boardgame.io
A JavaScript engine for turn-based board games, with built-in multiplayer and state syncing.
- Stars
- 12.5k
- Forks
- 836
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- TypeScript
- Last update
- 7 days ago
- Type
- Library
What it is
boardgame.io is a JavaScript engine for building turn-based games. You write functions that describe how the game state changes when a player makes a move, and the library turns that into a playable game. According to the README, it handles online multiplayer and state syncing across clients and the server so you do not have to write networking or storage code yourself.
- Create a turn-based multiplayer game where players take turns making moves
- Simulate moves to test game rules before building the interface
- Use the built-in bots (AI) to play against or to test your game
- Organize game phases with different rules and turn orders
Great for
- Developers building turn-based board or card games for the browser
- Prototyping a game's rules before investing in a full user interface
- Teams wanting multiplayer without writing their own networking layer
- Developers using React or React Native who want a ready-made game client binding
Not ideal for
- People who want a finished game to play out of the box; this is a toolkit for building games, not a game itself
- Real-time action games, since the project is focused on turn-based play
- Non-programmers, because the library is used through JavaScript or TypeScript code
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Node.js and npm
Install the library from npm
npm install boardgame.io - 2
Run it
- Install the package with npm install boardgame.io
- Read the full documentation at boardgame.io/documentation to learn the game definition format
- Define your game's moves and state as functions
- Run the examples in the examples folder using npm install and npm start from the repository
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the lobby feature for player matchmaking and game creation
- Use the prototyping interface to simulate moves before building the UI
- Use the bots to test your game logic automatically
- Add plugins to extend the engine with new abstractions
- Use the game log time travel to review earlier board states
Downloads
Strengths
- Multiplayer and state syncing are handled by the engine, per the README
- Works with the vanilla JavaScript client or React and React Native bindings
- Includes game logs with the ability to view earlier states
Trade-offs
- Scope is limited to turn-based games, as stated in the description and README
- The README is brief on setup details; the full documentation at boardgame.io holds most of the guidance
- No formal release is listed, so you would be relying on the main branch or npm package versions
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| boardgame.io (this) | 12.5k | Library | intermediate | 7 days ago | Developers building turn-based board or card games for the browser |
| entt | 13.2k | Library | advanced | 4 days ago | C++ game developers who want an ECS |
| JoltPhysics | 12.1k | Library | advanced | 5 days ago | C++ game developers who need a physics engine for rigid bodies and collisions |
| flame | 10.8k | Library | intermediate | 4 days ago | Flutter developers who want to add a game to an app |
| godot | 119k | App | beginner | 7 days ago | Indie game developers who want a free engine with no royalties |
| react-hook-form | 44.9k | Library | intermediate | 5 days ago | React developers building forms with several fields |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.