CASE STUDY · Multiplayer Strategy Board Game
JIN
A skill-only, turn-based multiplayer strategy board game for Steam and iOS — built end to end by BloodNexus in Unity, from the rules engine to store launch.
- Client
- Indie founder, USA
- Platforms
- Steam (PC) · iOS
- Engine
- Unity
- Networking
- Photon PUN 2 + server-side move validator
- Our role
- Full development, QA, store submission
The brief
JIN started as a physical board game with a carefully balanced rule set and no luck involved — every win comes from the players' decisions. The founder wanted it online, playable against friends on PC and iPhone, without losing a single rule.
We built the complete game: rules engine, real-time multiplayer, touch and mouse controls, UI, accessibility options and the build pipeline for Steam and the App Store.
Challenges we solved
Keep the rules exact
We wrote the rules as pure functions over immutable board snapshots. Every client and the server referee run the same code, so a move is either legal everywhere or nowhere.
No multiplayer desyncs
Clients compare board checksums after each move; a mismatch is repaired by replaying a compact move log. The same log restores a match after a dropped connection.
Precise controls on small screens
A micro-snap grid and a confirm step for stack merges make tap, drag and click produce identical moves on phone and desktop.
Indie budget, fast schedule
Unit and property-based tests on the rules engine, plus network tests with simulated lag and packet loss, caught problems early instead of in launch week.
What we built
- Move generation and validation
- Stack merging with deterministic strength
- Capture and neutral-zone rules
- Online matches with reconnection
- Colour-blind palettes and large-UI mode
- Cross-platform Steam + iOS builds
Results
- Launched on Steam and the Apple App Store on schedule and within budget
- No critical gameplay bugs at launch
- Only small balance tweaks and one UI hotfix in the first two weeks
Developed by BloodNexus Studio as development partner to NipsApp Game Studios.
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