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Handle a stale move by rejecting it at the authoritative game server, returning the current match state or version, and letting the player choose what to do next. Treat every client move as a proposal based on a particular version of the game—not as an instruction to overwrite whatever state is currently stored.
Why stale moves need server-side validation
A move becomes stale when the match changes after a player or device last observed it. For example, two clients may submit actions based on the same board version; once one action is committed, the other proposal may no longer be legal or may belong to a player whose turn has ended.
The server should own the authoritative match state and game rules. It verifies the player’s identity and seat, checks that it is that player’s turn, validates the requested action against the current state, and commits only a valid transition. Unity’s state-management example follows this pattern: load the state, check whose turn it is, validate the piece and move, update the board, and publish the update (Unity: Game state management).
Use versions to detect conflicting actions
Assign each committed transition a monotonically increasing version or revision. When a client submits a move, include the version it last observed. The server must compare that expected version with the current one as part of the same serialized or atomic operation that commits the move.
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If another action has already advanced the match, reject the stale proposal rather than applying it to old state. EigenInteractive’s engine documentation captures the principle: “A version is a fact, not a suggestion.” Its design describes an exception for simultaneous moves when the acting seat’s observation has not changed; that is a game-specific rules choice, not a universal default (EigenInteractive: What the engine is).
Process each move as a compare-and-commit operation
For a sequential-turn game, a safe action flow is:
- Receive a complete request. Include the game ID, player or seat identity, expected state version, and proposed move.
- Load and validate authoritative state. In a per-game serialized handler or atomic conditional transaction, verify identity, turn, any applicable deadline, and game-specific legality.
- Reject stale requests. If the expected version differs from the current version, do not apply the move. Return a stale-state response with the current version or a way to retrieve the current state.
- Commit one valid transition. If the version matches and the move is legal, persist the complete state change and advance the version exactly once.
- Publish the committed result. Send the accepted transition to relevant clients so they can reconcile any optimistic preview.
The important property is that checking the version and committing the action cannot be separated by an opportunity for another writer to slip in. A relational database can implement this with a transaction or conditional update; an actor-style design can route all state-changing commands for one game through a single serialized owner. These are implementation patterns for the same compare-and-commit requirement, not guarantees about every database or game service.
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Do not use last-writer-wins for game actions
Last-writer-wins can make replicated data converge, but convergence does not prove that either move followed the rules or occurred in the correct turn. For player-visible actions, validate against authoritative state and make the accepted action log—not an arbitrary ordering of writes—the source of truth.
Per-game command serialization is one way to prevent two writers from racing on the same match record. Unity’s guidance also places match state and move validation on the backend. Choose a transaction, conditional write, or serialized command owner that your persistence and deployment model can reliably enforce.
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Show a clear rejection and let the player recover
When a move is pending
An optimistic client can animate a tentative move immediately, but should mark it as pending until the server responds. If accepted, reconcile the board to the server’s committed state and version. If rejected as stale, replace or refresh the local state and explain that the match changed before the move was accepted.
When a move is stale
Let the player choose a new action from the refreshed state. Do not silently replay the old move onto the new board unless the game’s rules explicitly establish that the player’s intent remains valid. A move that was legal on one version may have a different meaning—or be illegal—on the next.
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When a response is lost or the client reconnects
Provide a way to fetch the current state or request transitions since a known version, then resume from the version returned by the server. For retries after a timeout, use an idempotency token or request ID: if the original action already committed, the retry should return its original result rather than apply the move a second time. This is an implementation recommendation; the cited engine documentation supports ordered transitions and reconciliation but does not prescribe a universal retry protocol.
When the game has hidden information
Keep private information in server state and derive each player’s response from the view that seat is allowed to see. A refresh after a conflict must not reveal an opponent’s hidden cards, orders, or other restricted information.
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Separate live moves from cloud-save conflicts
A stale live move is a match-action conflict: the game has advanced, or concurrent commands are trying to change one match. Resolve it at the authoritative match command boundary by checking the current turn, rules, and version.
A cloud-save conflict is different: separate devices have changed local and cloud data within the same synchronization unit. Microsoft’s PlayFab documentation describes handling that save-sync case (Microsoft Learn: Game Saves conflicts). Choosing or merging save files does not determine whether a live move is legal or whose turn it is.
Evaluate backend options for the game
Unity documents Cloud Code for turn-based game logic and state management, while Heroic Labs documents Nakama authoritative multiplayer for active and passive turn-based play. These are examples, not an endorsement or a complete market comparison.
| Evaluation question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Do the rules run on a trusted server? | The server must be able to validate actions and protect the authoritative state. |
| Are writes for one match serialized or conditionally committed? | Concurrent requests must not both overwrite the same prior state. |
| How are accepted transitions persisted and recovered? | Clients and the service need a reliable state to resume from after errors or reconnects. |
| How do clients refresh or receive ordered updates? | Players need to reconcile after a stale rejection or missed response. |
| How are per-player views restricted? | Hidden information should only be sent to players permitted to see it. |
| Does the service fit the game’s turn cadence and deployment environment? | Operational fit affects how the design works in practice. |
Unity notes that server authority can add latency because state changes travel through the server (Unity Netcode for GameObjects 2.13.0: Authority). For asynchronous turn-based play, weigh that delay against centralized validation and consistent outcomes. Do not assume two services offer identical transaction or conflict semantics; check the current detailed documentation for the service and storage model you plan to use.
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