ArcanaNet

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What Inspired ArcanaNet

ArcanaNet started as a fun side project inspired by Skull King, one of my favorite trick-taking card games. I’ve always loved games that blend prediction, timing, and a bit of bluffing — but I wanted to bring that experience into a party setting, where friends could play together from their phones, guided by a central screen like a Jackbox game. Re-theming it into a cyber-fantasy world gave it a fresh layer of style and personality, and hopefully means I don't have to worry to much about copyright.

The Process

The game began as a browser-based app with a simple React frontend and a backend running on Node.js with Express. Players connect using a room code, and game logic is handled server-side to prevent cheating. The design is split between the host screen (which shows played cards, scores, and round status) and player devices, where users see their hands and make decisions in real time.

Challenges

The biggest technical hurdle was managing real-time interactions across multiple clients using Socket.IO. Keeping game state synchronized, handling disconnects, and making sure only valid actions were allowed (especially during bidding and card play phases) was more complicated than I expected. Debugging live sockets is rarely fun.

What I Learned

One major win was learning to stand up an Express server from scratch and wire it cleanly to a React frontend using WebSockets. I also learned how important it is to isolate game logic on the server to avoid client desync, and how to design state transitions in a way that keeps all players aligned without race conditions or broken turns.

This was a deep dive into real-time multiplayer architecture and a great excuse to turn something I love into something I built.

Built With

• express.js
• node.js
• react
• socket.io
• typescript