Introduction
SpriteBox is a free, browser-based multiplayer game where you compete to create the best 8x8 pixel art based on creative prompts. Think Gartic Phone meets Pixel Art with a competitive Elo-based ranking twist.
Core Philosophy
- 100% Open Source - MIT licensed, inspect and modify everything
- No External Database - All state lives in memory
- No Secrets Required - Zero configuration deployment
- One Command to Start -
pnpm devand you’re running
Tech Stack
| Layer | Technology | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | Svelte 5 + Vite | Reactive UI with tiny bundles |
| Backend | Node.js + Express | HTTP server + static files |
| Real-time | Socket.io | WebSocket communication |
| Validation | Zod | Runtime type safety |
| Compression | LZ-String | Efficient large gallery transfer |
| Package Manager | pnpm | Fast monorepo management |
Game Modes
SpriteBox offers 4 unique game modes:
| Mode | Players | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pixel Battle | 5-100 | Classic mode: draw prompts, Elo-based voting, finale |
| CopyCat | 2 (1v1) | Memory duel: memorize and recreate a reference image |
| Pixel Guesser | 2-20 | Pictionary-style: one draws, others guess the word |
| Pixel Survivor | 1 (solo) | Roguelike: draw your character and survive 30 days |
Each mode supports public matchmaking or private rooms (4-letter codes).
Next Steps
- Installation Guide - Set up your development environment
- Quick Start - Run SpriteBox locally
- Architecture Overview - Understand how it works