How to read this journal: ElBlot is still in beta. “Completed” identifies work included in the current product boundary. “Upcoming” identifies planned work that is not active and does not promise a release date.
Milestone: · Completed · Platform
The public platform expands
ElBlot’s public website now reflects the competitive platform more clearly.
The release adds public MMR room pages with room requirements, capacity, dates, and standings; a directory of official preset PALs with individual public profiles; PAL Academy; and a no-login Training Room.
The live Watch Table concept was removed. Public competition pages now focus on useful room information and standings without exposing private live-table activity.
Training starts an authoritative Baloot table with one player and three Stage-1 system PALs. It awards no PAL POINTS, LEVEL POINTS, MMR, match history, leaderboard result, or public PAL statistics.
PAL Academy explains the six visible PAL abilities and previews Books. Books remain planned and do not affect current gameplay.
New PAL-capable rooms use the current preset-PAL model and the v0.7.7 engine line. Historic engine profiles remain preserved for compatible records and replays.
Milestone: · Completed · Matchmaking
Picker-first Skirmish matchmaking
Skirmish was redesigned around one direct flow: choose an eligible preset PAL, enter matchmaking, and move automatically to the table when the match is ready.
Signed players and legal guest sessions share the player queue. The search prioritizes a player using a PAL at the same overall Stage, then the nearest lower or higher Stage. If no player is available after the human-search period, the server can start a fallback match using system-controlled opponents at the selected Stage.
The flow removes the old tier, team-composition, and manual match-acceptance decisions. Friend rooms remain invitation-based.
Signed Skirmish players receive score-derived PAL POINTS after an eligible completed Sakka. Guests, system opponents, and unfinished Sakkas do not receive durable PAL POINTS.
Milestone: · Completed · CAL / REF / Rules
Closing important table-rule gaps
A versioned rules update resolved several edge cases without changing the meaning of historic matches.
The work recorded purchase-decision expiry as an authoritative table action, added the defined Qid path for a direct teammate Sun Pull, added the correction path for a wrong-seat Ashkal, and tightened the requirement for a timely opposing declaration before Speak becomes available.
These changes were added through a new rule profile. Older profiles and their records keep their original meaning instead of being silently rewritten.
Players can learn how claims work in the Qid and Takweesh guide and review the current public baseline in the official ElBlot rules.
Milestone: · Historical · Multiplayer
From certified rules to playable rooms
The playable table moved from isolated rules-engine certification into small private multiplayer sessions focused on a complete Sakka flow.
The room layer became responsible for seats, connection authority, commands, reconnection, and player-safe projections. CAL continued to calculate observable game facts, while REF remained responsible for evaluating a submitted rule claim.
This separation is still central to ElBlot: networking and rankings consume gameplay results, but they do not decide what the cards or rules mean.
Milestone: · Historical · Competition
Designing independent MMR rooms
The first ranked-room design separated each competition into its own MMR environment.
Each room can publish its own player-level gate, start and end dates, capacity, standings, and competition rules. A player’s rating inside one room does not become a universal gameplay score.
The public MMR directory and standings described by this work are now part of the current platform. Visit MMR Rooms for the active public directory.
Milestone: · Historical · PAL
Defining fair PAL knowledge
PAL development began with one non-negotiable fairness boundary: a PAL may reason from its own cards and lawful public table information, but it may not receive concealed opponent cards or private CAL and REF evidence.
The early progression concept was later replaced for current rooms by official preset PALs with fixed identities and six published ability stages. That change makes PAL selection easier to understand and makes public PAL performance comparable.
The fairness boundary remains unchanged. See the current model in PAL Academy.
Milestone: · Historical foundation · Engine
v0.3 Beta establishes auditable settlement
The v0.3 Beta established the first complete observed-settlement foundation for ElBlot.
The engine recorded visible actions, kept rule evidence separate from physical card ownership, and waited for eight collections and the SUM confirmation before committing the deal result. It also established the versioned audit structure used by later CAL and REF work.
The v0.3.1 successor corrected project eligibility, effective-buyer project transfer, Kaboot, and Reverse Kaboot behavior without rewriting the historic v0.3 profile.
v0.3 is a historical engine milestone, not the engine used for new rooms today.
Upcoming · Planned · PAL
Books for preset PALs
Books are the next planned tactical layer for PALs. A Book describes a recognizable decision rule or approach that can help explain why a PAL behaves differently in a particular table situation.
The first planned model gives each preset PAL up to five fixed Book slots chosen by ElBlot. Players will use the preset as published, keeping its public identity and performance comparable.
Not active yet: Books do not affect gameplay today. Their content, rollout order, and release date remain subject to design, testing, and rules review.
Upcoming · In review · Rules
CAL, REF, and OG rules alignment
The next rules pass will review a focused set of original Baloot rules across three authorities:
- OG, the documented gameplay rule source;
- CAL, which records and calculates observable game facts; and
- REF, which evaluates specific submitted rule claims.
Approved corrections will be documented, tested, and added through a new versioned profile for future Sakkas. Historic records and replay meanings will not be silently changed.
The exact rule list will be published only after the rulings and test cases are approved.
Built in public
Development notes describe the state of the product at each labelled milestone. This page was first published on 6 August 2026; later entries may replace an earlier design direction without deleting its history.
To report a rule correction, gameplay problem, or technical issue, use the ElBlot contact form and include a clear example when possible.