This is a submission for the June Solstice Game Jam
What I Built
I built Color Queens: Solstice Duel, a small logic puzzle game where you race Gemini before the sun sets.
The idea started with one simple question:
Can human logic beat an AI in a puzzle duel?
Many games let players compete against bots, but I had rarely seen a game where the opponent is actually a LLM. That curiosity became the starting point for this project. I wanted to see what would happen if an LLM was not just powering dialogue behind the scenes, but actively participating in the gameplay as a rival.
In the game, you and Gemini receive the same board. Your goal is to place queens across colored regions while following the rules: one queen per color, no attacks, no row conflicts, no column conflicts, and no diagonal conflicts.
For the June Solstice theme, I added a light and shadow layer. The board is not only about placing queens correctly, it is also about balancing daylight before sunset. As time passes, the mood shifts from warm daylight into night, so the solstice becomes part of the pressure of the game.
I also added Pride-inspired boards because Color Queens is already about color, identity, and pattern. I wanted those boards to feel joyful and intentional, not just decorative.
The main goal was to make something that feels simple to understand, but still has a strong hook:
You are not just solving a puzzle. You are dueling Gemini.
Video Demo
Code
The project is built as a web game so anyone can try it without installing anything.
Live demo:
Try now! colorqueens.xyz
Source code: https://github.com/pol-cova/colorqueens-game
How I Built It
I built the game around a local puzzle engine.
The most important decision was this:
Gemini is a player, not the judge.
Gemini can suggest a move, but the game validates that move locally using the same rules that apply to the human player. If Gemini makes an illegal move, the board calls it out.
That made the duel feel more interesting, because the AI is not treated as magically correct. It has to play by the rules too.
The main systems are:
- A Color Queens board renderer
- A local move validator
- A light and shadow solstice rule
- A Gemini opponent mode
- A backtracking solver
- A Turing Tape replay system
- A small binary mini-game called Bombe Calibration
The Turing Tape was one of my favorite parts to build. After a puzzle, it shows how the solver thinks step by step: scanning regions, trying cells, rejecting conflicts, accepting candidates, and backtracking when a branch fails.
I wanted the algorithm to feel visible, almost like watching the machine think.
The Bombe Calibration mini-game is a short binary challenge. Before unlocking a hint, the player taps a quick 0 and 1 sequence. It adds a little tension, sound, and movement while keeping the main game focused on logic.
Prize Category
I am submitting this for both additional prize categories.
Best Google AI Usage
Gemini is used directly inside the game as an opponent.
Instead of only using AI to generate text or assets, I wanted Gemini to become part of the core game loop. It receives the current board state, proposes a queen placement, and then the local validator checks whether that move is legal.
That means Gemini can win, fail, recover, or get rejected by the rules.
I liked this approach because it makes the AI interaction playable. It is not just a chatbot on the side. It is part of the duel.
Best Ode to Alan Turing
The game connects to Alan Turing through logic, algorithms, and machine reasoning.
The Turing Tape shows a backtracking solver working through the puzzle one step at a time. It checks constraints, rejects invalid cells, and searches for a valid solution.
The Bombe Calibration mini-game is also a small nod to code-breaking and binary logic.
I wanted the Turing tribute to live inside the mechanics, not just in the story text.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun project because it mixed a few things I really care about: polished puzzle design, AI as part of the experience, and a simple idea that is easy to explain.
Can you beat Gemini before sunset?
That is the whole challenge.
Try the game, race the machine, and let me know who wins. Coming soon on the App Store. Join to the waitlist
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