🌱 Little Elsewhere - A Little More Adventure, A Little Less Screen Time

Anwesha — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 04:50:20 +0000

This is a submission for the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge Week 1: Touch Grass

What I Built

Little Elsewhere 🌱

I have little cousins who are glued to their phones most of the time, and it got me thinking, what if going outside felt as exciting as playing a game on your phone?

So I started building Little Elsewhere, a small adventure game that nudges kids to put their screens down and explore the real world instead.

Kids can choose their explorer avatar, pick a mood, try nature bingo, complete little outdoor quests, and collect rewards for their adventures.

The idea is simple: instead of just telling kids to stop using their phones, give them something fun to look forward to outside.

It's still a work in progress, but that's the direction I'm building toward. 🌿

Demo

🔗 Live app:

(https://explore-little-elsewhere.vercel.app/)

Code

💻 GitHub repository: (https://github.com/anweshasingh-dev/little-elsewhere)

How I Built It

I built Little Elsewhere using React, TypeScript, and Vite.

I used Codex as a coding assistant while working through the project in small steps, refining the UI, organizing the code, and testing the features as I went.

Some of the current features include:

Explorer avatars and mood selection
Nature bingo
Predefined outdoor quests
Coins and rewards
Local persistence for saved progress

I'm still improving the experience and figuring out how to make it more engaging for kids without making the interface cluttered.

Why Does Open Innovation Matter?

Kids don't necessarily need another app asking them to spend more time on a screen. Sometimes, they just need a fun reason to step outside.

I'm building this as an open-source project because I'd love for other people to experiment with the idea and make it better.

Open innovation also means other developers can contribute new quests, improve accessibility, suggest better ways to engage kids, and help the project grow beyond what I can build alone.

What's Next?

Little Elsewhere is still evolving. I'd like to expand the quest collection, improve the reward system, and explore ways to make outdoor activities more personal and accessible.

For now, this is my first step toward turning a small observation about my cousins into something other families might enjoy too. 🌱

Thanks for reading!