Background: I'm a teacher who wanted a reading tool that introduces my students to a broad range of literary traditions while keeping it accessible at their reading level. Students in my class (11th and 12th grade English) ranged from 3rd grad...
Background: I'm a teacher who wanted a reading tool that introduces my students to a broad range of literary traditions while keeping it accessible at their reading level. Students in my class (11th and 12th grade English) ranged from 3rd grade to 12th grade reading level (based on their Lexile testing). So I built SmorgasWorld for my students. It's a reading RPG powered by Claude (Anthropic's API) where every story segment is generated fresh at the student's reading tier. **How the adaptation works** On first play, students read a calibration passage and self-report whether it felt easy, hard, or right. That sets their tier (1–5, roughly grades 3–12). Every story arc they encounter is generated at that tier, depending on how they do on reading comprehension questions. If a student wants to adjust — harder or easier — they can, and the next arc reflects it immediately. No waiting for an algorithm to catch up. **The design decisions I'm most proud of** - No accounts. Students get a passphrase. Works on any device, nothing to sign up for, no COPPA surface area. - The reading level is invisible to peers. Struggling readers and advanced readers can both be "playing SmorgasWorld" without anyone knowing they're reading different difficulty levels. - 300 worlds inspired by real authors and literary traditions — from Anansi stories and Norse mythology to Octavia Butler and Borges. A student can play a Goosebumps inspired world followed by one inspired by Kafka if they choose. Gateway/Explorer/Deep tiers on the map so students self-select challenge level. - Comprehension questions are generated per arc, not pulled from a bank, so they're always specific to what the student just read. - The game starts with a "map" of 20 worlds. Visit all 20, finish a story arc in at least 4 worlds, and Smorgas' home unlocks, as well as the next map of 20 worlds. In Smorgas' home, users pick their top 3 worlds and a remix world combining all three is generated. I enjoyed combining a Zhuangzi, Goosebumps, and Bulgakov inspired worlds together. - After a story (8-12 turns) is completed in a world, Smorgas writes a custom entry in Smorgas' journal as well as fills out Smorgas' Shelf, which lists real world books and literature the reader may enjoy. Smorgas' world doesn't replace reading human written writing, it's a smorgasboard of reading samples designed to introduce readers to a broader range of literature. **The tech** Express + PostgreSQL backend, React frontend, deployed on Railway. Prompt caching keeps per-session costs low enough that it's genuinely free to run at current scale. Passphrase is HMAC'd before storage — no plaintext credentials anywhere. **What I don't have yet** Teacher dashboard (class view, progress tracking) is on the roadmap but not built. Right now it's purely student-facing. If that's a dealbreaker for your use case, that's fair, but it's in development. Play it for free at: smorgasworld.com Open to feedback, I am still experimenting with how to best use smorgasworld in my classroom and/or as an after school club to help students improve their literacy and broaden their reading horizons. submitted by /u/arbitraryconstant [link] [comments]
