Rats with Gats Remote Play (pirats)
A web-based remote play companion app for the tabletop roleplaying game Rats with Gats (where players roleplay as space-faring pirate rats, or "Pi-Rats"). The application manages lobbies, character creation, card mechanics, scene phases, obstacles, challenges, and player voting.
It is built with FastAPI, SQLModel (SQLite database), Jinja2 templates, and HTMX for dynamic, real-time page updates.
Features
- Game Lobby: Create games and join as players via a unique game ID.
- Character Creation:
- Fill out the character profile (appearance, smell, catchphrase).
- Delegate custom "Like/Hate" relationship questionnaire cards to other crewmates (answering them for each other!).
- Draft three "Secret Pirate Techniques" which are automatically shuffled and swapped among players.
- Bind swapped techniques to Face Cards (Jack, Queen, King) for play.
- Dynamic Card Mechanics:
- Automated 54-card deck shuffling and card drawing.
- Automatically matches card suits to thematic obstacles (Clubs for combat, Spades for stealth/cunning, Hearts for social/morale, Diamonds for nautical/athletics).
- Scene Management:
- Assign roles (Pi-Rats or "The Deep" narrator).
- Dynamic challenge creation linking multiple active obstacles.
- Automatically handles card matching colors/values, automatic success when playing Face Card techniques, and Joker card triggers to discard/replace obstacles.
- Between-Scenes Voting:
- Vote on crewmates to rank up.
- Toggle personal objectives (Get a Gat, Earn a Name, Die like a Pirate).
Installation & Running
This project supports standard Python package tools as well as Nix flakes.
Option 1: Standard Python Installation
Prerequisites
- Python >= 3.9
- Virtual environment tool (optional but recommended)
1. Setup Virtual Environment (Optional)
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
2. Install Package
Install the package and its dependencies in editable mode:
pip install -e .
3. Run the App
Launch the FastAPI server using the installed package entrypoint:
pirats --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload
Alternatively, run it with uvicorn:
uvicorn pirats.main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --reload
Once running, access the web UI at http://localhost:8000.
Option 2: Using Nix Flakes
If you use the Nix package manager, this repository provides a complete environment.
1. Enter the Development Shell
Includes Python, all runtime dependencies, and testing tools (pytest):
nix develop
2. Run the Application
Run the package directly from the flake:
nix run . -- --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000
3. Build the Application Package
nix build .
The executable will be located in ./result/bin/pirats.
Deploying as a NixOS Service
The Nix flake exposes a NixOS module that configures the application to run as a systemd service with appropriate sandboxing.
Add this flake to your system configuration and configure the service:
services.pirats = {
enable = true;
host = "127.0.0.1";
port = 8000;
databasePath = "/var/lib/pirats/rats_with_gats.db";
openFirewall = false; # Set to true to open ports in the firewall
};
Running Tests
Tests are written using pytest.
Running with Pip
pytest
Running with Nix
nix develop --command pytest
Project Structure
pirats/
├── pyproject.toml # Python package metadata and dependencies
├── flake.nix # Nix package, dev shell, and NixOS service module
├── tests/ # Unit and integration tests
│ └── test_game.py # Game logic and CRUD database test suites
└── src/
└── pirats/ # Core Python package
├── main.py # FastAPI routes, HTTP endpoints, CLI entrypoint
├── crud.py # Core database CRUD, game mechanics, and transitions
├── models.py # SQLModel database tables (Game, Player, Obstacle, Challenge, Vote)
├── cards.py # Playing card parser, deck setups, and obstacle definitions
├── templates/ # Jinja2 HTML pages and HTMX snippets
└── static/ # CSS styles and frontend assets