I recently completed a project called GuessGrid, a real-time "Guess the Secret" game. While the frontend is straightforward, the backend was a deep dive into state management and real-time permissions.

The Modular Approach

Instead of a monolithic spaghetti file, I followed a professional modular structure to keep the code clean and testable:

gameStore.js : Manages the persistent memory for rooms, players, and scores.

socketHandler.js : The Referee that handles all events and enforces the game rules.

server.js : The entry point that wires the Express server and the HTTP instance.

Enforcing Referee Rules

A core requirement was ensuring the Game Master (the person who sets the secret) couldn't cheat by guessing their own answer. I handled this via a simple yet effective server-side gatekeeper:

if ( socket . id === session . gameMaster ) { return socket . emit ( ' error_message ' , " You are the GM! You can't guess your own secret.…