🎮 Sister Brawl — Fun Audit v2

Date: 2026-06-04
Source: /home/usr/funday/docs/fun-ops/audits/2026-06-04-sisterbrawl-fun-audit-v2.md
Evidence basis: live browser playtest at /play/sisterbrawl plus code review.

Executive scorecard

FUN STACK     ███████░░░ 3.4/5  (up from 2.8)
CORE LOOP     1 weak link: Reward; Learning improved from broken to weak
FUN TYPES     Hard: 3/5 | Social: 2/5 | System: 2/5 | Sensory: 3.5/5
PEAK MOMENT   Solo mode → bot fight → KO with screen shake + particles
DEAD MOMENT   Post-match: no progression, no XP, flat scoreboard

Evidence summary

Source	Finding
Live playtest	Game loads, renders a 2D canvas, and solo mode auto-starts with a bot opponent
Console	No JS errors observed in the referenced playtest; draw-loop logs confirmed rendering
Frontend code	Prediction, interpolation, replay/spectator support, HUD, audio, particles, screen shake
Nakama server	60Hz tick, physics/combat, bot AI, replay/spectating, progression hooks
Manifest	allowSoloAutostart: true, integrationType: "svelte-component"

Top remaining fun killers

Killer	Severity	Fix direction
Character specials still feel too similar server-side	🟡 gameplay	Differentiate each character’s special in authoritative match logic
Tutorial/onboarding is still thin	🔴 clarity	Add first-run tutorial and explain win condition, block, specials, and rematch loop
Reward loop is weak	🟡 retention	Add XP/progression or character mastery surface after match end
Multiplayer social proof remains under-tested	🟡 confidence	Add two-context Playwright smoke for match create/join/play
Silent match-state failures	🟢 polish	Replace silent catches with visible retry/error state where player action is needed

Fix priority

1. Onboarding: teach movement, attack, block, special, and win condition before the first real fight.
2. Special differentiation: make the six characters mechanically distinct server-side, not just statistically distinct.
3. Reward: show progression, mastery, match history, or another persistent reason to rematch.
4. Multiplayer proof: verify 2-player create/join/sync/disconnect behavior with an E2E smoke.

Related pages

• Sister Brawl game page
• Sister Brawl deep audit