Cinehaul: A Gamified Movie Tracker Built with Next.js 14
A solo developer has released Cinehaul, a movie and TV tracking platform built with Next.js 14 and SQLite, featuring a "pure glassmorphism" design — the frosted-glass, translucent UI style that's become popular in modern web design.
Rather than building a separate mobile app with React Native, the developer configured Cinehaul as a Progressive Web App (PWA) using next-pwa. This means users can tap "Add to Home Screen" on their phone, and the site launches as a full-screen, standalone app experience — no app store download required.
The CineScore System
What sets Cinehaul apart from simply cataloguing what you've watched is its gamification layer. The developer built a custom algorithm called "CineScore" that rewards users with points for:
Rating movies and shows
Writing reviews
Building a network of friends on the platform
Accumulate enough CineScore, and users unlock a "Tastemaker" badge — a VIP-style status marker that signals an engaged, high-reputation user, similar to reputation systems found on other social platforms.
Technical Challenges
On the backend, the developer noted that one of the more interesting problems was writing SQL joins to dynamically aggregate user scores for profile pages — without slowing down page load times. Handling that kind of aggregation efficiently is a common challenge in any app with real-time leaderboards or reputation scores.
Positioning
The developer frames Cinehaul as an alternative to established movie trackers like Trakt or Letterboxd, aimed at movie enthusiasts who want a more socially competitive, points-driven way to log and rate what they watch.
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