feat(mm): wait longer for a real opponent; add "start with bots now"

- server: a lone player in the online-league queue now keeps waiting (re-checking
  every 15s) up to 75s so an online opponent has a real chance to join; the moment
  a 2nd human queues they're matched together, and a full 4 still forms instantly.
  Add PlayNow hub method to force-start with bots on demand.
- client: matchmaking screen shows a "شروع با ربات / Start with bots" button after
  a few seconds so the player can skip the wait; waiting copy updated; raise the
  "connection stuck" hint threshold to 90s so it no longer fires during normal waits.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

server/src/Hokm.Server/Game/GameManager.cs

@@ -17,11 +17,14 @@ public sealed class Player
 /// <summary>In-memory matchmaking + room registry. (EF/Postgres persistence is a TODO.)</summary>
 public sealed partial class GameManager
 {
-    // Real players get priority: wait exactly 15s for humans to join; whoever
+    // Real players get priority. We re-check the queue every QueueWaitMs; the
-    // hasn't joined the table by then is replaced with a bot when the match forms.
+    // moment a second human is waiting they're matched together (+ bots for any
-    // (Mirror of MATCH_QUEUE_WAIT_MS on the client — keep both in sync.)
+    // empty seats), and a full group of 4 forms instantly. A player left ALONE
+    // keeps waiting up to MaxAloneWaitMs so an online opponent has a genuine
+    // chance to join before we fall back to a bot table. (QueueWaitMs mirrors
+    // MATCH_QUEUE_WAIT_MS on the client — keep both in sync.)
     private const int QueueWaitMs = 15000;
-    private int NextQueueWaitMs() => QueueWaitMs;
+    private const int MaxAloneWaitMs = 75000;
 
     private static readonly string[] BotNames =
         { "آرش", "کیان", "نیلوفر", "سارا", "رضا", "مهسا", "امیر", "پارسا", "الناز", "بابک" };
@@ -33,7 +36,7 @@ public sealed partial class GameManager
     private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, GameRoom> _rooms = new();
     private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, string> _userRoom = new(); // userId -> roomId
     private readonly object _mmLock = new();
-    private readonly List<(Player player, Timer timer)> _waiting = new();
+    private readonly List<(Player player, Timer timer, DateTime since)> _waiting = new();
     private readonly Random _rng = new();
 
     public GameManager(IHubContext<GameHub> hub, IServiceScopeFactory scopes)
@@ -60,8 +63,8 @@ public sealed partial class GameManager
         lock (_mmLock)
         {
             if (_waiting.Any(w => w.player.UserId == p.UserId)) return;
-            var timer = new Timer(_ => FlushTicket(p.UserId), null, NextQueueWaitMs(), Timeout.Infinite);
+            var timer = new Timer(_ => FlushTicket(p.UserId), null, QueueWaitMs, Timeout.Infinite);
-            _waiting.Add((p, timer));
+            _waiting.Add((p, timer, DateTime.UtcNow));
             _ = _hub.Clients.User(p.UserId).SendAsync("matchmaking",
                 new MatchmakingStateDto("searching", _waiting.Count, null));
             if (_waiting.Count >= 4) FormGroupLocked(4);
@@ -77,12 +80,37 @@ public sealed partial class GameManager
         }
     }
 
-    private void FlushTicket(string userId)
+    /// <summary>Player asked to start right now — match any humans waiting and
+    /// fill the rest with bots, instead of waiting out the queue.</summary>
+    public void PlayNow(string userId)
     {
         lock (_mmLock)
         {
             if (!_waiting.Any(w => w.player.UserId == userId)) return;
-            FormGroupLocked(_waiting.Count); // start with whoever is waiting; bots fill the rest
+            FormGroupLocked(_waiting.Count);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void FlushTicket(string userId)
+    {
+        lock (_mmLock)
+        {
+            var idx = _waiting.FindIndex(w => w.player.UserId == userId);
+            if (idx < 0) return;
+
+            // A second human is already waiting → seat them together now and let
+            // bots fill any empty chairs (real players matched immediately).
+            if (_waiting.Count >= 2) { FormGroupLocked(_waiting.Count); return; }
+
+            // Alone: keep the table open for an online opponent until the max wait
+            // elapses, then fall back to a bot table. Re-arm the re-check timer.
+            var waited = (DateTime.UtcNow - _waiting[idx].since).TotalMilliseconds;
+            if (waited < MaxAloneWaitMs)
+            {
+                _waiting[idx].timer.Change(QueueWaitMs, Timeout.Infinite);
+                return;
+            }
+            FormGroupLocked(1);
         }
     }
 

server/src/Hokm.Server/Hubs/GameHub.cs

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ public sealed class GameHub : Hub
         });
 
     public void CancelMatchmaking() => _manager.CancelMatchmaking(Uid);
+    public void PlayNow() => _manager.PlayNow(Uid);
     public void PlayCard(string cardId) => _manager.PlayCard(Uid, cardId);
     public void ChooseTrump(string suit) => _manager.ChooseTrump(Uid, suit);
     public void SendReaction(string reaction) => _manager.SendReaction(Uid, reaction);

src/components/screens/MatchmakingScreen.tsx

@@ -60,6 +60,15 @@ export function MatchmakingScreen() {
     go("online");
   };
 
+  // Stop waiting for an online opponent — start immediately with bots.
+  const startNow = async () => {
+    try {
+      await getService().playNow();
+    } catch {
+      /* ignore — server will still fall back to bots after the wait window */
+    }
+  };
+
   const enter = () => {
     const players = getService().getMatchPlayers();
     if (!players) return;
@@ -131,7 +140,7 @@ export function MatchmakingScreen() {
         {searching && (
           <>
             <div className="mt-2 text-3xl font-black gold-text tabular-nums">{elapsed}s</div>
-            {elapsed >= 28 ? (
+            {elapsed >= 90 ? (
               <p className="text-rose-300 text-xs mt-2 max-w-[18rem]">{t("mm.stuck")}</p>
             ) : (
               <p className="text-cream/50 text-xs mt-1 max-w-[16rem]">{t("mm.fillHint")}</p>
@@ -185,10 +194,22 @@ export function MatchmakingScreen() {
           })}
         </div>
 
-        <div className="mt-10 flex gap-3">
+        <div className="mt-10 flex flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-3">
           <button onClick={cancel} className="press-3d glass rounded-2xl px-6 py-3 text-cream/70">
             {t("mm.cancel")}
           </button>
+          {/* After a few seconds of waiting, let the player skip the wait and
+              start against bots instead of waiting for a real opponent. */}
+          {searching && elapsed >= 5 && (
+            <motion.button
+              initial={{ scale: 0.8, opacity: 0 }}
+              animate={{ scale: 1, opacity: 1 }}
+              onClick={startNow}
+              className="press-3d btn-gold rounded-2xl px-6 py-3"
+            >
+              {t("mm.playNow")}
+            </motion.button>
+          )}
           {ready && (
             <motion.button
               initial={{ scale: 0.8, opacity: 0 }}

src/lib/i18n.tsx

@@ -255,13 +255,14 @@ const fa: Dict = {
   "mm.searching": "در حال یافتن حریف…",
   "mm.found": "بازیکنان پیدا شدند!",
   "mm.ready": "آماده شروع",
-  "mm.fillHint": "اگر بازیکن آنلاینی پیدا نشود، ربات‌ها جایگزین می‌شوند",
+  "mm.fillHint": "منتظر پیوستن یک بازیکن آنلاین هستیم… می‌توانی همین حالا با ربات شروع کنی",
   "mm.stuck": "اتصال به سرور طول کشید. لطفاً «لغو» را بزنید و دوباره تلاش کنید.",
   "intro.found": "بازیکنان آماده‌اند!",
   "intro.getReady": "بازی در حال شروع است…",
   "intro.go": "شروع!",
   "mm.cancel": "لغو",
   "mm.start": "ورود به بازی",
+  "mm.playNow": "شروع با ربات",
 
   "lead.title": "جدول امتیازات",
   "lead.rank": "رتبه",
@@ -642,10 +643,11 @@ const en: Dict = {
   "mm.searching": "Searching for opponents…",
   "mm.found": "Players found!",
   "mm.ready": "Ready to start",
-  "mm.fillHint": "If no online players are found, bots will fill in",
+  "mm.fillHint": "Waiting for an online player to join… or start now with bots",
   "mm.stuck": "Connecting to the server is taking too long. Tap Cancel and try again.",
   "mm.cancel": "Cancel",
   "mm.start": "Enter game",
+  "mm.playNow": "Start with bots",
 
   "lead.title": "Leaderboard",
   "lead.rank": "Rank",

src/lib/online/mock-service.ts

@@ -984,6 +984,35 @@ export class MockOnlineService implements OnlineService {
     this.matchmaking.phase = "idle";
   }
 
+  async playNow() {
+    if (this.matchmaking.phase !== "searching" && this.matchmaking.phase !== "queued") return;
+    const me = this.profile!;
+    // Keep whoever has already joined; fill the remaining seats with bots.
+    const players = this.matchmaking.players.slice();
+    while (players.length < 4) {
+      players.push({
+        id: rid("bot"),
+        displayName: pick(PERSIAN_NAMES),
+        avatar: pick(AVATARS).id,
+        level: randInt(1, 50),
+        rating: me.rating + randInt(-150, 150),
+      });
+    }
+    this.matchmaking.players = players;
+    this.matchmaking.phase = "found";
+    this.emitMM();
+    this.after(700, () => {
+      if (this.matchmaking.phase !== "found") return;
+      this.matchmaking.phase = "ready";
+      this.matchPlayers = players.map((p) => ({
+        id: p.id, displayName: p.displayName, avatar: p.avatar, level: p.level,
+      }));
+      const opps = players.slice(1);
+      this.currentOppRating = opps.reduce((s, p) => s + p.rating, 0) / Math.max(1, opps.length);
+      this.emitMM();
+    });
+  }
+
   onMatchmaking(cb: (s: MatchmakingState) => void): Unsubscribe {
     this.mmCbs.add(cb);
     return () => this.mmCbs.delete(cb);

src/lib/online/service.ts

@@ -132,6 +132,8 @@ export interface OnlineService {
   /* ----- matchmaking ----- */
   startMatchmaking(opts: MatchmakingOptions): Promise<void>;
   cancelMatchmaking(): Promise<void>;
+  /** Stop waiting for online players — start now, filling empty seats with bots. */
+  playNow(): Promise<void>;
   onMatchmaking(cb: (state: MatchmakingState) => void): Unsubscribe;
 
   /* ----- match players (for the online game driver) ----- */

src/lib/online/signalr-service.ts

@@ -310,6 +310,10 @@ export class SignalrService implements OnlineService {
     this.emitMM("idle");
   }
 
+  async playNow() {
+    await this.conn?.invoke("PlayNow");
+  }
+
   onMatchmaking(cb: (s: MatchmakingState) => void): Unsubscribe {
     this.mmCbs.add(cb);
     return () => this.mmCbs.delete(cb);