SaaS Metrics
Hi HN,I built this digital version of Tiao, a two-player turn based strategy board game. Think Checkers meets Go. It's free, runs in the browser, has multiplayer, AI, over the board mode and a lot of other neat things. The source is on GitHub (AGPL).The game was originally designed by my friend Andreas Edmeier. He created the rules and has been playtesting and refining the game design for years. I built the website for it. The core in about 2 weeks using TypeScript, Next.js, Express, Websockets, and MongoDB. Fully dockerized, deployed on a Hetzner VPS with Coolify. Authentication with better-auth. Real-time gameplay, ELO matchmaking, OpenPanel analytics, and a fully functional achievements system.Play it: https://playtiao.com
Source: https://github.com/trebeljahr/tiaoHappy to answer questions about the tech, the game design, or anything else.My hope is that more people will play this game because I think it is genuinely fun and would be cool to one day see people play this on a Go board or on their phones/computers.Have a good one.
Show HN: Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game
A free, fun, and genuinely engaging digital board game, aiming for wider adoption and recognition.
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AI Executive Synthesis
A free, fun, and genuinely engaging digital board game, aiming for wider adoption and recognition.
This is a consumer-focused digital board game, not a B2B SaaS offering. Its market implications are limited to the gaming sector. However, the underlying technical stack demonstrates a robust, modern approach to building real-time, interactive web applications. The use of TypeScript, Next.js, Express, Websockets, MongoDB, Docker, and specific deployment/analytics tools (Hetzner VPS, Coolify, OpenPanel) provides a valuable blueprint for developers building similar complex web services. While the product itself is not B2B, the architectural choices and implementation details offer insights into scalable, real-time web development practices relevant to B2B SaaS infrastructure.
Related Ecosystem & Alternatives
Discover adjacent products, open-source repositories, and developer tools sharing similar technical architecture.
Deep-Dive FAQs
What is Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game?
Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game is analyzed by our AI as: A free, fun, and genuinely engaging digital board game, aiming for wider adoption and recognition.. It focuses on This is a consumer-focused digital board game, not a B2B SaaS offering. Its market implications are limited to the gaming sector. However, the unde...
Where did Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game originate?
Data for Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game was aggregated directly from the Hacker News community ecosystem, representing raw developer and early-adopter sentiment.
When was Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game publicly launched?
The initial public indexing or launch date for Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game within our tracked developer communities was recorded on April 27, 2026.
How popular is Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game?
Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game has achieved measurable traction, logging over 37 traction score and facilitating 7 recorded discussions or engagements.
Which technical categories define Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game?
Based on metadata extraction, Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game is categorized under topics such as: two-player turn-based strategy board game, Checkers meets Go, free, browser.
How does the creator describe Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game?
The original author or development team describes the product as follows: "Hi HN,I built this digital version of Tiao, a two-player turn based strategy board game. Think Checkers meets Go. It's free, runs in the browser, has multiplayer, AI, over the board mode and a lot ..."
Community Voice & Feedback
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Cool! I've tried (and I guess failed) to build two of my favourite combinatorial games: the ancient "Konane" and the modern "Shōbu". At least the latter's project taught me property-based testing in Erlang.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dnanehttps://boardgamegeek.com/video/482389/shobu/how-to-play-sho...
Clever! I really appreciate how well done the tutorial is, it's just about the easiest game intro I've ever experienced.
I appreciate the tutorial. I thought it was well done. I'd love to see something like that in some board games I've played.
I can't beat easy, incredibly addictive game :)
It's fun! I play some chess but I am not a natural at this game. I think I need an AI easier than easy haha
Hey! I played against a bot and it was pretty fun.Small suggestion: too many queues can make it very difficult to build up a network of players at first. I'd suggest, for now, lowering the amount of available time control queues so that two players who happen to be on at the same time are more likely to actually find a game.
Discovery Source
Hacker News Aggregated via automated community intelligence tracking.
Tech Stack Dependencies
No direct open-source NPM package mentions detected in the product documentation.
Media Tractions & Mentions
No mainstream media stories specifically mentioning this product name have been intercepted yet.
Deep Research & Science
No direct peer-reviewed scientific literature matched with this product's architecture.