Dhayam

the ancient Tamil roll-and-move strategy board game

GitHub

Documentation

✺ Dhayam (தாயக்கட்டை)

Play Dhayam GitHub Pages Mirror Tests Passing Built with Codex Enhanced with Gemini Reasoned with Claude License: MIT

An authentic, modern web rendition of Dhayam (தாயக்கட்டை), the ancient Tamil race-and-capture strategy board game. Built for cross-device real-time online multiplayer, pass-and-play family tabletop, or solo play against intelligent computer opponents.

Features physical 3D cuboidal brass dice tumbling, smooth animated pawn stepping, dynamic QR code instant-join, family table scoring, natural voice commentary, and progressive golden lighting as pawns advance toward the sacred center.

🎮 Play Live on Cloudflare Edge: https://dhayam.cancun.workers.dev
🌐 GitHub Pages Mirror: https://sethusrinivasan.github.io/dhayam/

📸 Screenshots

Tabletop Desktop View

Dhayam Tabletop Desktop View Authentic 7×7 board with flowing rotational SVG circuit, 3D தாயக்கட்டை brass dice, real-time multiplayer status, and live family table scoring.

Responsive Mobile & Tablet View

Dhayam Mobile View Touch-optimized interface with camera QR code instant-join, single-tap dice rolling, and floating reaction banter.

✨ Key Features

  • ⚡ Real-Time Online Multiplayer: Powered by Cloudflare Durable Objects with WebSocket Hibernation. Sub-50ms latency with automatic session recovery when switching tabs.
  • 🎲 Synchronized 3D Dice Physics: Two long cuboidal brass dice tumble and bounce across every connected player's screen simultaneously in real-time 3D CSS.
  • ♟️ Smooth Animated Pawn Movement: Pawns step square-by-square along the golden circuit with capture badges and slow return animations to the family reserve.
  • 🌟 Progressive Track Illumination: Pawns glow brighter as they enter the second inner square, radiate when reaching the approach cross, and shine with golden brilliance at the center goal.
  • 📱 Dynamic QR Code Instant-Join: Host displays a crisp QR code on laptop or TV; friends scan with their phone camera to auto-join and pick an open slot.
  • 💬 Floating Reaction Banter: Quick emoji reactions (🎉, 👏, 🔥, 😂, 🎲, 😱) float across the board in real time.
  • 🤖 Smart Solo Computer Play: Solo play vs 1 to 3 heuristic computer opponents balancing captures, safety, and team progression with speech commentary.
  • 🎙️ Voice Commentary: Natural speech synthesis announces rolls ("தாயம்!", "பன்னிரண்டு!"), captures ("வெட்டு!"), and milestones without premature cut-offs.
  • ⭐ Family Table Scoring: Live progress tracker awarding points for board completion (+1 pt/sq), capture achievements (+50 pts), and home finishes (+100 pts).

📜 How to Play Dhayam

Dhayam is a strategic race between 2 to 4 players across a 7×7 grid of 44 positions.

  1. The Dice (தாயக்கட்டை): Two long 4-sided brass dice roll values 0, 1, 2, or 3.
    • Double zero ($0+0$) counts as 12 (பன்னிரண்டு).
    • Rolling 1 (தாயம்), 5, 6, or 12 awards an extra bonus roll in a chain.
  2. Entering the Board: All 6 pieces per player begin in reserve. A roll of 1 (தாயம்) is required to bring a pawn out of reserve and onto your home gate (A4, D7, G4, D1).
  3. Safe Sanctuaries (மலை / ✿): The 8 floral squares are protected sanctuaries. Opponents on safe squares co-exist peacefully and cannot be captured.
  4. Captures (வெட்டு): Landing on an unprotected opponent pawn on an unsafe square captures it, sending it back to reserve. Earning at least one capture is mandatory to unlock the inner circuit!
  5. Inner Track & Lotus Center (பழம் / ✺): Once a player achieves a capture, their pieces turn into the inner ring and approach the sacred center square D4.
  6. Winning the Game: Pawns must reach the center D4 by exact roll count. The first player to bring all 6 pawns home wins!

🚀 Quick Start

1. Launch Locally (Zero Dependencies)

Run with Python's built-in HTTP server:

./start.sh
# or: python3 -m http.server 8000 --directory site

Open http://localhost:8000/ in any browser.

2. Run Local Cloudflare Dev Server

npx wrangler dev

Open http://localhost:8787/ to test Cloudflare Durable Objects and WebSockets locally.

3. Run Automated Tests

npm test              # Runs 48 unit, regression, and MCP tests
./test.sh             # Full 12-point verification suite

📚 Documentation & Technical Guides

📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License.