Hand & Foot Friends & Family Edition — Cross-Platform Rebuild
Founder, sole architect and builder
Stack
- TypeScript
- React Native / Expo
- Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- Claude Code
Numbers
- Four legacy repos (PHP API, RN client, JS engine, Laravel admin) consolidated into a single TypeScript monorepo
- One language across client, server, and shared game engine
- Hosting cost path from ~$300/month down to ~$10–20/month
Problem
Hand & Foot Friends & Family Edition is a multiplayer card game — a Canasta variant the founder’s family has played for thirty years — with a base of active subscribers. The original was built across four separate repos by an outside developer, which made iteration slow and operating costs higher than a passion project should carry.
Approach
Rebuilt end-to-end with Claude Code as the primary tool: one TypeScript codebase spanning client, server, and a shared game engine, shipping to web, iOS, and Android from a single source. Real-time multiplayer over Socket.IO, PostgreSQL for persistence, and a stack simple enough for a founder to maintain with AI assistance.
Outcome
In progress, with early shipping milestones met. The rebuild also serves as a reference architecture for the multi-platform deployment patterns Hubbs Enterprises reuses across products.