FunNode edit

FunNode Team
 
Members
Founder, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Ravi Patel
Chief Design Officer (CDO)Isha Chauhan

FunNode is an online modern gaming website offering an extensive collection of free-to-play games. Their diverse selections include globally known board games, card games, and dice games.[1] Each game is accompanied by summarized instructions, recommendations for the number of players, and a difficulty rating of the game.

History FunNode

Ravi Patel launched FunNode in 2012, initially as a passion project. For over five years, he single-handedly developed the website, drawing insights and design feedback from a community on IRC, along with numerous online blogs and forums. Over time, a dedicated group of freelancers, driven by a shared passion of Ravi, joined to develop the platform further.[2] Although the timing wasn't specified, Isha Chauhan later took on the role of Chief Design Officer, enhancing the website's aesthetic and user interface

Since 2013, FunNode introduced a Bitcoin donation feature, allowing supporters to contribute to the sustainability of this independent project. The website saw its last major update in January 2021 with the introductions of new animated emojis. These updates allow players to communicate and express themselves more vividly during games, continuing to improve user experience on the platform.[3]

Features of FunNode edit

While creating an account on FunNode is optional, registered users gain access to exclusive features that further enrich their experience on the website. One feature for example, is the ability to participate in the website's forums, where users can initiate discussions on a wide range of topics. These discussions can cover game strategies, general information about specific games, provide feedback on the website, and ask general inquiries.[4]

The website also has a "Requests" section, where users can propose new changes or features they'd wish to see implemented on FunNode. This collaborative space allows users to support ideas by upvoting posts, highlighting the requests deemed important by the community.[5]

For real-time interaction, FunNode includes a built-in chat and Instant messaging feature, creating an environment for users to connect and communicate with one another.

Moreover, FunNode showcases a competitive element through its ranking feature. This feature displays ratings and points earned by the top platers and countries worldwide. FunNode has a global leaderboard that highlights the website's most skilled and dedicated players.[6]

Available Games edit

Currently, FunNode has a collection of 18 games on its platform. Notably, several of these games are optimized for mobile devices, allowing players to enjoy their game not only on desktops. Below is an overview of the games available, along with brief descriptions as presented on FunNode:

Algin 4 edit

  • Description: "Align 4 (also known as Connect Four, Captain's Mistress, and Four in a Line) is a two-player connection game in which the players take turns dropping coloured discs from the top into a seven-column, six-row vertically suspended grid. The pieces fall straight down, occupying the next available space within the column. The objective of the game is to connect four of one's own discs of the same colour next to each other vertically, horizontally, or diagonally before your opponent." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: easy.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Backgammon edit

  • Description: "Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games. This two-player game is played on a board with a track of 12 long triangles, called points. The two players move their pieces in opposing directions, from the 24-point towards the 1-point. A player wins by removing all of his/her pieces from the board before his/her opponent." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: No

BlackJack edit

  • Description: "Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most widely played casino game in the world. Blackjack is a comparing card game played with one or more decks of 52 cards between players and the dealer. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer in each round and to have the most chips at the end of the game." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-7.
  • Difficulty: Easy.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Checkers edit

  • Description: "Checkers is played on an 64-square board with twelve pieces on each side. The pieces move and capture diagonally. They may only move forward until they reach the opposite end of the board, when they are crowned and may thereafter move and capture both backward and forward. A player wins by capturing all of the opponent's pieces or by leaving the opponent with no legal move. The game ends in a draw if neither side can force a win, or by agreement." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Chess edit

  • Description: "Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an 8x8 grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide. A player may not make a move that would put or leave his king under attack. If the player to move has no legal moves, the game is over; either checkmate (if the king is under attack) or stalemate." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Hard.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Elimination edit

  • Description: "Elimination is a simple trick-taking card game where players are dealt seven cards each to start a seven-round match. With the player left of the dealer leading, players must follow suit to try and win at least one trick per round. Players winning zero tricks in a round are eliminated from the match. The player who's not eliminated at the end of the match is the winner." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-6.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Go edit

  • Description: "Go is a game for two players that originated in China. Go is an adversarial game where each player places stones on a board with the objective of surrounding more territory than the opponent. The game ends when both players pass, usually when there are no more profitable moves to be made. The player with the greater number of controlled points, factoring in the number of captured stones, wins the game." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Hard.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: no

Hearts edit

  • Description: "Hearts is an 'evasion-type' trick-taking card game for four players. Each player, in clockwise order from the dealer, plays a card from their hand. Players must follow suit and can play any card, including a penalty Heart or the Queen of Spades, if they do not have the led suit. The trick and any penalty points it contains are won by the player who played the highest-value card of the suit that was led. The objective is to be the player with the fewest points by the end of the game." [1]
  • Recommended players 3-5.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Hold'em Poker edit

  • Description: "Hold'em Poker (also known as Texas Hold'em) is a variation of the standard card game of poker. Two cards (hole cards) are dealt face down to each player and then five community cards are placed face-up by the dealer - a series of three cards ('the flop'), then a single card ('the turn'), and then another card ('the river'). Players have the option to check, bet, raise or fold after each deal. The game ends when only one player is left and is claimed the winner." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-7.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Kachuful edit

  • Description: "Kachuful (also known as Oh Hell, Elevator, and Judgment), is a trick-taking card game that originated in India. The game is played in rounds, where each round has a different trump suit and the players are dealt fewer cards than the prior round. The game continues until the last round, in which each player is dealt just 1 card. The winner is the player with the most points at the end of the rounds." [1]
  • Recommended players 3-10.
  • Difficulty: Hard.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Liar's Dice edit

  • Description: "Liar's dice is a game of deception played by three to five players. Starting with five dice per player, each round, each player either makes a bid (face value and count) of what he/she believes is present in all the dice. If a player challenges the previous bid, all dice are revealed and the loser of the challenge removes one dy for the next round. The game ends when only one player is left with dice, and is claimed the winner." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-10.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Ludo edit

  • Description: "Ludo is a board game for two to four players in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to die rolls. The first to bring all their tokens to the finish wins the game. The others continue play to determine second-, third-, and fourth-place finishers." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-4.
  • Difficulty: Easy.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: No

Pairs edit

  • Description: "Pairs, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, Shinkei-suijaku, or Pexeso, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face-down on a surface and two cards are flipped face-up each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards. The game ends when the last pair has been picked up. The winner is the person with the most pairs" [1]
  • Recommended players 2-10.
  • Difficulty: Easy.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Reversi edit

  • Description: "Reversi a two-player board game played on a 8x8 uncheckered board. Players take turns placing discs on the board with their assigned colour facing up. During a play, any discs of the opponent's colour that are bounded by the discs of the current player's colour are turned over to the current player's colour. The object of the game is to have the majority of discs turned to display your colour when the last playable empty square is filled." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Rummy edit

  • Description: "Rummy is a card game based on matching cards of the same rank or sequence and same suit. The goal in rummy is to build melds which consist of sets, three or four of a kind of the same rank; or runs, three or more cards in sequence, of the same suit. The game ends when a player discards a card and has no cards left in their hand." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-5.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Spades edit

  • Description: "Spades is a trick-taking card game for four players. Each round, players try to take at least the number of tricks (also known as 'books') that they bid before play of the hand began. Spades is a descendant of the Whist family of card games (e.g., Hearts, Kachuful), except the Spade suit is always the trump suit. The objective is to be the player with the most points by the end of the game." [1]
  • Recommended players 3-5.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Warpships edit

  • Description: "Warships is a guessing game for two players. The game is played on four 15x12 grids, two for each player. On one grid, the player arranges ships and records the shots by the opponent. On the other grid the player records their own shots. When all of the squares of a ship have been hit, the ship is sunk. After all of one player's ships have been sunk, the game ends and the other player wins." [1]
  • Recommended players 2.
  • Difficulty: Easy.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

Wild Jacks edit

  • Description: "Wild Jacks is a tactical, team-based game in which a hand of cards determines where each player can place their team stones on a board. The objective for each player/team is to get 1 or 2 lines of 5 stones on the board." [1]
  • Recommended players 2-10.
  • Difficulty: Medium.
  • Designed to be playable on mobile device: Yes

FunNode Now edit

Through 2024, its worth noting that while there have been no major announcements or news headlines regarding new features on FunNode since 2021, the community engagement continues to live on with hundreds of players actively engaging in games. Ravi remains actively involved in the platform, rolling out updates and bug fixes, ensuring FunNode retains its user-friendly experience.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Patel, Ravi. "FunNode Homepage". FunNode. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  2. ^ "About - FunNode". www.funnode.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  3. ^ "News - FunNode". www.funnode.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  4. ^ "Forums - FunNode". www.funnode.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  5. ^ "Requests - FunNode". www.funnode.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  6. ^ "Countries - FunNode". www.funnode.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.