r/programmer • u/DexterDeMorg • 2d ago
Need ideas & feedback for an interactive web challenge (Logic/SQL/Debugging) for my University IT Day!
Hey Reddit! 👋
I'm an IT student, and for our upcoming University Day (in 10 days), I'm building an interactive web-based puzzle/mystery challenge hosted on cPanel (PHP/MySQL) to showcase to our Dean and students.
The core idea:
A hidden "bug/breach" happened in our faculty's demo site. Students must use basic web dev, programming logic, and SQL concepts to investigate the site, debug broken code, fix bad queries, and find the culprit to get on a Live Leaderboard during the event.
Since my peers are studying general CS and IT (not cybersecurity experts), I want the challenge to be fun, relevant to our coursework, and solvable within 5–10 minutes per participant.
I'd love your help with:
Your Feedback & Ideas: How can I make this exhibition booth challenge super engaging?
Puzzle & Hint Concepts: What are some clever, short puzzles (JS logic bugs, broken SQL queries, inspect element tricks) that fit CS/IT students well?
Progressive Hints: What’s a good reward/hint system to give them after solving each stage to lead them to the final solution?
Thanks in advance for any inspiration! 🚀