🎮 Building Mathyy: A Real-Time Math Competition Game on Solana

Ever wondered what happens when you combine the thrill of competitive gaming, the challenge of mental math, and the excitement of cryptocurrency stakes? That's exactly what I set out to explore when building Mathyy - a real-time math competition game on the Solana blockchain.

🎯 The Vision

Mathyy is simple yet engaging:

• Two players compete head-to-head in math challenges
• Each player stakes SOL tokens to join
• Both receive the same math problem (4 numbers, 3 operators)
• First to submit the correct answer wins the entire pot
• Real-time gameplay with instant feedback

Think of it as speed chess, but with math problems and crypto stakes!

🏗️ Architecture Overview

Building a real-time blockchain game requires careful consideration of what happens on-chain vs off-chain. Here's how I structured Mathyy:

🛠️ Tech Stack Deep Dive

Frontend: Next.js 14 + TypeScript

The frontend provides a smooth, responsive gaming experience:

• NextUI + Tailwind CSS for beautiful, consistent UI
• Solana Wallet Adapters for seamless wallet integration
• Socket.io Client for real-time game updates
• React Context for global game state management

Backend: Dedicated Socket.io Server

Running on port Render:

• Node.js + Socket.io for WebSocket communication
• In-memory storage for active game sessions
• Event-driven architecture for real-time updates
• CORS configured for frontend communication

Blockchain: Solana Program

The on-chain component handles the money (devnet money 😉), the game, the answer submission, the penalties:

• Anchor framework for program development
• Stake management - players lock funds when joining
• Winner determination - immutable game results
• Automatic payouts - winner takes all (the platform takes a fee to cover on-chain ops)

🎮 Game Flow in Action

Here's what happens during a typical game:

1. Connect Wallet: Player authenticates with their Solana wallet
2. Create/Join Room: Player stakes SOL to create or join a game
3. Matchmaking: System waits for second player
4. Game Start: Both players receive identical math problem
5. Race to Solve: Players calculate and submit answers
6. Validation: First correct answer wins
7. Payout: Winner receives entire stake pool

💡 Key Implementation Details

Security Considerations

Building with crypto requires extra care:

• Private keys never exposed nor used, the player signs his txs with his preferred wallet
• Transaction signing Some operations engaging our platform action, happen server-side only
• Input validation validation is made entirely on-chain which makes it SOL-ID 😜
• Rate limiting to prevent spam

🚀 Deployment Strategy

The hybrid architecture allows for optimal performance:

1. Frontend → Vercel: Static site generation, global CDN
2. Backend → Render: Persistent WebSocket connections
3. Solana Program → Devnet: Needless to go over what the blockchain offers

🎯 Challenges & Solutions

In the upcoming blogs I'll go over each challenge I faced. Here is a small teaser.

Challenge 1: Real-time Synchronization

Problem: Ensuring both players see the same problem at exactly the same time.

Challenge 2: Network Latency

Problem: Solana transactions can take 1-2 seconds to confirm.

Challenge 3: Player Disconnections

Problem: What happens if a player disconnects mid-game?

📊 Game Sessions Details

After initial testing, We have to the conclusion that:

• Game session duration is set to 60 seconds
• Socket.io latency: <50ms
• Transaction confirmation: ~1.5 seconds
• Concurrent games supported: 1000+

🔮 What's Next?

This is just the beginning! Here's what's on the roadmap:

1. Tournament Mode: Multi-round competitions with larger prize pools
2. Difficulty Levels: From basic arithmetic to calculus
3. Mobile App: Native iOS/Android apps for better performance
4. Leaderboards: Global rankings and statistics
5. Social Features: Friend challenges and spectator mode
6. More Games: Introducing more games

🎓 Key Takeaways

Building Mathyy taught me several valuable lessons:

1. Hybrid Architecture Works: Not everything needs to be on-chain
2. Real-time + Blockchain = Complex: Plan your architecture carefully
3. User Experience First: Hide blockchain complexity from users
4. Security is Paramount: Especially when handling user funds
5. Transparency is Key: By design, Blockchain is built on transparency, so should the game

🤝 Get Involved

Mathyy is open for beta testing! If you're interested in:

• Testing the game
• Contributing to development
• Building similar projects
• Learning more about the architecture

Feel free to reach out on Telegram or Linkedin.

🚀 Try It Yourself

Ready to test your math skills and maybe win some SOL?

👉 Play Mathyy Now (Devnet)

Note: Currently running on Solana Devnet - use devnet SOL for testing!

Next in the Series: In Part 2, I'll dive deep into the Socket.io implementation and how to handle edge cases in real-time blockchain gaming. Stay tuned!

Have questions or feedback? Drop a comment below or reach out on social media. Happy gaming! 🎮