Best way to deploy and scale a small browser-based game on digitalocean?

Heya, @macidolphin

For a lightweight browser-based game, the most important decision is separating static content from anything dynamic.

For many projects like a spell-bee-style game, the most reliable long-term setup is serving the game itself from Spaces with the CDN enabled, and only using a Droplet (or App Platform) if you actually need a backend for scores, accounts, or admin features. This approach handles traffic spikes well because the CDN absorbs most of the load and keeps response times consistent.

A simple Droplet can work if the backend is very small and traffic is predictable, but you’ll feel its limits first during spikes. App Platform trades cost for convenience: builds and deployments are easier, scaling is simpler, and you avoid some operational overhead, which can be worth it if you don’t want to manage the server directly.

For sessions and state, try to stay stateless where possible. If you need persistence (scores, sessions, rate limits), using an external store like a managed database or Redis is safer than in-memory sessions on a single instance. For analytics, a hosted service is usually the simplest option and avoids adding extra load to your app infrastructure.

In practice, many people start with Spaces + CDN for assets and add a small backend only when needed. That setup scales well without overcomplicating things early on.

Hope that this helps!

Hi there,

For a small browser based game, the simplest and most reliable setup is usually Spaces + CDN for assets and App Platform for the backend.

If the game is mostly static (HTML, JS, images, sounds), serving everything from Spaces with the built in CDN will handle traffic spikes very well and keep latency low with almost no ops. That alone can scale surprisingly far.

If you need a backend (sessions, leaderboards, basic analytics), App Platform works nicely. You get automatic scaling, HTTPS, and zero server maintenance. For session data, something like a managed Redis or even keeping things stateless and client driven is often enough at this stage.

A single Droplet also works, but you’ll end up managing caching, scaling, and failures yourself. It’s fine for experiments, but for something public facing with spikes, CDN + App Platform is usually smoother long term.

So a common pattern is: Spaces + CDN for the game assets, App Platform for APIs, and add managed services only when you actually need them.