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Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game

Tiao, A two-player turn-based board game

by trebeljahr·Apr 26, 2026·77 points·38 comments
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AI Analysis

●MidCozyNiche Gem

New board game with full multiplayer stack, but established platforms already own this category.

Strengths
  • •Complete feature set: ELO matchmaking, tournaments, spectating, and AI opponents all working
  • •Open source with self-hosted OpenPanel analytics, no third-party tracking or ad networks
  • •Clean, minimal UI that matches the abstract nature of the game
Weaknesses
  • •Standard Next.js + Socket.io stack offers no technical differentiation from existing solutions
  • •No mobile apps, and the new game lacks an established player community
Category
Gaming
Target Audience

Board game enthusiasts, strategy game players

Similar To

Lichess · Chess.com · Board Game Arena

Post Description

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, Socket.io, 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/tiao

Happy 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.

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