DeathSwap

Last-player-standing minigame for Paper. Join a lobby, teleport to a fresh world, swap positions with a random alive opponent every interval, and stay alive until only you remain.

Features

• Auto-start lobby with configurable player minimums
• Timed position swaps with warning countdown
• Death tracking with configurable lives; last one standing wins
• Optional match time limit with winner-by-fewest-deaths (and tie messaging)
• Toggleable sidebar scoreboard and HUD countdowns
• Scoped match visibility (chat, death, advancement messages) across concurrent matches
• Optional tab-list hiding of in-match players (requires PacketEvents)
• PvP toggle, configurable sounds
• Fresh temporary world per match, deleted on game end
• Optional per-match nether and end dimensions (own portals per game)
• Configurable per-world random respawn radius around spawn

Commands

Command	Aliases	Description
/deathswap join	/ds join	Join the lobby
/deathswap leave	/ds leave	Leave the lobby or match
/deathswap start	/ds start	Force-start the game (deathswap.start)
/deathswap stop	/ds stop	Stop the game (deathswap.stop)
/deathswap setlobby	/ds setlobby	Set the lobby location (deathswap.setlobby)
/deathswap reload	/ds reload	Reload config and messages (deathswap.reload)

Configuration

config.yml

# DeathSwap Configuration

game:
  # Start Countdown — configures the pre-game lobby timer
  min-players-to-start: 2     # Players needed for countdown to begin
  start-delay: 120            # Countdown in seconds (2 min = 120)
  min-players-fast-start: 4   # At 4+ players timer shrinks
  fast-start-delay: 20        # Shortened countdown in seconds

  # In-Game Rules
  swap-interval: 300          # Seconds between swaps
  countdown-seconds: 5        # Warning countdown before each swap
  max-deaths: 5               # Deaths before elimination
  max-match-time: 0           # Max match length in minutes, 0 = unlimited
  pvp-enabled: false          # Allow players to damage each other

display:
  scoreboard: true           # Show the in-match sidebar scoreboard
  actionbar: true            # Show HUD countdowns (lobby start + swap warning)

hide:
  isolate-chat: true          # Keep chat between players in the same match
  isolate-deaths: true        # Keep death messages between players in the same match
  isolate-achievements: true  # Keep advancement messages between players in the same match
  match-players-in-tab: false # Hide players in a match from the tab list of players outside that match (requires PacketEvents)

sounds:
  countdown-tick: entity.note.pling
  countdown-go: entity.experience_orb.pickup
  swap: entity.enderman.teleport
  win: ui.toast.challenge_complete

worlds:
  count: 5                # Number of persistent reusable worlds (each = one concurrent match)
  pre-generate-radius: 7  # Pre-generate spawn chunks around the spawn, 0 = off
  spawn-radius: 100       # Per-world random respawn radius around spawn, 0 = exact spawn
  border: 3000             # World border size in blocks (centered on spawn), 0 = disabled
  name-prefix: ds  # Prefix for generated world names (e.g. "ds_0")
  generate-dimensions: true   # Give every game world its own nether and end (false = share server defaults)

When max-match-time is reached, the alive player with the fewest deaths wins; if tied, the time-up message lists the players.

messages.yml

All messages in MiniMessage. Insert the prefix anywhere with %prefix%; placeholders like <seconds>, <player>, <deaths>, <players>, <required> are replaced at runtime.

Placeholders

Requires PlaceholderAPI. The expansion registers under both deathswap and ds, so a placeholder can be written as %deathswap_<name>% or %ds_<name>%.

Placeholder	Description
%deathswap_state%	Player's game state: none, lobby, match or spectator
%deathswap_deaths%	Current death count in the match (0 if not in a match)
%deathswap_deaths_left%	Deaths remaining before elimination
%deathswap_max_deaths%	max-deaths configured limit
%deathswap_players_in_lobby%	Players currently waiting in the lobby
%deathswap_min_players%	min-players-to-start required to start
%deathswap_swap_interval%	swap-interval configured seconds between swaps
%deathswap_next_swap%	Live countdown (seconds) until the next swap (0 = swapping now; full interval outside a match)

Building

Requires Java 25 and Maven.

mvn clean package

The output jar is target/DeathSwap-1.0.1.jar.

Requirements

• Paper 1.21.11+ (api-version 26.2)
• Java 25
• Optional: PacketEvents for the hide.match-players-in-tab feature. When not installed, the plugin still works; only tab-list hiding is unavailable.

Tab hiding (PacketEvents)

Scoped match visibility isolates players across concurrent matches: chat, death and advancement messages only reach players in the same match. When hide.match-players-in-tab is enabled (and PacketEvents is installed), in-match players are also removed from the tab list of players outside their match — a lobby player can't see match participants, and each match only shows its own members. The plugin reloads these settings on /deathswap reload, including for already-running matches.