What's New

Every Board Games Tracker release, newest first: what's new and what got fixed

October 3, 2026v2.2.5

Invite Links Open the App

A small release. Inviting a friend got easier on Android, and a few things that got in the way are fixed.

Invites go straight to the app

Tap and you're in: If you have Board Games Tracker on your phone, a friend's invite link now opens in the app, right on the invite.
No app, no problem: Without the app, the link opens in your browser and works there, the same as before.

Bug fixes

Invite links that work: Links shared from the Android app pointed to the wrong address, so your friend couldn't open them. They work now.
Connecting accounts: Linking Google or Discord to your profile on Android left you in the browser afterwards. You now come back to the app.

September 27, 2026v2.2.4

Solo Games, a Steadier Sign-in & Connection Status

The games you played on your own finally have a home in the app. Two things that quietly got in the way are fixed too: surprise sign-outs, and silent failures on a bad connection.

Games you played alone

Log a solo game: Pick a game, switch on Playing solo, and it's just you. No second player to fill in.
Did you beat it? Say whether you beat the game or it beat you, instead of naming a winner among players who weren't there.
Counted as what it was: A solo loss used to show up as a tie in your history and your achievements. It now counts as a loss, and a solo win as a win.

You stay signed in

A bad moment no longer costs you your session: A brief drop in signal while the app was starting or waking up could sign you out. It can't any more.
Sign-in on the first try: Signing in with Google on Android sometimes took several attempts before it stuck. That's fixed.
Opens straight away: The app no longer waits on the network before showing you anything, so a slow connection means slow data, not a locked screen.

When the connection drops, the app says so

You see what's wrong: A bar at the top tells you whether you're offline or our server isn't answering, instead of leaving you with an empty page.
Try again when you're back: One tap re-checks the connection, and tells you if it still isn't working.
It gets out of the way: The bar confirms you're back online and then disappears on its own.

September 3, 2026v2.2.3

Close Calls, New Achievements & a Lighter App

Every game you won or lost by a whisker, collected in one place, plus twelve new achievements for the margins that decided them.

The games decided by a hair

See how thin it was: A new Close Calls page lists every game that came down to nothing, with the exact margin on each one and who it came down to.
Wins and losses both: The one you stole on the final turn and the one that still stings sit side by side, and you can show either on its own.
What counts as close: Decided by a single point or less, or by under 5% of the winning score, so a four-point finish in a big scoring game counts too.

Narrow any view to the nail-biters

One filter, everywhere: Turn on Close games in Statistics and every number on the page reflects only the games that went to the wire.
It comes with you: Tap through to a game or an opponent and the filter follows, so you can see who you keep beating by a single point.

Twelve new achievements

For the ones you stole: Photo Finish, Nail Biter, Clutch, Ice in the Veins, Last-Point Legend and Margin Merchant.
And the ones that got away: So Close, Heartbreaker, Always the Bridesmaid, One Point Short, Silver Standard and Connoisseur of Agony.

Lighter on your phone

A smaller download: The app ships trimmed down, so it installs faster and takes less room on your phone.
Supporters see no ads at all: If you support the app, it is ad-free from the moment it opens.

July 26, 2026v2.2.2

Invite Links, Privacy Controls & a Cleaner Goodbye

Invite a friend with a link, decide for yourself whether the app collects usage data, and leave cleanly whenever you want to.

Invite a friend by link

Share and they're in: An invite link opens on a page showing who sent it, and works whether or not they already have an account.
Signing in keeps your place: New players land back on the invitation once they've signed in, and the sender is notified when it's accepted.

You choose what's shared

Usage analytics are opt-in: Knowing which screens people open and where the app runs into errors helps us fix what matters. But only if you agree to it.
Never your game data: Friend names, game titles and comments aren't collected, and nothing is sold to anyone.
Yours to change: The analytics switch and your ad privacy choice both live under Profile → Preferences, and take effect immediately.

Your account, your data

Signing out clears the device: Your preferences and recent activity leave with you, and come back from your account when you sign in again.
Deleting really deletes: Removing your account now clears all of your data completely, in one reliable pass. The games you played with friends stay in their history.

Ready for the newest Android

Updated for Android 16: The mobile app is rebuilt on the latest foundations so it keeps running smoothly on new phones.

July 20, 2026v2.2.1

Reliable Statistics, Profile Pictures & a Fresh New Look

Your statistics now reliably show every game you've logged, and the stats screens load in one smooth pass. Profile pictures load properly and stay put, and the app has a refreshed logo and icons.

Statistics that always show every game

No more missing games: If you and your friends had logged a lot of sessions, some of your most recent games could quietly drop off the statistics screens. Every game you've recorded now shows up, no matter how many you (or your friends) have played.
Smoother loading: The statistics pages now wait until everything is loaded and show your numbers in one go, instead of jumping and re-counting as each piece arrives.

Profile pictures that load and stay put

No more broken-image avatars: Your profile picture and your friends' now load reliably instead of sometimes failing to appear, especially on accounts signed in with Google.
Your uploaded photo sticks: If you set your own profile picture, it's no longer replaced by your Google photo the next time you log in.

A fresh new look

New logo & icons: A refreshed Board Games Tracker mark across the app. You'll see it in the browser tab, on the home-screen icon and on the launch screen.

One profile across both apps

Your details travel with you: Your name, username and photo are shared with RuleVault, so changing them here changes them there too. Your profile now says so plainly, instead of leaving you to find out.

Terms & privacy where you can actually find them

Clear at sign-up: Signing in or creating an account now shows what you're agreeing to, with the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy linked right there.
Always to hand: Both documents are linked from your Profile page, so you can read them any time, not only when you sign up.

Translation fixes

Favorite Game achievements: The Favorite Game achievement category showed an untranslated label in German, Spanish, French and Italian. It now reads correctly in all six languages.

May 23, 2026v2.2.0

Comments, Notification Inbox & 35 New Achievements

Your activity feed just got a lot more social. You can now chat with friends about a game right from its card, and a new bell-icon inbox keeps friend requests, achievements and comments in one place. There's also a big batch of new achievements waiting the next time you open the app.

Comments on game results

Open from anywhere: Tap the comments chip on any game in the activity feed or on a played-game detail page to open the thread. It's the same conversation either way.
Bottom sheet on mobile, centered card on desktop: The composer feels at home wherever you open it, with Cmd/Ctrl+Enter to send quickly from a keyboard.
Friend marker on avatars: A subtle cyan accent on the avatar tells you at a glance which commenters are already friends of yours.
Edit and delete your own: Removed comments leave behind a quiet "this message was deleted" placeholder, so the thread still reads cleanly.
Per-comment actions menu: Tap any commenter's avatar to view their profile (if you're friends), send a friend request, or block them. Blocking asks you to confirm first, just like on the Friends page.
"Be the first to comment" empty state: A friendly prompt and a warm chip, so a brand-new thread doesn't look abandoned.

Notification inbox

Bell icon with a live unread badge: Sits in the top nav on every page and updates in real time as new events come in.
Tappable history modal: Friend requests, accepted requests, unlocked achievements and new comments on your games, all in one scrollable list.
Taps go to the right place: Tapping a friend request notification opens the friends page on the requests tab; an achievement notification scrolls to and highlights the unlocked one; a comment notification opens the right game's comment thread.
Auto-marks read on open: Opening the inbox clears the bell badge immediately, but the rows you hadn't seen before keep a visual "new" tag during your current session so you don't lose track of what just arrived.
Per-type push toggles: Under Profile → Notification Settings you can turn off pushes for any single event type and still keep the in-app inbox fully active.

35 new achievements to chase

Two higher tiers across every existing category: Games played gets Hall of Fame and Living Legend; wins reaches Apex Predator and Immortal Champion; same-game fans can hit Obsessed and One True Game; new tiers for losses, ties, dice/card/strategy wins, unique games, same player, team games, opponents and friends.
Brand-new Win Streak category: Hot Hand (3 in a row), On Fire (5), Untouchable (10), and Living Streak (20).
Sympathetic Loss Streak category: Rough Patch (3), Cold Streak (5), and Humbled (10). The bad games count for something too.
Awarded retroactively: Anything you've already earned based on your existing history will unlock automatically the next time stats refresh.

Mobile nav refresh

Friends and Notifications now in the bottom bar: One tap from anywhere, no detour through the profile menu.
Tighter spacing: All seven buttons line up cleanly without crowding the centered "add result" button.

Polish & bug fixes

Played-game header redesign: Edit and Delete are now icon-only squares on mobile that expand to icon+label on desktop, matching the back button. The page content gets the attention back.
Comments chip is self-describing: Reads "5 Comments" instead of just "5", so you're not left guessing what the number stands for.
Missing players on a friend's game: Fixed a bug where some players didn't appear in the played-game detail when viewing a friend's session.
Cleaner block UX: Comments and notifications now fully respect your block list, in-app notifications included. The actions menu also opens right next to the avatar you tapped.

March 22, 2026v2.1.1

Statistics Filters, Date Format & Barcode Upgrade

More ways to filter your statistics, a date format setting, and a barcode scanner that matches the right game more often.

Statistics Filters

Date Range Filters: Filter your statistics by custom date ranges to focus on specific time periods
Head-to-Head Comparison: Compare two players side-by-side to see who comes out on top across your games
More Filter Options: Extra filters on the game and player statistics pages

Date Format Preference

Choose Your Format: Select your preferred date format (e.g., DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY) from your profile settings
Consistent Display: All date pickers and date displays throughout the app now respect your chosen format
Flatpickr Integration: Every date picker now uses Flatpickr, so they all look and behave the same

Better Barcode Scanner

Production Ready: Barcode scanner now uses production API keys for reliable game lookups
Better Game Matching: Full GameUPC integration, so a barcode is matched to the right game more often
Own UPC Database: We now maintain our own UPC lookup table for faster and more reliable scans over time

March 14, 2026v2.1.0

Statistics Redesign, Barcode Scanner & Smart Game Names

The statistics page is completely redesigned, you can scan a game's barcode to find it instantly, and the app now remembers what you call your games.

Statistics Page Redesign

Brand New Layout: The statistics page has been rebuilt from scratch with a clearer layout
Team Game Support: Fixed team-based game statistics to display correctly in the new design
Better Data Visualization: Your play history and player performance are easier to read

Barcode Scanner

Scan to Find Games: Use your device's camera to scan a board game barcode and instantly find it in our database
Works in Browser: No app install needed. The barcode scanner works right in your web browser too
Mobile Optimized: Small mobile-specific improvements for a smoother scanning experience

Smart Game Names

Preferred Game Names: The app now remembers the name you searched for when adding a board game, so it reuses the name you actually typed correctly next time

Other Improvements

App Review Prompt: After you've used the app for a while, it may ask you to rate it. Your feedback helps us improve
Bug Fixes: Fixed a local merge bug and resolved team-based game issues in the statistics page

February 15, 2026v2.0.1

Custom Games, Parties & Add Result Improvements

Create your own board games, save your regular groups of players as parties, and log games faster with party imports and collection prompts.

Custom Board Games

Create Your Own Games: Add custom board games that aren't in our database yet, with name, player count, playtime, description, image, and categories
Edit & Delete: Manage your custom games from the new "My Custom Games" page accessible from your profile
Shared With Friends: Your custom games are visible to friends so they can use them when logging results too
Rate Limited: One new custom game per week, to keep the quality up

Parties (Player Groups)

Save Parties: Create named parties like "Friday Night Crew" to save your regular gaming groups
Quick Import: Import a whole party directly into a game result with one tap instead of adding players one by one
Manage Members: Add friends and local players from your parties at any time
Save From Results: After adding players to a game result, save them as a new party for next time

Add Result Improvements

Party Import: Import an existing party to quickly populate the player list
Save as Party: Save the current player selection as a new party directly from the add result page
Collection Hint: A prompt suggests adding the game to your collection, so it's quicker to find next time
Team Mode Hint: Clearer description of what team mode does when toggling it on

Other Improvements

App Version Display: Version number now shown in the browser profile dropdown and at the bottom of the profile page
All new features fully translated in all 6 supported languages

February 7, 2026v2.0.0

Version 2.0, the Big One. Now Live on Google Play

Board Games Tracker hits version 2.0 and is officially live on the Google Play Store. Adding a game result is completely redesigned, team mode is overhauled, games can have more than one winner, every error message is translated, and the whole app is a lot faster.

Multi-Winner & Tie Support

Tied for First Place: Games can now have multiple winners who tied for first, separate from a full draw where everyone ties
Tap-to-Select Winners: Select winners by tapping player cards instead of using dropdown menus. Tap several players to mark co-winners
Everyone Tied Button: Quickly mark all players as tied with a single tap when a game ends in a complete draw
Activity Feed Tie Display: The home feed now shows "tied for first" when a game has multiple winners

Redesigned Add Game Result

Unified Players & Scores: Players and scores now share one section, so recording a result is quicker
Mobile-First Layout: Full-width cards on mobile, polished rounded layout on desktop
Integrated Score Inputs: Score fields sit right inside each player card, so there's no more switching between sections
Inline Player Creation: Create a new local player directly from search results without leaving the page
Smarter Player Search: Search now scopes to friends and local players only, removing irrelevant results

Team Mode Overhaul

Color-Coded Badges: Assign players to teams by tapping color-coded badges (blue, red, green, purple, orange, cyan) instead of dropdowns
Smart Auto-Assignment: New players are automatically placed on the team with the fewest members
Auto-Split Teams: Evenly distribute all players across teams with one tap using round-robin assignment
Dynamic Rebalancing: Teams automatically adjust when players are removed so no team is left empty
Team Score Editing: Enter and edit team scores directly from the team view

Game Result Details Redesigned

Consistent Design: The game detail view now matches the new add-result design with player cards, badges, and inline scores
Better Edit Mode: Click-to-toggle winner selection, badge-based team reassignment, and inline score editing
Duplicate Player Detection: Prevents adding the same player twice and shows which slot they're already in

Full Internationalization of Errors

80+ Translated Error Messages: All error messages throughout the entire app are now translated into all 6 languages
Complete Coverage: Login errors, upload issues, friend requests, game management, player management, and admin operations all translated

Performance & Stability

Achievement System Optimization: Optimized database queries and removed ~500 lines of redundant code for faster achievement checking
Parallel Data Loading: Multiple data requests now run simultaneously across the app for faster page loads
Optimized Activity Feed: Faster feed loading with smarter data filtering and parallel team data resolution
Global Loading Spinner: New consistent loading spinner system with multiple sizes and color variants used app-wide

January 30, 2026v1.7.0

Score Tracking & Better Social Features

You can now record scores, and see a lot more of what your friends are playing. This update adds score tracking for individual players and teams, a completely redesigned activity feed and richer friend profiles.

Score Tracking

Track Player Scores: Record individual scores for each player when logging game results
Team Score Support: In team mode, assign scores to entire teams rather than individuals
Score Display: View scores in game history, activity feed, and played game details
Optional Tracking: Score tracking is optional. Turn it on only when you want to record scores

Better Friend Profiles

Redesigned Layout: The friend profile page is rebuilt and better organized
View Friend's Collection: Browse games from your friends' collections
View Friend's Wishlist: See which games your friends want to add to their collection

New Activity Feed

Refreshed Design: A completely new activity feed component replacing the old recent games view
Richer Information: See more details about each game session at a glance
Score Display: Scores are shown directly in the activity feed when available

Username System

Username Setup: New flow for setting up usernames with validation
Improved Validation: Better username validation with clear error messages

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Full security review, with tighter data access policies as a result
Fixed friend invite acceptance flow with improved database functions
Friends can now properly view each other's game results and favorites
Fixed duplicate avatar upload when avatar file was missing from storage
Updated all 6 language translations with new strings

January 25, 2026v1.6.0

Collection & Wishlist Management

Your board game shelf gets its own pages. This update adds proper collection and wishlist management, better search and tools for your offline players.

Collection & Wishlist

Dedicated Collection Page: View and manage all your owned games in one place
Wishlist Support: Keep track of games you want to buy separately from your collection
Quick Actions: Easily move games between collection and wishlist

Improved Search

Fuzzy Search: Find games even with typos or partial names
Recent Searches: Quickly access your previous search queries
Better Performance: Faster search results with optimized database queries

Offline Player Management

Manage Offline Players: New dedicated page to view and edit your offline players
Merge Players: Convert offline players to friends when they join the platform

Bug Fixes

Fixed various UI inconsistencies on mobile devices
Improved form validation and error handling
Faster statistics calculations

January 18, 2026v1.5.0

Push Notifications & Account Management

The mobile app now sends push notifications, and you get full control over your account data.

Push Notifications (Mobile)

Friend Requests: Get notified when someone sends you a friend request
Friend Accepted: Know instantly when your friend request is accepted
Achievements: Get a ping when you unlock a new achievement
Game Results: Stay updated when games you played in are recorded
Localized Messages: Notifications appear in your preferred language

Notification Preferences

Granular Control: Enable or disable each notification type individually
Easy Setup: One tap turns on all notifications when you're first asked
Preferences Page: Manage all your notification settings in one place

In-App Account Deletion

Delete Your Account: Remove your account and all associated data directly from the app
Complete Data Removal: Game results, favorites, friends, achievements, and photos are all permanently deleted

Security Improvements

Better Protection: Stronger defences against common web vulnerabilities
Better Search: Search functionality now handles special characters safely

January 11, 2026v1.4.0

50+ New Achievements & 4 New Languages

A big expansion of the achievements, which now span 10 categories. The app also speaks German, Spanish, French and Italian from now on.

Expanded Achievements (50+ New)

Wins & Losses: Track your victories and defeats with milestone achievements
Favorite Game: Earn achievements for playing the same game multiple times
Streaks: Play the same game consecutively to unlock streak achievements
Genre Mastery: Win dice, card, and strategy games to become a master
Social: Play with the same partner, meet new opponents, and grow your friends list
Ties: Photo Finish, Tie Fighter, and more for tied games
Team Games: Team Player, Team Spirit, Team Captain achievements

Achievement Categories

Organized Display: Achievements are now grouped by category on both the Achievements page and Friend Profiles
Category Headers: Each category shows an icon, name, description, and progress count
Accurate Earned Dates: Achievements now show the actual date the milestone was reached

4 New Languages

German (Deutsch): Full German localization
Spanish (Espanol): Full Spanish localization
French (Francais): Full French localization
Italian (Italiano): Full Italian localization

Mobile UI Improvements

No Horizontal Scrolling: Fixed layout issues causing horizontal scroll on mobile
Icon-Only Buttons: Action buttons show icons only on mobile for better space usage
Responsive Headers: Improved header layout across all screen sizes

January 4, 2026v1.3.0

Friends System & Achievements

The first social features are here. You can add friends and earn achievements, and the whole app got a round of polish.

Friends System

Add Friends: Search for other players and send friend requests to connect
Friend Profiles: View your friends' profiles, see their game statistics and achievements
Invite Links: Share invite links to add friends who aren't on the platform yet
Block Users: Block users you don't want to interact with. It works both ways, so neither of you sees the other
Friend Requests: Manage incoming and outgoing friend requests with accept, reject, and cancel options

Achievements System

8 Milestone Achievements: Earn achievements for playing 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 games
Progress Tracking: See your progress toward the next achievement milestone
Retroactive Awards: Existing games count toward achievements with accurate earned dates
Achievement Popups: Get notified when you unlock a new achievement

Profile Improvements

New Avatar Dialog: Choose from preset avatars or upload a custom photo with cropping support
Quick Actions: Easy access to Edit Avatar, Friends, and Achievements from your profile
Achievement Display: Your current rank and progress shown on the home dashboard

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Player Search: Fixed flickering and premature "not found" messages when searching for players
Confirmation Dialogs: Added confirmation prompts for removing friends, blocking, and unblocking users
Performance: Added database indexes for faster friend and blocked user lookups

January 2, 2026v1.2.0

Game Photos & Image Improvements

You can now add photos to your game results, and uploading images in general works a lot better.

Game Photos

Add Photos to Games: Attach photos of the table to your game results
Camera Integration: Take photos directly with your camera or choose from your gallery
Photo Management: View, edit, or remove photos anytime from the game details page

Improved Avatar Upload

New Image Cropper: Drag and zoom to crop your profile picture exactly how you want it
Better Controls: Fine-tune the crop with touch gestures

Technical Improvements

Automatic Optimization: Images are automatically optimized for faster uploads
Smart Resizing: Images are resized more carefully, so they look sharper
Secure Storage: Photos are securely stored with proper access controls

January 1, 2026v1.1.0

Mobile Experience & Authentication Improvements

Happy New Year! We're starting 2026 with fixes based on feedback from our alpha testers, mostly for the mobile app and for signing in reliably.

Mobile App Improvements

Transparent Status Bar: The status bar is now transparent, so content runs all the way to the edge of the screen
Better Device Compatibility: Added fallback support for older Android devices that don't support modern safe-area APIs

Bug Fixes

Mobile Login Flow: Fixed OAuth authentication flow that was causing login issues on mobile devices
Authentication Reliability: Resolved session handling issues that prevented successful login completion

Website Improvements

Mobile-Friendly Design: The website has been reworked for phones and tablets
Mobile Navigation: Added a new mobile menu for easier navigation on smaller screens

December 31, 2025v1.0 (Alpha)

Alpha Release: A Huge Milestone

Board Games Tracker is officially in alpha testing. It's a big step on the way to a full public release of the app.

What This Means

Real-world Testing: The app is now in the hands of 6 early testers
Feedback Driven: We're collecting feedback to polish the app before the public release
Feature Complete: All core features are implemented and ready for testing

Thank You to Our Alpha Testers

A special thank you to our 6 alpha testers. What you tell us goes straight into the version of Board Games Tracker that ships.

December 30, 2025v0.56

Introducing the Updates Page

From now on, every update, improvement and bug fix to Board Games Tracker gets written up here, newest first.

What to Expect

New Features: Announcements about new functionality added to the app
Improvements: Changes to features that are already in the app
Bug Fixes: Issues we've identified and resolved
Performance Updates: Optimizations to make the app faster and more reliable

Recent Highlights

Redesigned navigation with improved desktop toolbar
Home dashboard now has a quick stats overview
Consistent amber-themed icons across all pages
Improved dark mode styling throughout the application

That's everything so far. New updates appear at the top.