Kaboom Arena Tour

9fighters

8power-ups

5arena layouts

5visual themes

3graphics modes

75automated tests

Part 1 The game, step by step

Every picture below is a real frame from the running game, captured in a headless browser.

1 Open the page

First visit shows a short "How to play". After that the home screen runs a live bot match behind the menu, kept cheap on purpose (12 fps, paused when the window loses focus). Settings cover bot level, rounds, arena, theme, power-ups, sudden death, 2 vs 2 teams, colour-blind colours, vibration and reduced motion.

First-visit tutorial with the eight power-up icons.

Home screen: story mode, solo, local, online and graphics toggle.

Match settings and accessibility options.

2 Pick a look

The same simulation drives three renderers. Classic is pixel art on a 2D canvas. 3D uses Three.js with shadows and bloom. DLSS 5 is a parody: over-sharpened, over-saturated, glossy "Neural Faces", a fake frame-generation counter and a real dynamic resolution.

3 Arenas and themes

Five layouts and five themes, chosen per match or at random per round. Themes are purely visual and work in all three renderers.

Layouts

Themes

4 Power-ups

Bricks hide eight kinds of items. The board below shows all of them, plus a shield bubble (top-left player), a remote bomb that pulses red, a sliding bomb after a kick, and a curse halo.

Bomb +1 bomb at once
Range longer blasts
Speed run faster
Kick walk into a bomb to slide it
Remote press bomb again to detonate
Pass walk through bombs
Shield 5 seconds of flame immunity
Skull random curse: slow, fast, reversed, no bombs, auto bombs

5 Teams

With four players the match can be 2 vs 2, with optional friendly fire. Team rings and HUD groups ("Gold" and "Cyan") show who is on whose side, and the round goes to the last team standing.

6 Play online

The host creates a room and shares a link or QR code. Guests need no account. Names are sanitised, the host decides on rematches, and a guest who drops reconnects within 30 seconds while a bot keeps the slot warm. The server is a small relay that enforces roles, message types, rates and connection limits.

Host lobby: room code, QR code, invite link.

7 On a phone

Virtual joystick and bomb button on touch screens, optional vibration on the phone and on gamepads, an install button, and a lighter 3D path (lower resolution, fewer lights) for weaker GPUs.

Part 2 Story mode

Written in the spirit of arcade fighting games: ancient grudges, family ties and a final boss who is somebody's grandfather.

Twenty years ago Baron von Boom stole the Eternal Fuse, the artifact that powers every bomb. Tonight's tournament decides who gets it back. Also, grandpa is up and about.

The Fuse dynasty

Ignatius

One-Eyed Ex-Champ · 58

One eye, zero patience. Former champion of Kaboom Arena. Father of Dynamita, brother of Baron, and still owed one Eternal Fuse.

Home stage: Old Man's Backyard pillars / grass

Dynamita

The Hothead · 22

Twenty-two and already on fire. Raised by Ignatius, trained by her godfather the Baron. Mad at both of them, for different reasons.

Home stage: Fireworks Factory cross / lava

Baron

The Betrayer · 60s

Aristocrat, villain and brother who stole the Eternal Fuse 20 years ago. Fights in a monocle. Has never once said sorry.

Home stage: Von Boom Hedge Maze maze / night

Mama

Rolling Pin Queen · 74

Tiny, fierce, 74. Fights with a rolling pin and a grudge. Always said the Baron was a bad influence. Nobody listened.

Home stage: Mama's Kitchen open / snow

Dolores

Bombshell · 45

Glamorous, deadly, between marriages. Ignatius's ex, Dynamita's mother and the Baron's business partner. It is complicated.

Home stage: Bombshell Casino cross / desert

Tony

Tick-Tock · 30

The Baron's chauffeur and enforcer. Green tracksuit, eleven watches, still late for everything.

Home stage: Tick-Tock Parking Lot classic / night

Fizzle

Knight, Sort Of · 35

Knight in a bucket helmet. Fired by the Baron, dumped by Dynamita, fizzled by life. Dreams of revenge. Trips a lot.

Home stage: Draughty Castle pillars / snow

Kapow

Autograph Hunter · 12

Twelve years old. Skateboards in a helmet three sizes too big. Wants everyone's autograph and fights anyway, politely.

Home stage: Skate Park open / desert

Gunpowder

Ancient Patriarch · dead

Dead, buried and furious about it. The patriarch of the Fuse dynasty, back from the Fuse's backlash with a flaming skull and a beard of smoke.

Home stage: The Family Crypt maze / lava

Who is related to whom

Twenty-two relationships drive the trash talk before every fight. Any two fighters have lines, generated from the relationship type.

Blood family
Marriage, exes, in-laws
Boss, mentor, godparent, partners

A run, screen by screen

Each fighter faces seven opponents and then the boss, with bot level easy, then normal, then hard. Every opponent brings a home stage (layout and theme). Here is Ignatius's ladder:

#	Opponent	Stage	Arena	Bots
1	Kapow	Skate Park	open / desert	easy
2	Fizzle	Draughty Castle	pillars / snow	easy
3	Tony	Tick-Tock Parking Lot	classic / night	normal
4	Dolores	Bombshell Casino	cross / desert	normal
5	Mama	Mama's Kitchen	open / snow	normal
6	Dynamita	Fireworks Factory	cross / lava	hard
7	Baron	Von Boom Hedge Maze	maze / night	hard
8	Gunpowder	The Family Crypt	maze / lava	hard, packed bricks

VS screen before fight 1: portraits, stage name and a line from each side.

The fight itself: first to two rounds, pixel-font banners.

Stage clear with the winner's quote and the next opponent.

Fight 7: Ignatius against his brother, the Baron.

The end. Clearing any run unlocks the boss as a playable fighter.

Pre-fight banter

Ignatius vsBaron

Twenty years, Baron. Twenty years since you stole my Fuse and my sock drawer.
Brother, brother. You always did hold a grudge. And a Fuse. Mostly the Fuse.

Dynamita vsBaron

You taught me everything, Godfather! Starting with how to light a fuse. Watch this.
I taught you, child, so you'd be a worthy opponent for my retirement.

Mama vsBaron

Baron Boom, you come here. I did not raise a thief. I raised a tall, ungrateful baby.
Mother, please. I am sixty-something. And is that the rolling pin?

Dynamita vsFizzle

Fizzle? You still wear that bucket? We broke up two years ago!
It's a helmet! And you said 'let's stay friends' by throwing a bomb at me.

Ignatius vsDolores

Dolores. Of all the arenas in all the world, you walk into mine. With him.
Ignatius. You still owe me for the divorce lawyer. And the sofa.

Tony vsKapow

Sibling rivalry, Kapow. Let's take it outside. Into a bomb.
Sibling rivalry, Tony. Let's take it outside. Into a bomb.

Endings

Ignatius's ending

The Baron is beaten. The Eternal Fuse is finally back in the family.
Ignatius lights a victory cigar. Dynamita takes it away. 'You are 58, Dad.'
Dolores arrives with the divorce papers. Again. For old times' sake.
Mama pinches his cheek: 'I always liked you better than Baron.' She says that to both of them.
The old man smiles with his one good eye. Next year's tournament starts Monday.

Dynamita's ending

Dynamita holds the Eternal Fuse over her head. The crowd goes wild. So does the fuse.
Dad says he is proud. Then he asks her to put it down. Then he asks again, louder.
Fizzle sends a bouquet. It explodes. Everyone agrees it was romantic.
Her godfather the Baron is sentenced to a lifetime of Sunday dinners at Mama's.
Dynamita is already designing a bigger bomb. The fuse is lit. It is always lit.

Baron's ending

The Eternal Fuse glows in the Baron's hands. The family is stunned. He is not.
'Betrayal is such a strong word,' he says. 'I prefer early retirement planning.'
Ignatius tries to speak. The Baron has Tony turn up the radio.
Mama sends a strongly worded casserole. It arrives at 90 miles an hour.
The Baron buys the arena, renames it Von Boom Arena, and sends the bill to his brother.

Mama's ending

Mama Kaboom raises her rolling pin. The arena rises to its feet.
'I told you the Baron was a bad influence.' Twenty years of 'I told you so' pay out at once.
The Eternal Fuse goes home and into the cupboard, behind the good plates.
Ignatius and Baron are grounded. They are 58 and 60-something. They accept this.
Mama's last words to the crowd: 'Did everybody eat? Good. Now go home.'

Dolores's ending

Dolores walks off with the prize money, the Eternal Fuse and the best photo of the night.
She ends her partnership with the Baron. He asks about the shared yacht. She sinks it.
Ignatius sends flowers. Dynamita sends a thank-you note. Mama sends a rolling pin.
Tony and Kapow open a restaurant with her winnings. It is called Auntie's. It is very loud.
Dolores lights a cigarette with the Eternal Fuse. The fire marshal has questions.

Tony's ending

Tony wins the tournament. He wipes a tear off his watch.
The Baron fires him over the phone. Tony is thrilled: his first day off since 2009.
Kapow gets Tony's autograph, then asks for a second one, then a hat.
Aunt Dolores wants a cut. Cousin Dynamita wants a rematch. Tony wants a nap.
He is on time for the ceremony at last. Nobody else is. Typical.

Fizzle's ending

Sir Fizzle takes off his bucket helmet. The crowd gasps. He has a really nice face.
The Baron begs for mercy. 'You fizzled me first,' says Fizzle, and nobody gets the joke.
Dynamita texts her congratulations. He reads it nine times and walks into a door.
He carries the Eternal Fuse home on his horse. The horse is not impressed.
Knight, champion and, for one night, a man who did not fizzle.

Kapow's ending

Kid Kapow wins the tournament and skates three victory laps around the arena.
He gets autographs from the whole family. Even Grandpa. Especially Grandpa.
Tony cries into his watches. Aunt Dolores buys him a helmet that fits.
Cousin Dynamita says 'You're a legend.' Kapow says 'Cool, can you sign this?'
The Eternal Fuse is now a skateboard trophy. It is very hard to grind.

Gunpowder's ending

The patriarch of the Fuse dynasty rises, flaming skull held high. The family faints.
'Who ate my dessert?' he asks. Twenty years dead and he still remembers.
Baron confesses everything. Ignatius cries. Mama hits them both with the rolling pin.
The Eternal Fuse is back where it belongs: in a very old, very smoky beard.
Gunpowder returns to his grave, satisfied. The tombstone says 'BRB'.

Part 3 Under the hood

Host browserruns the 60 Hz simulation and the bots

snapshots 30 Hz →
← inputs

Rails relayroles, allow-lists, rate and connection limits

→ snapshots
inputs ←

Guest browserspredict their own player, interpolate the rest ~100 ms behind

One simulation. sim.js is pure and deterministic. Solo, local, host and guest prediction all run the same code, covered by 75 tests including a host plus guest harness with simulated latency, jitter and packet loss.
Bots that think ahead. Danger is a time map that includes chain reactions; they flee on a clock, take bonuses, avoid sudden death, and come in three levels.
Frugal by design. No build step, a service worker that is network-first with an offline fallback, a home-screen demo throttled to a few frames per second, and no work at all while paused.
Hardened relay. First subscriber owns the room, message types are allow-listed per role, traffic is rate-limited, and every refusal is logged in a format the host monitors.
Original art. Sprites and portraits are drawn in code or generated and converted to pixel art; no third-party game assets. A fan-made tribute, not affiliated with Konami.