Spread Dread

A head-to-head NCAA Tournament bracket app where two players compete using point spreads. One player picks a team per game; the other automatically gets the opponent. Picks are evaluated against the spread, not outright winners.

Built with Symfony 7, Tailwind CSS, and vanilla JavaScript.

Features

• 63-game bracket automatically wired with correct NCAA seed matchups across all six rounds
• Point spread competition — picks are evaluated against the spread, not straight-up winners
• Turn-based picking — players alternate picks within each round, with pick progress tracking
• ESPN integration — pull tournament teams, spreads, and final scores directly from ESPN's API
• Live score updates — pull scores for completed games and automatically advance winners
• Per-user authentication — each player logs in with their own account
• Mobile-friendly — responsive card-based UI with sticky navigation and region tabs

Requirements

• DDEV (Docker-based local development)
• No Node.js required — Tailwind CSS is compiled via a standalone CLI binary

Setup

git clone <repo-url> spread-dread
cd spread-dread
ddev start
ddev composer install
ddev exec php bin/console doctrine:migrations:migrate
ddev launch

Create or Update Users

ddev exec php bin/console app:user <username> <password>

Development

Tailwind CSS

CSS is compiled from assets/styles/app.css using symfonycasts/tailwind-bundle. After changing Tailwind classes in templates or assets:

ddev exec php bin/console tailwind:build

For automatic rebuilds during development:

ddev exec php bin/console tailwind:build --watch

The built CSS (var/tailwind/app.built.css) is committed to the repo since the production server can't run the Tailwind binary. Always run tailwind:build locally before committing template changes.

Database Changes

After modifying Doctrine entities:

ddev exec php bin/console doctrine:migrations:diff
ddev exec php bin/console doctrine:migrations:migrate

Clear Cache

ddev exec php bin/console cache:clear

How It Works

1. Create a bracket — set the tournament year and assign two players
2. Pull teams — fetch the 68-team field from ESPN, or enter teams manually
3. Make picks — players take turns picking teams; the opponent automatically gets the other team
4. Pull spreads — fetch point spreads from ESPN for each round
5. Update scores — pull final scores from ESPN; the app evaluates picks against the spread and advances winners to the next round
6. Track the score — a sticky scoreboard shows each player's running total

Deployment

Deploys automatically to Dreamhost via GitHub Actions on push to main. The workflow SSHs into the server, pulls the latest code, installs dependencies, runs migrations, and compiles assets.

Tech Stack

• Backend: PHP 8.4, Symfony 7, Doctrine ORM, MySQL 8.0
• Frontend: Tailwind CSS (compiled via standalone CLI), Symfony AssetMapper, vanilla JavaScript
• Infrastructure: DDEV (local), Dreamhost (production)
• External APIs: ESPN Scoreboard & Summary APIs
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions