altovo · World Cup 2026 prediction game

Internal Tippspiel for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Mobile-first, altovo-branded, light/dark theme, Next.js + SQLite — one self-contained deployment.

The rules

• 3 points for the exact score, 1 point for the correct outcome, 0 otherwise.
• Knockouts: you must pick a winner (no draw bets). The scoreline settles on the result after 90/120 minutes; the outcome point goes to whoever picked the team that advances — penalties count.
• Jokers double a match's points. Budget: 3 in the group stage, then 1 per knockout round (the third-place play-off and the final share one). Unused jokers don't carry over.
• Bets are final. You confirm once and can't change. Betting closes at kick-off.
• No peeking: others' bets for a match stay hidden until you've placed your own bet (or the match kicks off).
• Tiebreaker: points → exact scores → correct outcomes → joker points.
• The first (non-demo) account created becomes the admin. Admins can reset forgotten PINs from the admin page.

Setup

npm install
cp .env.example .env.local        # add your football-data.org API key
npm run dev                       # http://localhost:3000

Get a free API key at football-data.org (the free tier includes the World Cup). The schedule and results sync automatically every ~3 minutes around kick-offs; admins can also sync manually and enter or override results by hand (e.g. to set the penalty winner if the feed is late).

No API key? Try it with demo data:

node scripts/seed-demo.mjs

Demo fixtures disappear automatically on the first real sync.

Deploy (VPS / Fly / Render)

npm run build
npm start                          # serves on PORT (default 3000)

• Persist the data/ directory (SQLite DB + auto-generated session secret) — on Fly/Render mount a volume and set DATA_DIR to it.
• Set FOOTBALL_DATA_API_KEY in the environment.
• Optional: APP_TZ (default Europe/Berlin) controls displayed kickoff times, SESSION_SECRET pins the cookie secret across machines.
• Back up by copying data/worldcup.db.

Stack

Next.js 16 (App Router) · React 19 · better-sqlite3 · no other runtime deps. Brand: altovo brand sheet v1.0 (Sora / JetBrains Mono, navy scale on Paper/Abyss).