Cardamoo

The Cardamoo Journey

Cardamoo started in January 2026 as a bare web prototype with plain buttons and a table made of boxes. Eight months later it is a poker night you can put on any TV with a five letter code, built the whole way by one developer in Malaysia. These are the screens that matter most, the lobby, the game room, your profile and later your friends list, at ten points along the way.

Each picture is rebuilt from our source code as it was at that release, with the same sample table, so you can compare like for like.

The game room in January 2026: a grey table, the pot as plain text, basic action buttons. The game room today: Paper felt, the pot above the board, the controls along the bottom.
prototype

It all starts here

The first commit is a web prototype: a grey lobby, a table built out of stacked boxes, and nothing else.

Also new

  • A working Texas Hold'em table run by the server
  • One lobby screen to start or join a table
  • Google sign in and a player profile
  • Cards, chips and a pot, all drawn in code
The lobby in January 2026: a dark navy prototype with indigo buttons and a single game card.
Lobby
The game room in January 2026: a grey table, the pot as plain text, basic action buttons.
Game room
The profile in January 2026: a bare dark card with your name, rank, virtual chip balance and win rate.
Profile
prototype

The game room, rebuilt

One week in, the game room is torn down and rebuilt: seats in an arc with a bet pill under each one, the pot in the header, and a footer that keeps your balance and hand strength in view. The lobby splits into two tabs, New Table and Join Table, with stat cards for your bonus and hands won and a mode row for Standard, Arcade and Home.

Also new

  • Arcade mode, with its own leaderboard
  • Home Game mode for private tables
  • A friends and social system
  • Emoji reactions and text chat at the table
The lobby in January 2026: a dark prototype with New Table and Join Table tabs, stat cards and a row of game modes.
Lobby
The game room in January 2026: seats in an arc around the felt, the pot in the header, balance and hand strength along the bottom.
Game room
The profile in January 2026: a plain dark card listing your name, rank, virtual chip balance and win rate.
Profile
prototype

Three tabs and a darker lobby

The lobby goes near black with a single green accent and three tabs, New Table, Join Table and Party, and the shouting all caps labels give way to sentence case. The game room picks up a mode chip in the header and a footer split into Wallet and Hand.

Also new

  • Chips Only mode, with show or muck at showdown
  • Invites and join codes made easier
  • See which friends are online or offline
  • A settings screen of your own
The lobby in February 2026: a near black screen with a green accent and three tabs for New Table, Join Table and Party.
Lobby
The game room in February 2026: a dark felt with a mode chip in the header and a Wallet and Hand footer.
Game room
The profile in February 2026: a dark card with your name, rank, virtual chip balance and win rate.
Profile
prototype

The first real lobby

A month of UI fixes lands and the lobby gets its first dedicated design pass, still web only.

Also new

  • Sound effects arrive at the table
  • It installs from the browser as an app
  • A party system and a friends sidebar
  • Opponents gain personalities of their own
  • A tutorial and a basic settings screen
The lobby in February 2026: near black with a green accent, the Play, Join and Party cards in a row.
Lobby
The game room in February 2026: a grey table with hole cards and action buttons, no theme yet.
Game room
The profile in February 2026: a dark card with your name and rank above your virtual chip balance and win rate.
Profile
1.0

Cardamoo becomes a phone app

Version 1.0 goes to Android closed testing, and both screens are rebuilt from scratch for a phone.

Also new

  • A native Android build with Google sign in
  • Push notifications when it is your turn
  • Deep links open a game or a party
  • Haptics on every key tap
  • A showdown that reveals the cards one by one
The lobby at version 1.0 in March 2026, rebuilt for a phone screen and still in the grey prototype look.
Lobby
The game room at version 1.0 in March 2026: a phone sized table with seats around the felt.
Game room
The profile at version 1.0 in March 2026, rebuilt for a phone: name, rank, virtual chip balance and win rate on one dark card.
Profile
1.0

Navy and gold arrive

The Sovereign Vault palette lands across the app on one day, and the lobby becomes a scrollable stack of cards.

Also new

  • A bottom navigation bar and sub screens
  • Named stake tiers to pick from
  • Full screen setup for home games and practice
  • The daily spin wheel, rebuilt
  • A join code sheet in the header
The lobby in March 2026: the new navy and gold look, with the game modes as scrollable cards.
Lobby
The game room in March 2026: navy felt with gold accents on the pot and the action buttons.
Game room
The profile in March 2026 in the new navy and gold look: your name and rank on a card, with your virtual chip balance and win rate below.
Profile
1.4.0

Replays and a coach

Version 1.4.0 saves every hand and adds the AI coach, so the game room gains a Review button after showdown.

Also new

  • The first big screen mode for the table
  • Casual, Sit and Go and Turbo tournaments
  • Daily challenges and a 28 day streak
  • Usernames keep your real account name private
  • Bug reports in app, and updates without the store
The lobby at version 1.4.0 in April 2026: navy and gold, with rewards and game modes stacked as cards.
Lobby
The game room at version 1.4.0 in April 2026: navy felt, a gold pot, action buttons along the bottom.
Game room
The profile at version 1.4.0 in April 2026: a navy and gold player card with your level, your badges and your friend code.
Profile
The friends list at version 1.4.0 in April 2026: a party card at the top and an empty friends list waiting for your first friend.
Friends
The tournament lobby at version 1.4.0 in April 2026: tournament types listed on navy and gold cards.
Tournaments
1.5.0

Pick your table look

Version 1.5.0 turns the look into a setting with freshly drawn cards and chips, and a fresh install now opens in Slate Plush.

Also new

  • Opponents with real names, personalities and their own pace
  • The daily spin, redesigned
  • A chip ledger for every chip in and out
  • Party setup moves into the lobby
  • A light table rake at the bigger stakes
The lobby at version 1.5.0 in June 2026 in the Slate Plush look: soft grey blue panels and warm highlights.
Lobby
The game room at version 1.5.0 in June 2026: the Slate Plush felt with its own cards and chips.
Game room
The profile at version 1.5.0 in June 2026 in the Slate Plush look: a player card with your level, your badges and your friend code.
Profile
The friends list at version 1.5.0 in June 2026 in the Slate Plush look, with a party card above an empty friends list.
Friends
1.5.2

The lobby, rebuilt

A top to bottom refresh of the lobby with a Quick Play hero and mosaic mode cards, and the default look goes back to Vault.

Also new

  • Social reimagined, with a tidier party and leaderboard
  • A player card leads your profile
  • Pin your three proudest badges
  • Profile privacy: everyone, friends only, or private
  • Friend status names the exact game and stakes
The lobby at version 1.5.2 in June 2026: a Quick Play hero on the felt band, mode cards below, navy Vault look.
Lobby
The game room at version 1.5.2 in June 2026: navy Vault felt, a gold pot, seats around the table.
Game room
The profile at version 1.5.2 in June 2026: the rebuilt player card leading the screen, with your level, your badges and your friend code.
Profile
The friends list at version 1.5.2 in June 2026: the tidied party card and leaderboard above an empty friends list.
Friends
1.13.2

From Paper to Poker Night

The warm Paper look became the default with its own illustrated decks, and tablets and desktops stopped stretching the phone layout and got one of their own. Then Poker Night put the table on any TV with a five letter code, and today the hand end plays out one beat at a time, with the dealer sweeping the cards up and the pot rolling across to the winner.

Also new

  • Poker School: hands on lessons at a real table
  • The Barn: card backs, seat frames, win effects
  • A weekly leaderboard with bonus chips for the top ten
  • Herds: start a club and play together
  • Player avatars, and a real sound for every moment
The lobby in September 2026: the Paper look as it stands today, virtual chip balance up top and Quick Play front and centre.
Lobby
The game room in September 2026: Paper felt, the pot above the board, seats around the table and the controls along the bottom.
Game room
The profile in September 2026: a Paper player card with your level, your badges and your friend code.
Profile
The friends list in September 2026 in the Paper look, with a party card at the top and room for the friends you add.
Friends
The Barn in September 2026: tabs for Avatars, Frames, Card Backs, Win FX and Themes, with a row of avatars free to pick.
The Barn
The Poker Night big screen in September 2026: a dark felt with five seats, the board and pot in the middle, and a code to scan and join.
Today: the same table on a TV, phones as controllers
The game room today on a tablet, September 2026: the felt centred in the Paper look with the table menu in a side rail.
The game room on a tablet

This is where it stands today, and the next stop is already being built.

Play Cardamoo