Build your own Connections.

# Build an original game inspired by Connections

You are an experienced game designer and gameplay engineer. Build a working, polished MVP from the brief below. Implement the core journeys end to end; a static mockup is not sufficient. Inspect the current environment, make sensible implementation decisions, and get started. Ask a question only if a missing answer genuinely blocks implementation.

Starting platform: Web. Explicit customized Product & audience and Tech stack requirements take precedence over this starting target.

## Product & audience
Build an original browser word-grouping game called Common Thread, inspired by Connections. Players organize sixteen original word cards into four meaningful groups of four. The deliverable includes a playable small puzzle collection and a local authoring workflow. Write all categories, clue wording, and word sets yourself; do not import published NYT puzzles or imitate its presentation.

## Design
Use an original card-table design with clearly selected cards, a selection count, solved-group shelves, and an explicit mistakes indicator. Allow keyboard selection as well as taps, provide shuffle and clear-selection controls, and show category explanations after solving. Do not encode group difficulty only through color.

## Features
1. Puzzle authoring: define exactly four groups of four distinct card IDs, a category title, and a short explanation. Validate duplicate IDs, duplicate normalized labels, missing groups, and invalid membership before publishing a local puzzle.

2. Grouping: select exactly four unresolved cards and submit one group. Compare sets of IDs rather than card order. Correct groups become locked and remain solved after a shuffle or reload.

3. Mistakes: count an incorrect distinct submission against a documented four-mistake limit. Track attempted sets so repeating the same wrong set does not consume another mistake; reveal solutions only after loss or an explicit surrender.

4. Puzzle navigation: shuffle unresolved cards with a seeded generator, clear the selection, pause/resume, and restart a practice puzzle. A daily session has a stable puzzle ID and completion statistics that cannot be duplicated by restarting.

5. Local collection: include several independently authored example puzzles, JSON import/export, progress save, and a spoiler-free result summary. Imported content must be treated as text and validated, not rendered as HTML.

## Tech stack
Use TypeScript with a pure puzzle/selection engine separate from the browser UI. Keep authoritative membership in structured local puzzle data, use a seeded shuffle, and store versioned progress after each submitted group. Provide a usable in-memory mode when local storage is unavailable. Automated structural validation cannot establish that a word group is fair or unambiguous; require human editorial review.

## Data & behavior
Puzzle {id, version, title, groups}; Group {id, title, explanation, wordIds}; WordCard {id, label}; Session {puzzleId, solvedGroupIds, selectedIds, attemptedWrongSets, mistakes, status, shuffleSeed}; CompletionRecord. Normalize labels for validation while retaining display text, and persist card IDs rather than array indexes.

Acceptance checks and scope:
Test order-independent correct groups, overlapping selection attempts, repeated wrong sets, shuffle after a solved group, duplicate labels on import, loss reveal, and reload. Review each original puzzle for accidental alternate valid groups. Exclude copied puzzle archives, automated claims of editorial quality, public submissions, and competitive scoring.

## Originality and assets
The named product is a reference for general workflows only. Use an original product name, visual identity, wording, layout, and assets. Do not copy proprietary code, branded logos, distinctive screens, private APIs, paid templates, or protected media. Use original or appropriately licensed sample data and assets. Build from this brief rather than scraping the reference service. Do not imply affiliation with the referenced company.

## Implementation quality
- Make every visible control work, with clear loading, success, empty, validation, and failure states. Remove controls for unimplemented features.
- Support the target platform and responsive or resizable layouts where appropriate. Use platform-appropriate accessibility semantics, labels, keyboard operation, visible focus, sufficient contrast, and reduced-motion preferences. Provide alternatives for drag-only interactions.
- Validate inputs at the relevant boundary. Treat imported or user-generated content as untrusted; render it safely. Confirm destructive actions or offer undo.
- Keep state changes reliable across navigation and reloads. Never silently lose edits. Handle persistence and network errors with an actionable message.
- Keep the scope realistic. Prioritize the complete primary journey. If a custom Features section differs from the baseline, update the data model, design, and acceptance checks to match it; explicit custom requirements take precedence over baseline assumptions.
- Provide realistic original sample content and a useful empty state. Keep sample data clearly separate from user-created data.

## Delivery and verification
1. Inspect the repository and outline the implementation in a few sentences.
2. Implement the app and connect its actual data flow. Continue until the primary journey works.
3. Run appropriate checks and test the acceptance cases above on the target platform. Verify responsive layouts and keyboard navigation when browser tools are available. For native projects, build with the available SDK and test an emulator or device when possible; report any missing native verification honestly. For games, verify the rules and gameplay loop, not only the menus.
4. Fix observed failures, then provide the runnable result, setup/run instructions, a brief explanation of what is implemented, and any specific configuration or verification limits.

This is a focused MVP. Do not add billing, AI services, or unrelated features unless explicitly requested in the brief. Start building now.