Orbace Sudoku Arena

A live Extreme Sudoku challenge for streamers and viewers, with audience time-mode voting, server-validated results, Twitch chat status, and an OBS overlay.

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Inspiration

Sudoku is usually a solo game. We wanted to turn it into something a streamer and viewers can share live: the host races an Extreme puzzle while the audience chooses the clock and follows every move.

What it does

An authenticated Orbace host creates an Arena session. Viewers can join the Preview demo without signing in, vote for Quick, Standard, or Endurance time mode, and watch a private Extreme puzzle unfold. The host controls the round; the server owns the timer, validates the completed board, publishes the result, and starts a fresh-puzzle rematch. The audience and read-only overlay see the board, notes, countdown, and result without receiving the stored solution or host controls.

We also built a separate local Twitch/OBS proof. A viewer types !arena in the designated Twitch channel; an EventSub listener reads the local Arena's public live status and the bot replies with the mode, Extreme difficulty, and time remaining. OBS displays the read-only Arena overlay, which we verified on a live Twitch broadcast. The Orbace Preview product flow and this local Twitch bridge are separate demo environments today.

How we built it

We used OpenAI Codex to inspect the existing Orbace stack, implement the Arena state and authorization boundaries, add tests, diagnose timing and voting regressions, and prepare repeatable browser demonstrations. The Preview feature uses Orbace's web app and authentication, a TypeScript/Fastify API, Prisma/PostgreSQL persistence with row-level security, and Vercel/Fly Preview hosting. The local Twitch bridge uses Node.js, Twitch EventSub WebSocket, the Twitch Send Chat Message API, and an OBS Browser Source. Playwright and automated backend tests helped verify the host, audience, overlay, privacy, and rematch paths.

Challenges and lessons

The tricky parts were keeping the timer and winner server-authoritative, protecting private puzzle solutions, distinguishing connected viewers from votes, and keeping the OBS source on the active session after rematch. We learned to test the real host and viewer paths in separate browser contexts and to make each integration boundary observable.

Next

Combine the proven Preview game and local Twitch bridge in one reviewed deployment, expand the curated private puzzle supply, and harden audience identity and operations before a wider pilot. Production rollout remains a separate decision.

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