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DiceyTable vs PlayingCards.io

PlayingCards.io is the simplest thing in this comparison set, and that is the point: a synchronised playspace you open, customise and share by link, with no account needed. DiceyTable is a 3D rigid-body physics table with an editor behind it. Neither is a better version of the other, and for a quick hand of cards the simpler one often wins.

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We make DiceyTable, so treat this as our side of the story — we have tried to keep it checkable. PlayingCards.io details were read off playingcards.io and its documentation on 20 September 2026 and may have changed since; anything we could not verify is described without a number rather than guessed at.

Side by side

DiceyTable compared with PlayingCards.io. Rows where a figure could not be verified describe the difference in words instead.
Feature	DiceyTable	PlayingCards.io
Where it runs	A browser tab on any device. No installer.	A browser tab on any device. No installer.
What each player needs	A free account, for every player at the table — that is a real cost of joining, and we are working on guest seats. Nothing to download on any device.	Nothing. An account is optional — it only extends how long an idle room is kept, from two weeks to thirty days.
Price	Free to play, and free to build and publish. Optional $1.99 or $4.99 a month adds private and friends-only tables, monthly chips and a faster earn rate. Nothing about creating is behind the paywall.	Playing and creating are free, funded by advertising. Paid subscriptions remove the ads, stop rooms expiring and add things like password-protected rooms. Their prices are not published on a page we could read, so we are not going to state one.
The table	3D, with a Bullet/Ammo rigid-body simulation. Dice tumble, stacks topple, and pieces have mass, friction and bounce.	In their own words, a synchronised playspace: you drag objects around a room and every movement syncs live to all players. They make no physics claim.
Rules	Not enforced by the platform. A game's author can automate rules with TypeScript if they want to.	Not enforced either — their docs say it is up to you to start the game, enforce the rules and decide the winner, just like a real deck of cards.
Players per table	Eight seats plus spectators, each seat with a private hand.	No enforced limit today; their FAQ recommends keeping it to eight.
Customising it	A full editor: hierarchy, inspector, gizmos, deck builder, model import and optimisation, plus optional TypeScript rules.	Edit Mode, where a room is built from Widgets — custom card graphics, holders, player seats, turn buttons, dice and one-click automations.
Beyond cards	Cards, decks, dice, tokens, boards, bags, card holders, custom 3D models, zones, snap points, 3D text, vector lines, decals and joints.	Cards and dice, with custom graphics. It is a card table and does not pretend otherwise.
Hidden hands	Eight seats with private hands. Hidden cards are stripped out of the data before it leaves the host, so another player's browser never receives them.	A private hand holder that only its owner can see. We found no first-party detail on how it is enforced, so we claim nothing about it.
Talking to each other	Text chat at the table, plus positional 3D sound effects driven by the physics.	No built-in chat; their docs suggest using a separate call.
How play is networked	Peer-to-peer over WebRTC; our server only introduces players.	Synchronised live through their service.
Where your game lives	A public GitHub repo you own, with the models, art, manifest and scripts in it. Anyone can read it, fork it, or keep playing it if we disappear.	On PlayingCards.io, as a room you can copy or export to a file.
VR	WebXR from a standalone headset's browser.	None, by design.

Where PlayingCards.io wins

For a lot of game nights PlayingCards.io is the better tool, and that is the honest recommendation.

No account, for anyone. You open a room and send the code. DiceyTable needs every player to sign up first, and that is the single biggest reason to pick them over us.
It is faster to start. There is no 3D scene to load and no physics to settle.
A flat table is easier to read. Nobody has to orbit a camera to see a card, and nothing gets knocked off the table by accident.
It is far lighter on hardware. A 3D physics table is not what you want on an old tablet or a weak laptop.
It is a mature, focused product that does card games very well. DiceyTable is new and broader, which means more places to be rough.
Its Edit Mode is simpler to learn — card graphics and click-to-run automations is a much smaller hill than a 3D editor with a scripting API.

Which one fits your group

Pick DiceyTable if…

You want real physics — dice that tumble, stacks that topple, pieces you can flick.
Your game needs boards, miniatures, tokens or custom 3D models, not just cards.
You want to build and publish a game rather than configure a room.
You want hidden hands enforced in the data rather than only on screen.
You want to sit at the table in VR, or want sound coming from the pieces.

Pick PlayingCards.io if…

You want a quick hand of cards with no sign-up and minimal setup.
Somebody in your group will not create an account.
Somebody is on old or low-powered hardware.
A flat, glanceable layout suits your game better than a 3D camera.
You do not need boards, minis or physics at all.

Use whichever suits the night

If you are playing cards and nothing else, the simple option is genuinely fine. If you want a board, dice that behave like dice, or a game you can build yourself, that is what DiceyTable is for — and it is free to try.

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