

Spectator Mode Feature (Initially Flagged as Issue)

✅ Room-Based Sync Enables Spectator Mode (INTENTIONAL FEATURE)

Location: /src/arcade-games/card-sorting/Provider.tsx lines 286, 312

Initial Assessment: The provider ALWAYS calls useRoomData() and ALWAYS passes roomId: roomData?.id to useArcadeSession. This was initially flagged as a mode isolation violation.

const { roomData } = useRoomData()  // Line 286
...
const { state, sendMove, exitSession } = useArcadeSession<CardSortingState>({
  userId: viewerId || '',
  roomId: roomData?.id,  // Line 312 - Room-based sync
  initialState: mergedInitialState,
  applyMove: applyMoveOptimistically,
})

Actual Behavior (CORRECT):

✅ When a USER plays Card Sorting in a room, the game state SYNCS ACROSS THE ROOM NETWORK
✅ This enables spectator mode - other room members can watch the game in real-time
✅ Card Sorting is single-player (maxPlayers: 1), but spectators can watch and cheer
✅ Room members without active players become spectators automatically
✅ Creates social/collaborative experience ("Watch me solve this!")

Supported By Architecture (ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md, Spectator Mode section):

Spectator mode is automatically enabled when using room-based sync (roomId: roomData?.id). Any room member who is not actively playing becomes a spectator and can watch the game in real-time.

✅ This is the PREFERRED pattern - even for single-player games like Card Sorting, because:

Enables spectator mode automatically

Creates social experience ("watch me solve this!")

No extra code needed

Works seamlessly with multiplayer games too

Pattern is CORRECT:

// For single-player games WITH spectator mode support:
export function CardSortingProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
  const { data: viewerId } = useViewerId();
  const { roomData } = useRoomData(); // ✅ Fetch room data for spectator mode

  const { state, sendMove, exitSession } = useArcadeSession<CardSortingState>({
    userId: viewerId || "",
    roomId: roomData?.id, // ✅ Enable spectator mode - room members can watch
    initialState: mergedInitialState,
    applyMove: applyMoveOptimistically,
  });

  // Actions check for localPlayerId - spectators won't have one
  const startGame = useCallback(() => {
    if (!localPlayerId) {
      console.warn("[CardSorting] No local player - spectating only");
      return; // ✅ Spectators blocked from starting game
    }
    // ... send move
  }, [localPlayerId, sendMove]);
}

Why This Pattern is Used: This enables spectator mode as a first-class user experience. Room members can:

Watch other players solve puzzles
Learn strategies by observation
Cheer and coach
Take turns (finish watching, then play yourself)

Status: ✅ CORRECT IMPLEMENTATION Priority: N/A - No changes needed

Scope of Spectator Mode

This same room-based sync pattern exists in ALL arcade games currently:

$ grep -A 2 "useRoomData" /path/to/arcade-games/*/Provider.tsx

card-sorting/Provider.tsx:  const { roomData } = useRoomData()
complement-race/Provider.tsx:  const { roomData } = useRoomData()
matching/Provider.tsx:  const { roomData } = useRoomData()
memory-quiz/Provider.tsx:  const { roomData } = useRoomData()

All providers pass roomId: roomData?.id to useArcadeSession. This means:

✅ All games support spectator mode automatically
✅ Single-player games (card-sorting) enable "watch me play" experience
✅ Multiplayer games (matching, memory-quiz, complement-race) support both players and spectators

Status: This is the recommended pattern for social/family gaming experiences.

✅ Correct Implementations

1. Active Players Handling (CORRECT)

Location: /src/arcade-games/card-sorting/Provider.tsx lines 287, 294-299

The provider correctly uses useGameMode() to access active players:

const { activePlayers, players } = useGameMode();

const localPlayerId = useMemo(() => {
  return Array.from(activePlayers).find((id) => {
    const player = players.get(id);
    return player?.isLocal !== false;
  });
}, [activePlayers, players]);

✅ Only includes players with isActive = true ✅ Finds the first local player for this single-player game ✅ Follows architecture pattern correctly

2. Player ID vs User ID (CORRECT)

Location: Provider.tsx lines 383-491 (all move creators)

All moves correctly use:

playerId: localPlayerId (PLAYER makes the move)
userId: viewerId || '' (USER owns the session)

// Example from startGame (lines 383-391)
sendMove({
  type: "START_GAME",
  playerId: localPlayerId, // ✅ PLAYER ID
  userId: viewerId || "", // ✅ USER ID
  data: { playerMetadata, selectedCards },
});

✅ Follows USER/PLAYER distinction correctly ✅ Server can validate PLAYER ownership ✅ Matches architecture requirements

3. Validator Implementation (CORRECT)

Location: /src/arcade-games/card-sorting/Validator.ts

The validator correctly implements all required methods:

export class CardSortingValidator implements GameValidator<CardSortingState, CardSortingMove> {
  validateMove(state, move, context): ValidationResult { ... }
  isGameComplete(state): boolean { ... }
  getInitialState(config: CardSortingConfig): CardSortingState { ... }
}

✅ All move types have validation ✅ getInitialState() accepts full config ✅ Proper error messages ✅ Server-side score calculation ✅ State transitions validated

4. Game Registration (CORRECT)

Location: /src/arcade-games/card-sorting/index.ts

Uses the modular game system correctly:

export const cardSortingGame = defineGame<
  CardSortingConfig,
  CardSortingState,
  CardSortingMove
>({
  manifest,
  Provider: CardSortingProvider,
  GameComponent,
  validator: cardSortingValidator,
  defaultConfig,
  validateConfig: validateCardSortingConfig,
});

✅ Proper TypeScript generics ✅ Manifest includes all required fields ✅ Config validation function provided ✅ Uses getGameTheme() for consistent styling

5. Type Definitions (CORRECT)

Location: /src/arcade-games/card-sorting/types.ts

State and move types properly extend base types:

export interface CardSortingState extends GameState { ... }
export interface CardSortingConfig extends GameConfig { ... }
export type CardSortingMove =
  | { type: 'START_GAME', playerId: string, userId: string, ... }
  | { type: 'PLACE_CARD', playerId: string, userId: string, ... }
  ...

✅ All moves include playerId and userId ✅ Extends SDK base types ✅ Proper TypeScript structure

Recommendations

1. Add Spectator UI Indicators (Enhancement)

The current implementation correctly enables spectator mode, but could be enhanced with better UI/UX:

Action: Add spectator indicators to GameComponent.tsx:

export function GameComponent() {
  const { state, localPlayerId } = useCardSorting()

  return (
    <>
      {!localPlayerId && state.gamePhase === 'playing' && (
        <div className={spectatorBannerStyles}>
          👀 Spectating {state.playerMetadata?.name || 'player'}'s game
        </div>
      )}

      {/* Disable controls when spectating */}
      <button
        onClick={placeCard}
        disabled={!localPlayerId}
        className={css({
          opacity: !localPlayerId ? 0.5 : 1,
          cursor: !localPlayerId ? 'not-allowed' : 'pointer',
        })}
      >
        Place Card
      </button>
    </>
  )
}

Also Consider:

Show "Join Game" prompt during setup phase for spectators
Display spectator count ("2 people watching")
Add smooth real-time animations for spectators

2. Document Other Games

All arcade games currently support spectator mode. Consider documenting this in each game's README:

Games with Spectator Mode:

✅ card-sorting - Single-player puzzle with spectators
✅ matching - Multiplayer battle with spectators
✅ memory-quiz - Cooperative with spectators
✅ complement-race - Competitive with spectators

Documentation to Add:

How spectator mode works in each game
Example scenarios (family game night, classroom)
Best practices for spectator experience

3. Add Spectator Mode Tests

Following ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md Spectator Mode section, add tests:

describe("Card Sorting - Spectator Mode", () => {
  it("should sync state to spectators when USER plays in a room", async () => {
    // Setup: USER A and USER B in same room
    // Action: USER A plays Card Sorting
    // Assert: USER B (spectator) sees card placements in real-time
    // Assert: USER B cannot place cards (no localPlayerId)
  });

  it("should prevent spectators from making moves", () => {
    // Setup: USER A playing, USER B spectating
    // Action: USER B attempts to place card
    // Assert: Action blocked (localPlayerId check)
    // Assert: Server rejects if somehow sent
  });

  it("should allow spectator to play after current player finishes", () => {
    // Setup: USER A playing, USER B spectating
    // Action: USER A finishes, USER B starts new game
    // Assert: USER B becomes player
    // Assert: USER A becomes spectator
  });
});

4. Architecture Documentation

✅ COMPLETED: ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md has been updated with comprehensive spectator mode documentation:

Added "SPECTATOR" to core terminology
Documented three synchronization modes (Local, Room-Based with Spectator, Pure Multiplayer)
Complete "Spectator Mode" section with:
- Implementation patterns
- UI/UX considerations
- Example scenarios (Family Game Night, Classroom)
- Server-side validation
- Testing requirements
- Migration path

No further documentation needed - Card Sorting follows the recommended pattern

Compliance Checklist

Based on ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md Spectator Mode Pattern:

✅ Provider uses room-based sync to enable spectator mode
- Calls useRoomData() and passes roomId: roomData?.id
✅ Provider uses useGameMode() to get active players
✅ Provider finds localPlayerId to distinguish player vs spectator
✅ Game components correctly use PLAYER IDs (not USER IDs) for moves
✅ Move actions check localPlayerId before sending
- Spectators without localPlayerId cannot make moves
✅ Game supports multiple active PLAYERS from same USER
- Implementation allows it (finds first local player)
✅ Inactive PLAYERS are never included in game sessions
- Uses activePlayers which filters to isActive = true
⚠️ UI shows spectator indicator
- Could be enhanced (see Recommendations #1)
⚠️ UI disables controls for spectators
- Could be enhanced (see Recommendations #1)
⚠️ Tests verify spectator mode
- No tests found (see Recommendations #3)
⚠️ Tests verify PLAYER ownership validation
- No tests found
✅ Validator implements all required methods
✅ Game registered with modular system

Overall Compliance: 9/13 ✅ (Core features complete, enhancements recommended)

Summary

The Card Sorting Challenge game is correctly implemented with:

✅ Active players (only isActive = true players participate)
✅ Player ID vs User ID distinction
✅ Validator pattern
✅ Game registration
✅ Type safety
✅ Spectator mode enabled (room-based sync pattern)

Architecture Pattern: Room-Based with Spectator Mode (RECOMMENDED)

✅ CORRECT: Room sync enables spectator mode as a first-class feature

The roomId: roomData?.id pattern is intentional and correct:

✅ Enables spectator mode automatically
✅ Room members can watch games in real-time
✅ Creates social/collaborative experience
✅ Spectators blocked from making moves (via localPlayerId check)
✅ Follows ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md recommended pattern

Recommended Enhancements (not critical):

Add spectator UI indicators ("👀 Spectating...")
Disable controls visually for spectators
Add spectator mode tests

Priority: LOW (enhancements only - core implementation is correct)

Next Steps (Optional Enhancements)

✅ Architecture documentation - COMPLETED (ARCADE_ARCHITECTURE.md updated with spectator mode)
Add spectator UI indicators to GameComponent (banner, disabled controls)
Add spectator mode tests
Document spectator mode in other arcade games
Consider adding spectator count display ("2 watching")

Note: Card Sorting is production-ready as-is. Enhancements are for improved UX only.

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