Unreal Engine 5 Tutorial - Make Your Own Board Game Part 2: Taking Turns

Ryan Laley
Ryan LaleyApr 6, 2026

Why It Matters

A reliable, server‑side turn manager is essential for any UE5 multiplayer board game, enabling developers to prototype gameplay quickly while ensuring correct player sequencing and scalability.

Key Takeaways

  • Create GameMode Blueprint to manage turn order and player list.
  • Use PostLogin event to populate player array and start game.
  • Implement StartTurn/EndTurn logic with current player index cycling.
  • Communicate turns via PlayerController using Blueprint Interface for modularity.
  • Test multiplayer turn loop with listen server and debug print statements.

Summary

The video walks through part two of an Unreal Engine 5 board‑game series, focusing on building a turn‑taking system. It starts by creating a custom GameMode Blueprint, assigning it in the world settings, and explaining the GameMode’s role as the server‑side manager of player turns. Key steps include using the PostLogin event to add each joining player to a PlayerList array, defining StartTurn and EndTurn custom events, and tracking the current player with an integer index that wraps around the array. A Blueprint Interface is introduced to let the PlayerController receive a PlayerStartTurn call, keeping the turn logic decoupled and reusable. The presenter highlights practical details such as marking GameMode code as server‑only, inserting a short delay to simulate a turn, and printing player names (or IDs) for debugging. A quick multiplayer test with four listen‑server clients demonstrates the turn loop cycling through player IDs, confirming the system works despite the placeholder camera. By iteratively building and testing each component, the tutorial provides a solid foundation for more complex features like pawn spawning and board‑wide camera control. This modular turn manager can be adapted to any UE5 turn‑based multiplayer project, accelerating development and reducing integration bugs.

Original Description

Create the dice mechanic for your board game by following our course on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4G2bSPE_8ul20yTq8AguDJ10YyBu6gID
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