Pearls
Self-hostable, turn-based multiplayer board game
Pearls
A self-hostable, turn-based multiplayer web implementation of a board game. Race to clear all 12 rows of pearls from your board before your opponents do. Full rules are explained in game.
Demo at pearls.svenjacobs.com.
Features
- Real-time multiplayer — up to several players per game, board states update live via Server-Sent Events
- Multiple parallel games — join and manage several games at once from the active games list
- AI players — play against computer-controlled opponents
- Invite via link or QR code — share a game with one tap, no account required
- All-boards view — see every player's board live during the game
- Initiative dice-off — dice roll determines turn order at game start
- Emoji reactions — send one of 6 reactions during play, toggleable in settings
- Sound effects — 9 sounds for dice, pearls, and game events, mutable
- Pearl color themes — 30+ board themes across colors, nature, seasons, and country flags
- Progressive Web App — installable on mobile and desktop
- Push notifications — get notified when it's your turn, opt-in
- Localization — English and German
- Dark mode — follows system preference
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Framework | SvelteKit 2 (Svelte 5, SSR) |
| Language | TypeScript 6 |
| Styling | TailwindCSS v4 |
| Build tool | Vite 8 |
| Test runner | Vitest 4 |
| Integration tests | Testcontainers (real Redis in container) |
| Database | Redis 8 |
| Realtime | Server-Sent Events (SSE) |
| Logging | Pino |
| i18n | Paraglide JS |
| PWA | vite-plugin-pwa + Workbox |
| Package manager | pnpm 11 |
| Runtime | Node.js 26 |
| Container | Docker / Podman |
Self-Hosting & Deployment
See DEPLOYMENT.md for full instructions, including Docker Compose and Podman Quadlet setups.
Disclaimer: This project was created with the assistance of AI tools.
