Open to Everyone

Starting today, you can create an account on Boardoor without an invitation code. What began as a closed beta is now open to anyone.

Boardoor is a platform for playing board games online. We currently have 47 titles — from classics like Hearts, Spades, Mahjong, Shogi, and Go, to traditional games such as Koi-Koi and Hachihachi using Hanafuda cards, Datianjiu and Shikagari using Tianjiu tiles, and indie games published in Japan in recent years, including KUSOGE Trick, Doppio, Suppose, Nakayoshi Friends, and Neko Noko Dice Flower Hunt. You can play against friends online or practice against CPU opponents on your own.

That said, this is still a beta release — just one that is now publicly accessible. Here is what we have been working on since late March, and why we are launching in this form.

What We Have Been Up To

Game Log

We added an in-game action log that lets you follow what happened during a match. It is available across all published games. The log is designed with privacy in mind — hidden information like hand cards is never exposed to opponents. You can toggle the log on or off and adjust the detail level from your personal settings.

Round-End Board Review

For trick-taking games, we added a round-end board review step: after each round ends, all players can look at the board before moving on. Hearts, Spades, Napoleon, Pinochle, Hanaawase, Shikagari, Hachihachi, Unsun Karuta, and eleven other titles now support this. The next round starts only after everyone confirms they are ready.

CPU Improvements

CPU response timing now adapts to the situation. In moments that call for an immediate response — such as claiming a tile in Mahjong — the CPU acts quickly. In slower deliberation phases, it takes a more natural pause.

Share Results for More Games

Match result sharing now works in 14 additional titles. After a game ends, you can share your score or ranking as an image.

Sort Controls on the Games Page

The games list now has sort controls, letting you order by newest or alphabetically.

Security and Infrastructure

We made several security improvements in preparation for the public launch: hardened WebSocket handling, tightened authentication flows, improved server-side error observability, and more. These changes are invisible to users but important for running a stable platform.

We also did a significant redesign of the game room data layer, switching over gradually to minimize production risk. In terms of raw code volume, this was the largest work of the past two months. We also published a /licenses page covering the open-source software and assets used in Boardoor.

Features Still in Development

A few features have been in progress alongside everything else, though none are public yet.

Chat is being built around in-match room chat and direct messages between users, including moderation tools like mute, block, and report. There are still feature adjustments to work through, and some legal procedures related to messaging services are not yet complete.

Match Replay will let you record and revisit your matches. We are planning to offer it as a Pro feature, but it is still being refined.

The shop has continued to develop since the last post — sellers will be able to list products and Boardoor will handle payment processing. There are still some legal and operational details to sort out before we can open it up, so the timing is not set yet.

Why We Are Launching as a Beta

The Pro plan payment system is built and integrated with Stripe, but JCB — a major Japanese credit card network — has not yet completed its review. Until that clears, paid features will remain disabled. We are launching publicly while keeping the beta label rather than waiting indefinitely.

The original goals of the closed beta have been met. The games and the platform are in a state we are comfortable sharing with everyone, so we decided not to hold back.

Free Trial for Beta Users

In a previous post, we mentioned that beta users would receive a free trial when paid plans go live. That promise still stands — and since we are opening registration while still in beta, anyone who signs up today is a beta user too.

Everyone who registers during the beta period — before paid features are enabled — will receive a free Pro trial when we launch paid plans. We will share the specifics when the time comes.

A Note Going Forward

Thank you to everyone who joined the invite-only test through our Discord server. Having people use the platform at such an early stage helped us get a real sense of what was working and what needed attention.

This is still an evolving platform. More games are on the way. If you run into anything or have suggestions, we would love to hear from you.

You can sign up at boardoor.com/auth/register — no invitation code needed.