iOS/Android BGA app ?

[Boutzi]

Hi,
I was wondering if the BGA developer team has any plans to develop an iOS + Android application for playing on a phone.

Kind regards,

Joe

[Kayvon]

All of BGA's games are built with browser interface using javascript and each game would require a complete rewrite to work with an app rather than a browser.

The Android version of the BGA app is just a wrapper around the browser because BGA only works in a browser. It's not a simple matter of "just make it into an app without a browser" because they're inexorably linked. You'd have to rewrite each game to make it work otherwise.

BTW, this is the forum for game developers, not site developers, but the answer is still going to be the same no matter where you ask.

https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40638
https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35652

[dobryikotya]

Of course, it will have to be written from scratch for iOS, but at least it will have a more responsive UI and access to game engines. All that’s needed is a working backend. And you can start with very simple and popular games like Carcassonne or Ticket to Ride to see whether people are actually into it or not.

Overall, this would take the gaming experience to a whole new level. As long as there’s interest from people — I, for one, would be ready to start with iOS; implementing games looks really interesting.

[Kayvon]

I think you overlooked a crucial component of my reply.

Of course, it will have to be written from scratch for iOS

No, not "it." Every. Single. Game.

You would need to manually rewrite every game on BGA to work for iOS. Every game runs on a PHP-javascript interface. The responsive app interface you're dreaming of would require rewriting each individual game to be an app instead. It's a pipe dream.

[dobryikotya]

And… what exactly is the problem? I’m ready to take on the implementation of a few simple games. All I really need is a working backend and a test environment. I’m not willing to be responsible for publishing/moderation.

Are you afraid to build each game? Communities are driven by motivation—whoever has the desire will get things done. And there’s no need to release all games in a single app.

We can build 1–2 games, launch the project, and see whether people actually use it. If we get great feedback, we can continue.

I’ve been doing iOS for 5–6 years already, and I’m tired of writing CRUD apps. I’d like to try working with a game engine and building games. Native UI and native animations are always better than browser-based ones.

[SiRan90]

There's a few problems. Firstly, doing a few games is fine but who is going to do the rest of the catalogue? That will take a significant bit of resource. I doubt you will get many people using the app when they can only use the app for a few games. You will also now need to maintain both platforms, who's doing/paying for that?

It's a nice idea, but it's not grounded in reality.

[dobryikotya]

There are quite a few ways to approach this. First, you really need to figure out whether this is actually worth doing. Run a survey with your users and ask: would they be genuinely happy to have native mobile apps?
If the feedback is positive and the dev team decides it's worth investing the time, then you can choose the tech stack — either Flutter or native iOS/Android development. That decision can be made by a quick team vote or based on the real expertise of the people who’ll actually be building it.
Put together a small team: a project manager, a designer, and a couple of developers. Build an MVP and start rolling it out. Of course, there’s always a risk it won’t work out.
But honestly, I think the first step should be running that user survey. If only 1-10% of people say they want a mobile version, then it probably doesn’t make sense to do it at all.

[tchobello]

BGA also includes features such as tournaments and Arena competitions.
This broader environment needs to be taken into account before implementing any game.

That said, the tone used so far does not feel very constructive, and may discourage further discussion.

[dobryikotya]

The eyes are afraid, but the hands do the work. But if several developers keep finding reasons and arguments for why it’s difficult and so on — what can we do... nothing.

[tchobello]

Only the BGA development team can implement the necessary platform-level changes for this to be possible.