News & Updates

We're excited to announce the inminent launch of Ludika VTT, your new virtual tabletop platform for online board gaming. Play your favorite board games with friends from anywhere in the world.

Ludika is a new web-based online board gaming platform & service. Think of it as a sandbox-style 2D virtual tabletop, scalable to thousands of simultaneous players. Ludika will offer digital versions of board games so you can play them online. Games can include boards, cards, dice, counters, instructions and charts, etc.

Designed from the ground up to be extremely low friction, Ludika runs right in your browser, so you won't need to download or install any software, nor will you need to configure port-forwarding, install periodic updates, etc.

Games on Ludika will have no AI opponents and no rules enforcement. The platform takes a sandbox approach, to let you play games the way you want (e.g. with house rules). The games are meant to be played with friends, even if those friends are halfway across the world (or play solo games, if that's your thing).

Ludika will provide built-in tools for easily porting games to digital format (no programming or scripting involved). This means that every Ludika Premium Subscriber is also a potential game-porte/game creator.

While nothing is quite as good as sitting around the table with good friends, plenty of snacks, and playing your favorite boardgames face-to-face, Ludika hopes to become the next best option!

We know there are already a number of well-established apps out there that are already catering to online board gaming. Here is a brief rundown on how Ludika will differ from them, and how it will be similar.

Compared to Tabletop Simulator (TTS)

No table flipping. No clumsy 3D interface. No physics engine to accidentally ruin the game state. Unlike TTS, only the host needs to pay for Ludika, friends can join for free.

Compared to Vassal

Ludika replaces Vassal's dated, 1990s-style user interface with a clean, modern interface that stays out of your way. Many games will be playable for free. No installation or updates required, no compatibility issues ever.

Compared to Tabletopia

No awkward 3D interface. Ludika will offer game publishers a way to monetize their games, like Tabletopia does (but with publishers keeping a larger portion of the proceeds).

Compared to Battlegrounds Gaming Engine (BGE)

Ludika shares BGE's focus on high-quality visuals and a minimalist UI, but without BGE's limitations. There's no 16-player cap, no installation, and no port-forwarding required.

Compared to Board Game Arena (BGA)

Like our platform, Board Game Arena offers online play without requiring local installation. However, BGA targets a different audience, focusing primarily on family-friendly games with full rules enforcement.

In short, Ludika hopes to keep the best aspects of existing boardgaming VTTs, throw out the worst, and provide a really strong foundation to grow from in the coming years.