Coin Race: TypeScript Multiplayer Gaming Example

A two-player, real-time coin collecting game built with Phaser, Socket.io, Express, and MongoDB. Two players join a room and race to collect the most coins in 30 seconds. The server is the source of truth for movement, coins, and scoring, and MongoDB stores players, matches, and the leaderboard.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• A MongoDB database, such as a free MongoDB Atlas cluster or a local instance

Getting Started

1. Install dependencies

From the project root:

npm install
npm run install:all

This installs the root dev tooling plus the backend and frontend projects.

2. Configure the backend

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env

Open backend/.env and set at least these two values:

MONGO_URI=<your MongoDB connection string>
MONGO_DB_NAME=<database name, e.g. coin_race>

Everything else (port, canvas size, coin spawning, match length, and so on) has a sensible default and can be left alone.

3. Configure the frontend

cp frontend/.env.example frontend/.env

The defaults point at a backend on http://localhost:3000. If you changed PORT in the backend, update VITE_API_URL and VITE_SOCKET_URL to match.

4. Run it

npm run dev

This starts the backend on port 3000 and the frontend on http://localhost:5173.

Playing

1. Open the frontend in two browser windows.
2. Register a different username in each.
3. In one window, click Create Match and copy the room ID.
4. In the other window, paste the room ID and click Join Match.
5. Use the arrow keys or WASD to collect as many coins as you can before time runs out.

Scores are saved when the match ends, and the leaderboard in the lobby shows the top high scores.