BridgeBites

A fun and interactive website where users can complete cultural challenges to expand their global knowledge and network.

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Inspiration

We noticed that cultural exchange platforms usually require long calls or big time commitments — something most people won’t do. We wanted to make learning about other cultures quick, fun, and addictive, so anyone can build global connections in just 2 minutes a day.

What it does

BridgeBites is a bite-sized cultural exchange app:

  • Daily 2-minute challenges (guess a dish, learn a phrase, match a flag).
  • Earn streaks + compete with friends on leaderboards.
  • Track your “Bridge Meter” to see how many countries you’ve connected with.

How we built it

Frontend: React + Tailwind (clean, responsive UI).

Backend: Node.js + Express for challenges, streaks, and matchmaking.

Database: Supabase (free Postgres + realtime updates).

Hosting: Vercel/Netlify for fast, free deployment.

Cursor AI assisted in building this app.

Challenges we ran into

Designing challenges that were fun but short — we had to iterate on formats.

Creating challenges and ensuring the daily streaks are logged properly while also ensuring that challenges and answers were legit.

Creating different answer formats for different challenges and making the database accomadate them.

Keeping the UX simple so users stay engaged without feeling overwhelmed.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working MVP that actually feels fun to use in under 2 minutes/day.

Gamified cultural learning in a way that feels natural.

Created a product that truly matches the “Building Digital Bridges” theme.

What we learned

Simplicity is key — people engage more with short, interactive content.

Gamification + social features dramatically boost retention.

What's next for BridgeBites

Add user-generated challenges to scale cultural content.

Support audio/video replies for richer exchanges.

Expand into team competitions (schools, clubs) for bigger impact.

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