CheddaBoards vs Colyseus

CheddaBoards is a free, open-source backend for games that need server-validated leaderboards, achievements, shared player profiles and authentication. Leaderboards can reset daily, weekly or monthly, with monthly and custom intervals available. Submission checks include per-game score caps, play-session duration, streak limits and server-side rules. The maker notes that determined users can reverse-engineer the public API or use bots that imitate realistic pacing, so additional protections are recommended for ranked or prize-based PvP. Players may begin anonymously and later link accounts through Google or Apple sign-in with a short code. Drop-in SDKs support Godot and Unity, while a REST API serves other engines that can make HTTP requests. Listed engine coverage also includes Unreal, GameMaker, Construct, native mobile, web and custom engines. Developers can delete scores or remove players from boards, with a deletion log, and record in-game events through API calls. The MIT-licensed backend and SDKs can be self-hosted on the Internet Computer. The Free plan costs nothing and includes three games per account, unlimited players and no per-player fees.

Colyseus is an open-source Node.js framework for building real-time multiplayer games, with built-in matchmaking and state synchronization. Its authoritative server design has clients send inputs while the server decides game outcomes. Developers define game state on the server, and Colyseus synchronizes it to clients without manual serialization. The framework creates rooms and matches players automatically; rooms can be distributed across processes or machines. The site says this can scale from 10 to 10,000+ concurrent users. SDKs or integrations are listed for JavaScript, Unity, Godot, GameMaker, Defold, Haxe, C, and Construct 3. The MIT-licensed framework is free for commercial games and can be self-hosted as a standard Node.js application on cloud services or bare metal. Colyseus Cloud provides deployment, scaling, and monitoring across 32 global locations. Its Cloud plan starts at $15/mo and includes email support, while the free Open Source plan includes community support. Cloud has no free tier or automatic scaling; heavier workloads require upgrading deployment resources through the dashboard.