Chhakkadi Online Card Games
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Chhakkadi Online Card Games

Multiplayer Card Game Platform

📌 Overview

Chhakkadi is a real-time multiplayer Indian card game platform supporting three classic trick-taking games: Chhakkadi, Dehla Pakad, and Call Break. Players can create rooms, invite friends, and compete in live multiplayer matches with full game rule enforcement on the server.

The project is built with a React frontend and a Node.js + Socket.IO backend for low-latency real-time communication. The backend supports two deployment modes: a traditional Express server (Railway) and a modern Cloudflare Durable Objects setup for edge-native WebSocket handling.

👉 Play the live game here: chhakkadi.endra.in

📱 An Android app is also available — built with Capacitor, wrapping the same React frontend with push notifications. It’s a direct APK download from the site (not yet published to the Play Store): chhakkadi.endra.in/downloads/chhakkadi.apk

🚀 Features

Core Multiplayer Features

  • Real-Time Multiplayer Gameplay

    • Create private game rooms with unique 6-character room codes.
    • Join using room invite codes or shareable links.
    • Live synchronization using Socket.IO.

  • Bot Player Support

    • AI bots fill empty seats so games can start without a full lobby.
    • Automatic card play logic handled server-side via BotPlayer.

  • Player Reconnect & Room Cleanup

    • Disconnected players can rejoin mid-game without losing state.
    • Empty rooms are automatically cleaned up server-side.

🎴 Game Variants

Chhakkadi (6 Players, Team-Based)

  • 3 vs 3 team structure with dynamic seating positions.
  • 48-card deck (2s removed).
  • Strategic bidding: options of 6, 7, 8 (or 5 for the shuffler).
  • Winning bidder selects trump suit (including No Trump / Joker mode).
  • Call 8 mechanic — teams can escalate a 6/7 bid to a full sweep for a high-risk multiplier reward.
  • Gulam/Raja system — role-based mechanics with score reset penalties.
  • Complex scoring with multipliers based on bid and trick outcomes.

Dehla Pakad (4 Players, Team-Based)

  • Opposite players are teammates.
  • Full 52-card deck.
  • Trump suit is not pre-selected — determined through gameplay when the first player can’t follow the leading suit.
  • Objective: capture 10-value cards (Dehlas — the four 10s).
  • Court mechanic — capturing all four 10s wins the court, granting a score bonus.
  • Consecutive leading rule enforced for trick winners.

Call Break (4 Players, Individual)

  • Spades are always trump — no trump selection phase.
  • Each player bids on the number of tricks they’ll win before the round starts.
  • Scoring based on bid accuracy: making or exceeding bid earns points; falling short subtracts.
  • Individual competition — no teams.

UI/UX Features

  • Responsive multiplayer table layout for desktop and mobile.
  • Animated card dealing and real-time trick reveal display.
  • Turn-based card play validation (follow-suit rules enforced).
  • Live scoreboard updates after each trick and round.
  • Round-end summary overlays and game-over winner announcement.
  • Touch-friendly buttons and card interactions.

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

  • React
  • Vite
  • Socket.IO Client
  • CSS3 / Responsive UI

Backend

  • Node.js (>=22)
  • Express.js
  • Socket.IO
  • Custom game classes: GameRoom, DehlaRoom, CallbreakRoom, BotPlayer

Android

  • Capacitor wraps the existing React frontend for a native Android build
  • Push & local notifications, status bar theming
  • Distributed as a direct APK download from the site (Play Store submission pending)

Deployment

  • Option A (Traditional): Frontend on Cloudflare Pages · Backend on Railway
  • Option B (Edge): Frontend + Backend on Cloudflare Workers using Cloudflare Durable Objects for stateful WebSocket rooms
  • DNS & CDN: Cloudflare

🏗️ Architecture

Frontend Architecture

  • React component-based UI with server-driven state.
  • Socket event-driven interactions for all game phases.
  • Dynamic rendering of player positions, card hands, and gameplay phases.

Backend Architecture

  • Two server implementations in the same repo:
    • /server — Express + Socket.IO, runs on port 3001 (traditional hosting)
    • /cf-server — Cloudflare Durable Objects with native WebSocket support (Wrangler v4+)
  • In-memory room management with server-authoritative game state.
  • Game engines enforce all rules: bidding, trump selection, trick resolution, scoring, and Gulam/Raja mechanics.

Real-Time Communication

  • WebSocket-based multiplayer via Socket.IO.
  • Room-specific broadcasting keeps game state isolated per room.
  • Server validates all player actions before broadcasting updates.

🎮 Gameplay Flow

Chhakkadi

  1. Host creates a room → unique 6-character code generated.
  2. Up to 6 players join (bots fill remaining seats).
  3. Bidding Phase — players bid; highest bidder wins.
  4. Trump Selection — bid winner selects trump suit.
  5. Play Phase — players take turns; tricks resolved in real time.
  6. Call 8 — teams with 6/7 bids may attempt a full sweep.
  7. Scoring — team points updated with multipliers after each round.
  8. Game Over — winning team announced when target score is reached.

Dehla Pakad

  1. 4 players join; opposite seats are teammates.
  2. No bidding — play begins immediately.
  3. Trump is set the first time a player can’t follow the leading suit.
  4. Players aim to capture 10-value cards (Dehlas).
  5. Capturing all four 10s triggers the Court mechanic for a bonus.
  6. Scores tallied per round; game continues until a team wins.

Call Break

  1. 4 players join individually (no teams).
  2. Each player bids on tricks they’ll win.
  3. Spades always trump — no selection phase.
  4. Play proceeds round by round; accuracy of bids determines score.
  5. Game ends after a set number of rounds; highest score wins.

🌐 Deployment Architecture

Production URLs

GitHub

📂 Key Features in Action

🎴 Create & Join Rooms

Players create private multiplayer rooms and share room links. Bots fill any unfilled seats automatically.

⚡ Real-Time Gameplay

All player actions synchronize instantly using Socket.IO with server-side validation on every move.

🤖 Bot Players

AI bots handle card play automatically, making it possible to start and test games without a full lobby.

🧠 Strategic Bidding (Chhakkadi & Call Break)

Players compete with bids and team coordination to maximize score, with risk/reward mechanics like Call 8.

🃏 Dynamic Trump System

Trump selection (Chhakkadi) or dynamic trump assignment (Dehla Pakad) significantly changes gameplay strategy each round.

📱 Responsive UI

Optimized experience for desktop and mobile gameplay across all three game variants.

📎 References