Jawaker 2.0

We made some pretty significant changes on Jawaker last week. It took us a while to write this post because we wanted to be sure that our major revamp was well received. We couldn't be happier with the outcome and the reception that we got from our users, so without any further ado, here are the major changes that constitute "Jawaker 2.0".

A new look and feel for the site
We changed the entire layout and markup of the site, including the home page. The changes are intended to simplify the DOM tree and to a more intuitive feel to the site as a whole.

Improved game table (with new descriptive icons)
The major page on the site, the game table, went through yet another makeover. We simplified and standardized the layout, including the addition of user-friendly and descriptive icons to represent certain important game events relating to each player.

Ability to turn off chat
Sounds simple enough :) Our players can now turn the game chat on and off as they please.

Play a card with one click
Players no longer need to double click on cards to play them. They can now hover over their cards and see the card of interest pop-out, in which case they click only once to play it.

Estimation is added
Seems like this news should be in a blog post of its own! However, the addition of Estimation as our latest game is long over due and we decided to add it to this round of updates.

Ability to search game by game name
It's a good sign that the number of games on the site is increasing, but we felt we had to do something to help users find the game they wanted to play in. So now from the game index players can type in the game name and the games are filtered automatically based on any subsequent letters in the game name that match the typed search.

Improved AI
We are always looking to improve the skill of the automatic Jawaker players that sit in for players. We have been statistically tracking the skill of our AI over time and we have made significant changes that have vastly improved how Jawaker plays during a hand.

Ability to play with one player only
Since we have become more confident in our AI, we felt that the time was right to allow games to continue with only one player on the table. This also has the added benefit of improving the percentage of games that are completed and avoids any backlash from players leaving a winning player and adversely affecting his rank.

Sound is played whenever a card is played
A small change that we feel adds more character to the game. You can now hear a sound of a card being played whenever a card is played on the table :)