What is CheddaBoards?

CheddaBoards is a free, open-source gaming backend that gives you server-validated leaderboards with cheat-resistant score validation, achievements, cross-game player profiles, and authentication across all platforms.

REST API first — works with any platform. Godot, Unity, Unreal, GameMaker, native mobile, web, or custom engines. One API key, simple HTTP calls, instant leaderboards.

🔑 Sign-In That Players Actually Finish

Anonymous first. No OAuth SDKs in your game. No credentials on your side to leak.

①

Play Instantly

No account, no signup screen. Players get a persistent identity from their device and their scores count from the very first run.

②

Link With a Code

Google or Apple sign-in by typing a short code at cheddaboards.com/link — same flow as signing into a TV app. Works on desktop, mobile, web, and consoles. Your game never touches OAuth credentials.

③

Keep Everything, Everywhere

Linking merges their anonymous progress — scores, streaks, achievements — into one account that follows them across every CheddaBoards game. Sign in once, stay signed in.

Looks Like This

One line to submit a score. Pick your stack.

Godot


            CheddaBoards.submit_score(1500, 5)

Unity (C#)


            CheddaBoards.Instance.SubmitScore(1500, 5);

REST (any engine)


            POST /scores { "score": 1500, "streak": 5 }

Drop-in SDKs for Godot and Unity. Plain HTTP for everything else. Full examples below.

See It In Action

CHEDDA CLICK

A fast-paced cheese-clicker built in Godot 4 with the official CheddaBoards template. Chain combos across 15 levels while every SDK feature — server-validated scores, achievements, cross-platform auth, and anonymous play — runs live in a game you can play right now.

▶ play now (free)

Built in Godot 4 with the CheddaBoards template · Live leaderboards

🧀 Pricing

It's free. This is the whole pricing page.

EVERYTHING INCLUDED

🧀

Free

one tier · everything on

✓ Leaderboards with timed resets
✓ Achievements
✓ Authentication (all platforms)
✓ Cheat-resistant score validation
✓ REST API access
✓ Open source

3 games per account — ask if you need more. Coming soon: more game slots

Get Started Free

🧮 Why It Can Stay Free

CheddaBoards runs on the Internet Computer — infrastructure with flat, predictable costs instead of per-request cloud billing. Serving your players doesn't cost us more per player, so it doesn't cost you anything at all.

NO PER-PLAYER FEES. EVER.

If paid team plans ever arrive, the free tier stays.

Your game goes viral? Great. There's no bill to go with it.
That's the promise the platform is built on.

💸 Traditional Backend Services

• Monthly costs scale with players
• Free tiers have strict limits
• Server maintenance required
• Complex pricing, surprise bills

🧀 CheddaBoards

✓ Predictable pricing — no per-player costs
✓ Free with real features
✓ Zero server maintenance
✓ No surprise costs, ever

🛠️ Core Features

Everything you need to ship competitive online features.

📅

Timed Leaderboards

Daily, weekly, and monthly competitions with automatic resets. Run seasons and events without writing backend code.

🎯

Category Scoreboards

Per-level, per-mode, and per-category boards under a single game. Submit a score to one specific board by ID — a leaderboard for every level, plus an overall run board.

🛡️

Anti-Cheat Built In

Play sessions verify real game duration, per-game caps reject impossible scores, and every rule runs server-side. Configure your limits in the dashboard — no code changes.

🌟

Cross-Game Profiles

One identity across every CheddaBoards game. Players who built up stats in one game arrive at the next one already invested — achievements, reputation, history all intact. Network effects compound across the ecosystem.

⚡

REST API First

Simple HTTP endpoints work with any engine. Plus drop-in scripts for Godot and Unity.

🌐

No DevOps Required

No servers to manage, no databases to maintain. Serverless infrastructure handles everything.

🏅

Achievements

Define and unlock achievements per player across sessions. Persistent and cross-game.

🧹

Score Moderation

Delete junk entries or wipe a player from your boards straight from the dashboard, with a full deletion log. Your leaderboards stay yours.

📊

Event Tracking

Track in-game events and view daily summaries from the developer console. Useful for spotting what players actually do.

🔓

Open Source (MIT)

Full source code on GitHub under MIT license. Self-host on ICP, fork, audit, or contribute. No vendor lock-in.

🛡️ Score Validation

Server-authoritative validation. Rules enforced on our infrastructure. Configure per game.

🎯

Score Caps

Set maximum score per submission. A puzzle game capped at 10,000? Any higher gets rejected automatically.

⏱️

Play Sessions

Start a timer when gameplay begins. Server validates minimum duration before accepting scores. 60-second game? Must play at least 60 seconds.

📈

Streak Limits

Cap combo multipliers and streak values. Reject submissions that exceed what's actually possible in your game.

Validation runs server-side. Modifying your game binary won't help an attacker fake scores — the rules are enforced on our infrastructure, not in your client. Configure your limits in the developer dashboard — no code changes needed.

What this catches: client modification, impossible scores, speed-hacking, instant-submit scripts, replay attacks via single-use session tokens.

What it doesn't: determined reverse-engineering of the public API, or bots that mimic realistic gameplay pacing. CheddaBoards is built for casual and indie leaderboards — if you're shipping competitive ranked or prize-based PvP, layer additional protections on top.

⚡ Quick Start

Three steps to live leaderboards.

1️⃣

Register & Get API Key

get api key

2️⃣

Make API Calls

Submit scores and fetch leaderboards with simple HTTP requests from any platform.

› view docs

3️⃣

Ship It

Deploy your game with persistent leaderboards. Works on web, desktop, and mobile.

› see example

API Examples

Submit Score (Any Platform)


              POST https://api.cheddaboards.com/scores


              // Headers

              X-API-Key: your_api_key

              Content-Type: application/json


              // Body

              {

                "playerId": "player_001",

                "score": 1500,

                "streak": 5

              }

Get Leaderboard (Any Platform)


              GET https://api.cheddaboards.com/leaderboard


              // Headers

              X-API-Key: your_api_key


              // Response

              {

                "entries": [

                  { "rank": 1, "player": "..." },

                  { "rank": 2, "player": "..." }

                ]

              }

Works with any language or engine that can make HTTP requests! 🚀

🎮 Want even faster integration? Use our drop-in scripts for popular engines:

🎮 Godot 4.x — cheddaboards.gd ⬇️ 🎮 Godot 3.6 — cheddaboards_3.6.gd ⬇️ 🎲 Unity — cheddaboards.cs ⬇️

Perfect For

From jam games to production titles.

🎮

Indie Developers

Build competitive online features without backend complexity or ongoing costs.

🏫

Game Jams & Prototypes

Add leaderboards to your jam game in minutes. Completely free.

🎓

Student Projects

Learn online game features without credit cards or infrastructure setup.

🚀

MVP Testing

Validate your game concept with real player data before scaling infrastructure.

❓ FAQ

🆓 Is it really free?

Yes. Leaderboards, achievements, authentication, and the REST API are all included — unlimited players, no per-player fees, no expiring trial. Accounts start with 3 game slots; ask if you need more. Open source on GitHub if you want to host your own.

🛟 What happens if CheddaBoards shuts down?

The backend canister and all SDKs are open source (MIT) on GitHub, so you can deploy your own instance on the Internet Computer at any time. Player data can be exported. CheddaBoards is built so that depending on it doesn't lock you in — even if I disappear, your integration and your data survive.

🌐 How is this different from Firebase or PlayFab?

CheddaBoards is free with no gotchas — no per-player costs, no usage-based bills — and the backend is open source. Plus cross-game profiles create network effects across every CheddaBoards game, something Firebase doesn't offer.

💻 Can I self-host?

Yes — the backend canister and SDKs are open source. Deploy your own instance on ICP; you build a thin API layer in front of it (the repo README covers what it needs).

🎮 What engines are supported?

The REST API works with anything that can make HTTP requests — Godot, Unity, Unreal, GameMaker, web, native mobile, custom engines. We also have drop-in scripts for Godot and Unity.

📅 Do you support daily/weekly leaderboards?

Yes! Every leaderboard includes daily, weekly, and monthly views with automatic resets. Perfect for competitions, seasons, and keeping players coming back.

🛡️ How does score validation work?

Three layers: (1) Per-game score caps reject impossible values, (2) Play session tokens verify minimum game duration and score-per-second rate, (3) Server-authoritative validation — limits are enforced on our infrastructure, not in your client. Configure all limits in your dashboard.

⏱️ What are play sessions?

Call startPlaySession() when gameplay begins. When submitting a score, the server checks elapsed time. A 60-second game can't submit after 5 seconds. Simple but effective.

🎮 Platform Support

REST API works with everything. Drop-in scripts for Godot (4.x & 3.6) and Unity.

REST API

✅ ANY PLATFORM

HTTP requests

Godot 4.x

✅ DROP-IN SCRIPT

cheddaboards.gd

⬇️ Download

Godot 3.6

✅ DROP-IN SCRIPT

cheddaboards_3.6.gd

⬇️ Download

Unity

✅ DROP-IN SCRIPT

cheddaboards.cs

⬇️ Download

Now on the Godot Asset Store

Install the addon straight from the new official store — plugin-based setup, wizard included. Prefer a full game shell? The complete template is on the store too.

› get it on the asset store › full game template

Also Works With

Unreal GameMaker Construct Native iOS/Android Custom Engines

👤 For Players

Already playing a CheddaBoards game? View your cross-game stats, leaderboard rankings, and milestones — all in one place.

› your player card

READY TO BUILD?

Join indie developers building games on serverless infrastructure. Without the complexity or cost.

start building › read the docs

💳 No credit card · ⚡ 10-15 min setup · 🧀 Completely free

☕

SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT

No VC. No investors. Built by a solo founder for indie devs. Your support goes directly into keeping CheddaBoards free and shipping new features.

☕ buy me a coffee

100% goes to development. No shareholders here. 🙏

ONLINE LEADERBOARDS.NOTHING TO HOST.

What is CheddaBoards?

🔑 Sign-In That Players Actually Finish

Play Instantly

Link With a Code

Keep Everything, Everywhere

Looks Like This

See It In Action

CHEDDA CLICK

🧀 Pricing

Free

🧮 Why It Can Stay Free

💸 Traditional Backend Services

🧀 CheddaBoards

🛠️ Core Features

Timed Leaderboards

Category Scoreboards

Anti-Cheat Built In

Cross-Game Profiles

REST API First

No DevOps Required

Achievements

Score Moderation

Event Tracking

Open Source (MIT)

🛡️ Score Validation

Score Caps

Play Sessions

Streak Limits

⚡ Quick Start

Register & Get API Key

Make API Calls

Ship It

API Examples

Perfect For

Indie Developers

Game Jams & Prototypes

Student Projects

MVP Testing

❓ FAQ

🆓 Is it really free?

🛟 What happens if CheddaBoards shuts down?

🌐 How is this different from Firebase or PlayFab?

💻 Can I self-host?

🎮 What engines are supported?

📅 Do you support daily/weekly leaderboards?

🛡️ How does score validation work?

⏱️ What are play sessions?

🎮 Platform Support

REST API

Godot 4.x

Godot 3.6

Unity

Also Works With

👤 For Players

READY TO BUILD?

SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT

ONLINE LEADERBOARDS.
NOTHING TO HOST.