Creating a Comprehensive Raffle System for GladiatorsBattle.com

In this detailed guide, I’ll walk you through the creation of the Raffle System for GladiatorsBattle.com. This system is designed to boost engagement, foster a sense of competition, and provide an exciting experience for players.

We’ll explore the technical intricacies, challenges, and solutions that shaped this system, accompanied by code snippets and real-world scenarios. Whether you’re a developer looking to implement something similar or a fan of Gladiators Battle curious about its mechanics, this article will provide insights into how it all comes together.

What is the Raffle System?

The Raffle System is an interactive feature where players can join raffles to win prizes such as in-game items, exclusive content, or community recognition. It is divided into three main categories:

• Ongoing Raffles: Open for participation.
• Upcoming Raffles: Scheduled to start soon.
• Finished Raffles: Display past winners and prizes.

Why Build This System?

The idea was born from the need to:

• Increase Engagement: Encourage players to return regularly.
• Build Anticipation: Players eagerly await the announcement of winners and new raffles.
• Simplify Management: Admins have full control over raffles, making it easy to organize events.

Key Features

For Players:

• Real-Time Participation: Join raffles and see live participant updates.
• Dynamic Filtering: Browse raffles based on their status.
• Winner Announcements: Celebrate victories with clear winner displays.

For Admins:

• Admin Dashboard: Create, edit, and delete raffles.
• Participant Management: Add or remove participants effortlessly.
• Custom Prizes: Define unique prizes for each raffle.

Technical Features:

• Real-Time Updates: Built with Firebase Firestore for instant data syncing.
• Secure Participation: Protected with Firestore rules to ensure fair play.
• SEO Optimized: Each raffle page is optimized with meta tags and structured data for search engines.

Technologies Used

Implementation

1. Player-Facing Raffle Page

The RafflePage component serves as the central hub for players to browse and join raffles.

Key Functionalities

• Fetching raffles from Firestore.
• Filtering raffles into "ongoing," "upcoming," and "finished."
• Implementing pagination for smoother navigation.

Code Snippet

import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { collection, query, getDocs } from "firebase/firestore";
import { db } from "../../firebase-config";
import RaffleCard from "./RaffleCard";
import PaginationControls from "./PaginationControls";

const RafflePage = () => {
  const [raffles, setRaffles] = useState([]);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const itemsPerPage = 5;

  useEffect(() => {
    const fetchRaffles = async () => {
      try {
        const rafflesCollection = collection(db, "raffles");
        const rafflesDocs = await getDocs(query(rafflesCollection));
        setRaffles(rafflesDocs.docs.map(doc => ({ id: doc.id, ...doc.data() })));
        setLoading(false);
      } catch (error) {
        console.error("Error fetching raffles:", error);
      }
    };
    fetchRaffles();
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Raffles</h1>
      {loading ? <p>Loading...</p> : (
        raffles.map(raffle => (
          <RaffleCard key={raffle.id} raffle={raffle} />
        ))
      )}
    </div>
  );
};

export default RafflePage;

Challenges Faced

• Dynamic Filtering: Ensuring raffles are categorized accurately based on their status.
• Real-Time Updates: Using Firebase’s onSnapshot proved to be overkill for this scenario, so I opted for getDocs for periodic updates.

1. Admin Dashboard

Admins needed a way to manage raffles without accessing the database directly.

Features

• Create Raffle: Add a new raffle with title, prize, and status.
• Edit Raffle: Update existing raffle details.
• Delete Raffle: Remove a raffle permanently.

Code Snippet

import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { collection, addDoc, deleteDoc, doc, getDocs } from "firebase/firestore";
import { db } from "../../firebase-config";

const RaffleAdmin = () => {
  const [raffles, setRaffles] = useState([]);

  const createRaffle = async (title, prize) => {
    await addDoc(collection(db, "raffles"), { title, prize, status: "upcoming" });
    fetchRaffles();
  };

  const deleteRaffle = async (raffleId) => {
    await deleteDoc(doc(db, "raffles", raffleId));
    fetchRaffles();
  };

  const fetchRaffles = async () => {
    const rafflesDocs = await getDocs(collection(db, "raffles"));
    setRaffles(rafflesDocs.docs.map(doc => ({ id: doc.id, ...doc.data() })));
  };

  useEffect(() => {
    fetchRaffles();
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <button onClick={() => createRaffle("New Raffle", "Epic Sword")}>Create</button>
      <ul>
        {raffles.map(raffle => (
          <li key={raffle.id}>
            {raffle.title}
            <button onClick={() => deleteRaffle(raffle.id)}>Delete</button>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

export default RaffleAdmin;

1. Individual Raffle Details

Each raffle has its own page displaying participants, prizes, and a "Join" button.

Code Snippet

const joinRaffle = async () => {
  const raffleDoc = doc(db, "raffles", id);
  await updateDoc(raffleDoc, {
    participants: arrayUnion("currentUserId"),
  });
};

SEO Optimizations

Using Helmet, we added meta tags to each page for better search engine visibility. Each raffle has a unique URL, allowing Google to index it effectively.

Example:

<Helmet>
  <title>{raffle.title} - Gladiators Battle Raffles</title>
  <meta name="description" content={`Join the ${raffle.title} and win ${raffle.prize}!`} />
  <link rel="canonical" href={`https://gladiatorsbattle.com/raffle/${raffle.id}`} />
</Helmet>

Conclusion: The Arena Awaits

The Raffle System was a labor of love, designed to delight players and empower admins. It balances simplicity with powerful features, ensuring both engagement and scalability.

You can try the Raffle here : https://gladiatorsbattle.com/raffle

Did this inspire you to build your own raffle system? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

If you loved this feature, dive into a world of gladiators, games, and history at GladiatorsBattle.com. Join our community to explore more features, mini-games, and rewards.

Want to stay connected? Find us here:

Website: https://gladiatorsbattle.com
X: https://x.com/GladiatorsBT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierre-romain-lopez/
Discord: https://discord.gg/YBNF7KjGwx

Thank you for reading, and good luck building your own arena of features! 🏆