Homegames

What is Homegames?

Homegames is a free and open-source game platform.

Games run on a server you host on your own computer. We host a demo instance you can try at https://picodeg.io

You connect to your server and play games by accessing homegames.link from any browser on your local network. If you enable public games, you can also play with anyone over the internet via a session code.

There are several games that come "out of the box" with the Homegames server bundle. You can also download and play games published by the Homegames community, right from the Homegames dashboard.

All of the code for the Homegames platform, Homegames web services, and every single game is publicly available on GitHub.

How do I play a game?

Install and run the Homegames server bundle on any device running Windows, macOS, or Linux.

On any device on the same network as your server, navigate to homegames.link in a web browser.

Public game sessions are available at public.homegames.link

Who are you?

Homegames was created and is maintained by Joseph Garcia. The podcast is cohosted by Joseph & Yazeed, who created the cult classic Squarer.

Do I need a desktop to play games?

To host your own game server on your local network, you need something running Windows, macOS or Linux.

Game clients can be anything with a web browser. So if your friend is hosting a public game, you can play with them using your phone or tablet.

You can also host your own instance on something like EC2 (that's what we do for our demo site.)

Do I need to make an account?

Not unless you want to publish a game via homegames.io. You can make, play and distribute your games on your own if you want to.

Do I need an internet connection to play?

Homegames requires an internet connection during intitial setup to download assets and generate TLS certificates used for homegames.link functionality. However, once assets are downloaded to your server, you can play on your local network without access to the public internet.

homegames.link functionality requires an internet connection, so you'll have to connect to the Homegames server directly via IP address.

How do I make a game?

We have some basic setup and high level info available on our developer page

We are working on some more robust documentation, but at the moment the best way is to follow our basic local setup instructions and mess around.

You can copy an existing game from the `games` directory or modify them directly to see what breaks.

How does the publishing process work?

After you've created your Homegames account and pushed your code to a public GitHub repo, submit a build request on the Homegames website containing info about the game you want to share.

After passing a set of automated tests, your game will be privately shareable to other people but will not be publicly listed in the Homegames catalog.

If you want to publish your game publicly, you can submit a request to have your game reviewed for publishing.

After your game is approved, Homegames players can find your game in the catalog.

I want to contribute

Feel free to open a GitHub issue or pull request. If your change is big or if you're not sure about what you're building, you might want to reach out to us via the contact form at the bottom of the page.