Hoopaz

How We Helped a Basketball Fan Make His Dream Tabletop Game

Basketball is a game of speed, precision, and real-time action that brings people together in the spirit of competition. But recreating that excitement in a tabletop format comes with its own challenges. 23Gamez wanted to capture the thrill of basketball while blending it with smart technology to create an engaging physical-digital experience.

They approached MindInventory for our expertise in building interactive solutions that combine hardware, software, and real-time responsiveness — making us the perfect partner to turn their vision into reality.

Vision Of Hoopaz

Hoopaz wanted to be the first fully digitized tabletop basketball game that is based on real basketball rules. The idea was to make a smart table top game, that not just allows users play stand alone but be enabled by tech that opens possibilities of next level user interactions and experiences with physical push buttons and sound effects, Users can play solo or play with their friends, The App opens possibilities of Online game play, Users can be at remote locations and yet can play Hoopaz with each other.

Top Notch Creativity And Engineering Behind The Scene

The game is fun to play but it is equally enjoyable making one. There were two parts of the story that made this a perfect game. The Board and the App.

The Board

Our expert teams helped 23Gamez develop the mini basketball game board. It started with designing the game boards, their different variants, and limited edition drops too. We worked closely with the supplier to develop drivers and protocols that are loaded on the basketball rigs. The MindInventory team demonstrated their ability to work on ventures involving hardware integrations and physical interaction-heavy implementations with precision and expertise.

The App

To develop the app we relied on Flutter which helped us save time of making apps in native toolkits of respective mobile platforms while we were able to deliver top notch well designed user experience in both Android and iOS platforms. MQTT was chosen to sync the sensor data across the rigs, either it is in the same room or players are playing it remotely, We made it work seamlessly. Users can see the scores and counters on their mobile screens due to this realtime implementation. They can use buttons in the app or use the physical button as per their convenience. We made sure the users felt a strong connection with the real Basketball game for that we did implement the same basketball rules for the tabletop game. It was fun testing it for sure 🙂.

Challenge

Traditional tabletop games often lack dynamic interactivity and technological integration, making them less appealing to a tech-savvy generation. Players seeking innovative and interactive experiences found traditional options limiting. Moreover, multiplayer tabletop gaming is typically confined to players in the same physical location, leaving remote players disconnected. Hoopaz sought to address these limitations by blending physical and digital gaming elements.

Lack of interactive and immersive features in existing tabletop games.

Bridging the gap between physical and digital gaming experiences.

Limited options for remote multiplayer gameplay.

Solution

Hoopaz reimagined the tabletop gaming experience by integrating smart technology and real-time interactivity into the game board. The gameplay was enhanced with realistic basketball sounds — from ball bounces to scoring cheers — creating an immersive environment for players. Smart sensors enabled real-time interactions, allowing players to track their moves, scores, and progress instantly. This blend of physical play with digital feedback not only elevated user engagement but also allowed players from different locations to connect and compete seamlessly, breaking the limitations of traditional tabletop gaming.

Allow players to interact with the game in real-time.

Solo gameplay, local multiplayer gameplay through the app.

Enhance immersion with realistic basketball sounds.

Logo

Typography

Avatars

Home Screen

With Hoopaz we made sure you can play your favourite game, No matter what. Either you are solo or you are with your friends you can play Hoopaz and have fun.

Game Play

It is as comprehensive and vivid as it can get, We did pour into it all our Basketball experiences and technical expertise to make sure you get all the options you expect.

It is as comprehensive and vivid as it can get, We did pour into it all our Basketball experiences and technical expertise to make sure you get all the options you expect.

Players can enjoy solo challenges to improve their skills or compete in real-time with friends in an engaging multiplayer mode.

The Success

Based on the solid game and robust implementation, 23Gamez was able to partner with FIBA 3X3 World Tour and Deutscher Basketball Bund , The campaign on IndieGoGo was one of the most successful campaigns.