Inspiration
My friends and I have always loved playing board games together, but it's oftentimes not practical to carry them around wherever we go. Tabletop Anywhere! is built to address that. Whether you're on a long car ride, a camping trip, or just looking for something to do, now you can play your favorite board games whenever and wherever you are.
What it does
Save as many board games to your phone as you'd like! Each game is made up of pieces, which you can create simply by taking a picture. The app automatically isolates the piece from the background and saves it to the board, with support for dice and cards. No matter how niche your game is (or you can even make your own!), as long as you can take a picture of it, you can play with it.
How we built it
The app is built in Xcode, using the programming language Swift. It uses Apple's built-in frameworks like Core Image and Vision for image processing, AVFramework for camera access, and SwiftUI and UIKit for UI elements. Everything runs and stays local to your device, no internet access required (perfect for those camping trips)!
Challenges we ran into
None of what I had planned initially worked out. Apart from the internet issues everyone faced, I had to come up with a new idea the day of after realizing the equipment I thought would be available wasn't. My teammate also dropped out on the second day before we had done anything, so I was left to build the entire app myself. I don't own a Mac, so I had to find one in order to use Xcode, and it was my first time using that as well.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Despite all the hurdles I faced, and this being my first ever hackathon, I'm proud of how I stayed resilient throughout. I thought quickly to pivot my strategy with each new hurdle, and at the end of it all, I came out with a working app.
What we learned
I learned a lot about programming in Swift and iOS development in Xcode, but perhaps most of all, how to remain calm and focused when it seems like the world (and time) are against me.
What's next for Tabletop Anywhere!
Online mode! The next feature I want to add is a lobby system, where people can join their friends' games no matter where they are in the world. I also want to improve some of the visual elements to make it prettier overall.
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