Hi guys. I'm looking to run a BBS dedicated to my board game community. I have a tiny bit of programming experience, but not much. How would I go about building my own and making a few door games for it? Where on earth do I start? I think I'm keen to go the Raspberry Pi route but I'm not sure.... reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-25 16:34 ...all of the guides or comments left for similar questions assume a certain level of BBS knowledge, so please if you can, explain like I'm 5...thanks!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ItsLikeHerdingCats · 2022-09-25 17:42 I don’t know what runs on a Pi. Many of us are dinosaurs that ran boards in the 90’s! What’s the budget? Do you plan to run from a home internet connection or a hosting service? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2022-09-25 17:48 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-25 17:49 Not thought about budget. But home internet, I guess? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rlauzon · 2022-09-25 18:02 Synchronet. Mystic. Pi's are nice for BBSes. Just make sure that you also get an external spinning drive (2.5" DATA drive and SATA-to-USB adapter - the Pi can support 1 without needing more power) for the BBS because the writes will destroy the SD card pretty quickly. The problem is that setting up a BBS still takes a bit of technical knowledge. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- auric0m · 2022-09-25 19:18 mystic or syncronet. you can write door games in almost anything, python or MPL or even bash. there are some old ‘make a door game’ frameworks from back in the day - poke around 20forbeers file section home internet is fine. bbs consumes no appreciable bandwidth ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2022-09-25 20:22 I'll plug for Enigma since I'm the author. You can write a door in anything that can write to a socket or even more genetically, to standard I/O (stdio). There are door kits, but honestly I'd just find a terminal library that you like in a language of your choice and have at it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-25 20:30 No idea what any of this means. Please explain like I'm 4...? Sorry, I know this is frustrating. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2022-09-25 20:35 Standard I/O is about as simple as it gets, is what various "hello world" tutorials will teach you. This works for BBS doors as well for any 'modern' BBS. There are many terminal libraries that will help you build interfaces... I'd personally use these over a 'door kit'. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cognitivegear · 2022-09-26 00:05 I think a lot of people are responding to the "make a few door games" part of your question. Do you mean that you want to program some brand new door games, or just run some existing ones? If it is to make new ones, I would definitely start small and just get the BBS setup first and running (on the Raspberry Pi or wherever.) As other people have mentioned, some of the good options for the software to run this include Synchronet, Enigma 1/2, and Mystic. Just Google them, and maybe try installing all 3 and just see which one clicks for you. From there, if you really mean to create new door games, then you will need to do some programming. Do you already know one or more programming languages? If so then you should be good to go. After you get the BBS, start with just a "hello, world" example. It's going to need to communicate with the BBS. There are several options for this. Synchronet supports a JavaScript API for this which is pretty cool, but isn't portable if you decide to use a different BBS software later. Otherwise you might want to check out this page for Enigma 1/2: https://nuskooler.github.io/enigma-bbs/modding/local-doors.html Yes, it's confusing there are a ton of options and things you need to learn to write your own door - take it slow and post specific questions, either here or in the communities for one of the BBS softwares. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Traditional_Lynx_951 · 2022-09-26 04:07 If you want to experiment with a synchronet bbs I can set you up for free... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-09-26 08:20 \[1\] learn how to run a bbs. this isn't that hard if you just try doing it hands on. \[2\] learn how to program so you can make your doorgames. schooling or learning through books, online examples and experimentation. good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:21 Excellent. I can program in Python so this is great. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:22 Are there any guides out there for the PI? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:24 Okay this "learn" how to run a BBS is the sticking issue I have. I am trying to find a guide that shows the correct steps I need to make. Programming, I can do. I can write in python, just unsure of how an application I write in python can then become a door game, my users will encounter. I have written a text adventure for Windows, it's a .exe, could I have this as a door game on my BBS? It's around 3gb in size. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:41 Great!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:42 Happy to take this to the DMs or setup a call. I'll explain what I'm looking to try and do and let's explore if Enigma is the answer! 🙂 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rlauzon · 2022-09-26 09:49 Just the documentation for setting up the BBS software. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 09:50 Okay. I'm surprised nobody has done this on YouTube. Cool, I will have a dig. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- then00b · 2022-09-26 10:23 You wrote a text adventure that's 3gb?! That's a lot of text! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 10:26 Ha. It has animated sequences and Hi Res images. Here's a trailer for it... https://youtu.be/A7v0GuHa0C8 Currently live on Kickstarter with my other board games 🙂 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- then00b · 2022-09-26 10:29 Oh neat! This looks really cool! Thanks for sharing ☺️ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 10:31 Here's the Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thecivitas universe/civitas-2230-build-the-cyberpunk-city-of-your-dreams ---------------------------------------------------------------------- rlauzon · 2022-09-26 11:17 There are several channels for setting up a BBS on a PI. ex: https://www.youtube.com/c/MysticGuyBBS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-26 11:24 Ah sweet thank you! God knows why I couldn't find this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- digitlman · 2022-09-26 18:39 https://wiki.synchro.net/howto:raspbian\_install ---------------------------------------------------------------------- digitlman · 2022-09-26 21:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN\_n0ctYD9o ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Traditional_Lynx_951 · 2022-09-26 23:18 If you want a free sync bbs, do: Go to [https://synchronetbbs.org/Host Splash](https://synchronetbbs.org/HostSplash), choose shared plan, and when checking out use the "offline" payment method so you don't have to pay. When I get that I will set you up with a sync bbs... (Also open to anyone else, too) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2022-09-28 02:14 Feel free to DM me or hit me up on fsxNet, AgoraNet, or IRC, happy to help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-09-30 02:48 Like i said, you do it hands on like we all did. hands on is the best way to learn. I'll write you a guide right here: ***download the software you would like to try*** ***read the documentation.*** ***register a domain name or use a dynamic dns provider*** ***setup your port forwarding if you run it at home.*** ***ask for help in msg networks if you run into issues.*** Most of us started running a bbs when we were kids. 15 years old or even younger in most cases. Hands on and trial and error is a great way to learn. could your text game work with a bbs? if it's only text and if it can be redirected to the user, probably. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-09-30 18:43 Awesome thank you so much. The register a domain or use a DNS and port forwarding is the area I'm super sketching on and can't find much help with. Until this comment I had no idea what these things actually were, let alone if or why they were needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 · 2022-10-01 01:56 every computer on a network has an ip address you probably have a firewall of some sort domain names make it easier to get visitors because they don't have to type in a bunch of numbers (ip address). namecheap is easy you probably have a router or some type of firewall. software or hardware. you need to open that port up (whatever your software uses) because your computer will now be a server and need to be open to the rest of the network (internet) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- robbiew · 2022-10-13 03:01 Hey, board game enthusiast and BBS sysop here (AlphaComplex.us:2323) - let me know if you get something up and running! My first BBS was and attempt at a board game based BBS (Card and Claw), but was hard for me to get a critical mass of community interested, I even wrote a couple doors around BGG stats... I think it's totally possible, but will require an influx of like minded users. You can do it!