GameDayGet the appUnder the floodlights
GameDay organises your weekly game, so the group chat can go back to banter. One link in the group chat handles who’s in, which day, the teams and who has paid.
On Google Play and the web. The iOS app is on its way to the App Store.
The problem
Every weekly game runs on a WhatsApp group. WhatsApp is good for talking about the game and bad for organising it.
47 messages, three “in”s, one “maybe”, and the organiser counting heads on their fingers on Thursday night. The count is always out of date.
“Sat or Sun?” turns into a 60-message negotiation, and the people who can’t make any day never say so.
The turf fits 10 and 13 say yes. Nobody keeps a waitlist, and when someone drops out, nobody tells the next person.
Picked by whoever argues loudest. The strong players end up together, both keepers on one side, and someone feels left out.
One person pays ₹1,800 up front, then sends “bro, payment?” one message at a time. ₹1,800 between 11 people doesn’t even split evenly.
People who say “in” and don’t turn up face no consequence, and nobody keeps track.
The organiser carries all of it. GameDay is designed around making their week easier, while keeping each player’s part to one or two taps.
What it does
Save the turfs your group plays at with a map pin. Sessions link straight to Google Maps.
Players suggest a different turf or time, and the organiser applies or dismisses it in one tap.
One link opens the app if it’s installed, or the store or website, and lands you in the group. Sign in with Google or Apple.
New game, day picked, teams out, off the waitlist, payment due, kickoff in 2 hours. Each type can be turned off.
Admins edit group details, add or remove admins and remove members.
Report and block, public privacy and terms pages, and full account deletion from the app or the web.
The feel
GameDay doesn’t look like an admin tool, because organising the weekly game shouldn’t feel like filing a report.
Everything is dark except what matters, with one floodlight-yellow action per screen.
NeoPop buttons physically depress, and numbers count up instead of jumping.
Locking in your spot, the squad reveal, settling the last payment and streak milestones each get a moment.
Because that’s where the group chat is. Every screen is checked at large font sizes and on narrow phones.
Product decisions
Every feature was weighed by whether it saves the organiser work without adding steps for players.
Some turfs need money upfront; some prices get negotiated on the day. A third option, pay at the turf, covers groups where everyone pays the counter.
₹1,800 between 11 people is ₹163.64 each, which nobody can pay. GameDay charges ₹164 or ₹163 so the total is exact, and leftover rupees go to the collector first.
UPI apps don’t reliably report whether a payment went through, so GameDay doesn’t pretend. It brings you back and asks one honest question: “Paid ₹X to Y?”
Treating silence and “none work” differently tells the organiser who’s really out, and stops reminders going to people who already answered.
At most three payment reminders, one poll reminder and one organiser nudge. The app shouldn’t become the nagging friend.
Attendance defaults to everyone turned up, so the organiser only unticks the few who didn’t.
Under the hood
A Next.js 16 / React 19 web app, a Kotlin + Jetpack Compose Android app and a SwiftUI iOS app share the same API and Supabase Postgres database. The OpenAPI contract is generated from zod schemas, so the mobile clients stay in step.
All writes go through the API with validation and permission checks, and the database rejects direct client writes. Reads use row-level security, so you only see your own groups.
The API and database moved from Sydney and the US to Mumbai with zero data loss, to sit close to Indian users. Skeleton screens and instant tap feedback mean the app is never blank.
Corporate DNS filters blocked Firebase’s default sign-in domain, so sign-in now runs through GameDay’s own domain via a proxy, with no change for users.
Postgres cron runs kickoff reminders, day-poll follow-ups and payment nudges every 15 minutes.
Product analytics are recorded server-side for every platform, with crash reporting in the apps. IP-based location lookup is turned off everywhere.
A separate staging database, Playwright end-to-end tests in the browser, and Android emulators and the iOS simulator driven by UI automation against staging.
Vercel deploys from GitHub Actions, signed Android App Bundles with Play App Signing, and versioned GitHub releases.
So far
First version: groups, invite links, Google sign-in, voting with guests and a waitlist, day polls, random teams, UPI payments, turfs and streaks.
Native Android and iOS apps on a shared API, with push notifications, invite links that open the app, and kickoff and payment reminders.
Balanced teams with captains, keepers and positions; production moved to Mumbai; analytics and crash reporting.
Android app live on Google Play.
Pay before, after or at the turf; whole-turf prices split to the rupee; “Paid ₹X to Y?” after UPI; smarter day polls.
What’s next