Simulator - Board Docs

Simulator

Test Board input in the Unity Editor without hardware.

Overview

The Board Input Simulator replicates Piece and finger interactions inside Unity. Place, move, touch, lift, and rotate virtual Pieces using mouse and keyboard. The simulator generates the same input events as real hardware, enabling rapid iteration without deploying to a device.

Opening the Simulator

Open the simulator from Unity’s menu bar:

Board > Input > Simulator

The simulator window displays a palette of icons representing fingers and Pieces.

Enabling Simulation

Toggle the Enable Simulation button in the simulator toolbar. You can enable simulation before or during Play mode.

When enabled, clicking icons in the palette and interacting in the Game view generates BoardInput events via BoardInput.GetActiveContacts().

Simulator Toolbar

Button	Function
Enable Simulation	Toggle simulation on/off
Trash	Clear the selected icon slot (doesn’t delete the asset)
Reset	Reset the icon palette to defaults
Clear	Remove all simulated contacts from the scene
Settings	Open simulator settings

Placing Contacts

Select an Icon

Click an icon in the simulator palette. The icon represents either a finger or a specific Piece. Selecting an icon puts you in Placement Mode.

Place the Contact

In Placement Mode, a preview of the icon follows your mouse in the Game view. Click anywhere in the Game view to place the contact.

Placing generates a Began event in the input system. After placing, you exit Placement Mode. Repeat to place additional contacts.

You can place up to 1000 contacts simultaneously.

Cancel Placement

To exit Placement Mode without placing:

Click the icon again in the simulator palette
Press Escape

Lifting Contacts

To remove a placed contact:

Left-click directly on the contact in the Game view
This generates an Ended event
You enter Placement Mode with that contact

You can then place it elsewhere or press Escape to discard it.

Moving Contacts

Touch and Drag

Press and hold the left mouse button on a placed contact
The contact visual changes to indicate it’s being touched
Drag to move the contact
This generates Moved events

Touch State

While holding the mouse button on a contact:

The contact’s isTouched property becomes true
Moving generates position updates
Releasing the mouse returns isTouched to false

Rotating Contacts

Rotate contacts while placing or moving them:

Control	Action
Mouse scroll wheel	Rotate freely
Shift + scroll wheel	Rotate faster
+ key	Snap rotate clockwise
- key	Snap rotate counterclockwise

Rotation generates orientation updates in the contact data.

Adding Custom Icons

Create custom icons to represent your game’s Pieces:

Create an Icon Asset

Right-click in the Project window
Select Create > Board > Simulation > Icon
Configure the icon properties

Icon Properties

Property	Description
Display Name	Name shown in the simulator palette
Contact Type	`Finger` or `Glyph`
Glyph ID	Which Piece this represents (Glyph type only)
Sprite	The visual for the icon
Size	Render size relative to 1920×1080
Alpha Hit Test Minimum Threshold	Minimum alpha for click detection (sprite must be Read/Write if > 0)

Add to Palette

Drag your custom icon onto any slot in the simulator palette.

Your palette configuration is saved in UserSettings/BoardInputSimulationIconPalette.asset.

Simulator Settings

Access settings via:

The gear icon in the simulator toolbar
Edit > Project Settings > Board > Simulation Settings

Input Controls

The simulator uses Unity’s Input System for controls. You can customize these by providing a different Input Actions asset.

Control	Default	Description
Touch	Left mouse button (hold)	Touch a placed contact
Place	Left click	Place a contact
Lift	Left click on contact	Lift a contact
Cancel	Escape	Exit placement mode
Snap Rotate CW	+ key	Rotate clockwise by fixed amount
Snap Rotate CCW	- key	Rotate counterclockwise
Rotate	Scroll wheel	Rotate freely
Fast Rotate	Shift + scroll	Rotate quickly

Appearance Settings

Setting	Description
Icon Outline Color	Outline color when not touched
Icon Outline Thickness	Outline thickness when not touched
Lifted Icon Color	Color when simulating lifted state
Lifted Icon Shadow Color	Shadow effect color
Lifted Icon Shadow Distance	Shadow offset distance
Touched Icon Outline Color	Outline color when touched
Touched Icon Outline Thickness	Outline thickness when touched

Rotation Settings

Setting	Description
Snap Rotation Degrees	Degrees per snap rotation
Rotation Speed	Free rotation speed
Fast Rotation Speed Modifier	Multiplier for fast rotation

Reset to Defaults

Click Reset to Defaults to restore original settings. This doesn’t delete custom Input Actions assets.

Settings are saved in UserSettings/BoardInputSimulationSettings.asset.

Workflow Tips

Testing Without Hardware

Enable simulation before entering Play mode
Place Pieces where your game expects them
Test touch interactions by holding and dragging
Verify rotation detection with scroll wheel

Matching Real Hardware

The simulator generates identical BoardContact events to real hardware. Use it to:

Develop core gameplay before hardware arrives
Iterate quickly on touch interactions
Test edge cases (many contacts, rapid rotations)
Debug contact phase handling

Simulating Fingers

Include finger icons in your palette for testing:

Button presses and UI interaction
Multi-touch gestures
Combined Piece + finger interactions

Limitations

The simulator can’t replicate everything:

ML model behavior - Simulator uses configured glyph IDs directly; it doesn’t run the ML model
Noise rejection - Simulator doesn’t generate false contacts that would be filtered on hardware
Touch precision - Mouse input differs from finger/Piece contact patterns
Performance - Desktop performance doesn’t match device performance

Always test on real hardware before release.