Local desktop game intelligence
Catanatron Colonist
Play Colonist in a dedicated Mac or Windows app with evidence based card intelligence rendered directly beside the live game.
Version 0.7.1 · Experimental unsigned builds · Counting stays local and disabled until you enable it
- 01INPUTA live Colonist game
- 02SYSTEMA secure local browser and deterministic tracker
- 03OUTCOMEIn game card intelligence with honest uncertainty
Repository grounded case study. No staged product demo.
WHY IT EXISTS
The product starts with the problem.
A useful game tracker has to be immediate without pretending hidden information is known. The desktop app keeps Colonist’s native board, chat, player rows, and right sidebar intact while a dedicated left column shows only what observed events and feasible hand math support.
WHAT IT IS MEANT TO DO
Three jobs, one clear promise.
These are the product outcomes the repository is organized to deliver.
Stay inside the game
The intelligence column scales beside the board, while native hands, chat, settings, controls, and the complete right sidebar remain usable.
Track the correct player
Tracker rows bind to Colonist’s native player color and name so local and opponent knowledge cannot silently drift between seats.
Show useful uncertainty
Unknown cards become bounded ranges and feasible hand percentages instead of blanks or fabricated exact resources.
PRODUCT FLOW
How the idea becomes useful.
A short path from the user’s starting point to a useful result.
- 01
Open the desktop app
Use the dedicated persistent Colonist profile on Apple silicon Mac or 64 bit Windows and sign in normally.
- 02
Enable the experiment
Counting starts only after explicit consent and can be disabled or cleared from the local controls at any time.
- 03
Observe proven events
Known protocol fields map identity, resource movement, builds, trades, rolls, development cards, and the local hand.
- 04
Render beside the board
Player ranges, feasible percentages, development watch, and actionable risks update in the game without a separate dashboard.
ENGINEERING IDEA
The choices that define the product.
Architecture matters here because each constraint changes what a user can safely believe or do.
Hardened browser boundary
Node integration is disabled, the renderer is sandboxed, navigation is restricted, permissions and downloads are blocked, and production fuses require the packaged archive.
Deterministic inference
The resource solver enumerates feasible hands, widens visibly when evidence conflicts, and never converts uncertainty into unsupported certainty.
Native UI stays native
Analytics live only in the dedicated left column. The app reads identity from native player rows but does not insert cards into them or replace Colonist’s right sidebar.
REPOSITORY PROOF
Evidence, not feature theatre.
Each point below comes from the current repository structure, code, or documented reference data.
Desktop tests
Security, identity matching, card math, platform behavior, capture, and packaging checks pass together.
Desktop platforms
Version 0.7.1 has a launch tested Apple silicon DMG and an install, launch, shortcut, and uninstall tested 64 bit Windows EXE.
Hardened fuses
Every current Electron production fuse is set explicitly and verified in the packaged applications.
HONEST BOUNDARIES
What this product is not.
- Version 0.7.1 is an experimental unsigned release. macOS and Windows may show their standard unverified developer warning.
- The tracker depends on Colonist protocol and page behavior and may need updates when either changes.
- Hidden information remains uncertain unless later evidence proves a single interpretation.