Matchmaking System

Purpose

Rank-based and skill-based player matching, lobby lifecycle management, and queue orchestration for multiplayer games.

When to Use

Trigger: matchmaking, lobby, queue, ELO, Glicko, skill-based matchmaking, rank, match players, pairing, bracket, queue management, wait time, search radius, lobby state

Prerequisites

• bullmq-game-queues — priority queues, delayed jobs, worker patterns
• redis-game-patterns — Redis connection, pub/sub for lobby events
• postgres-game-schema — persisting match history, player ratings

Core Principles

Raph Koster: "Matchmaking is the invisible hand that shapes every player's experience. Get it wrong, and no amount of great game design can save you."