Good Books, Articles, or otherwise

Question

I've been doing Java development for a number of years, but have only recently decided to work on a Java game.
I'm working on my first game, and am debating some design ideas. The game is being written as an application (not an applet), and is, for the most part, a board-based game where opponents take turns making moves (more complicated than that, but those are the basics -- it's actually a modified reincarnation of the old Nintendo game Conflict, in case you recall it).
Up until now, I've been working on gameplay ideas and working out how to paint the game board and manage the game data. I'm now at a point where I need to decide how to handle players.
Here is what I am thinking about doing (conceptually):
A game will consist of a Startup Module for each human player (before the game actually begins), a Server Module and a Client Module for each player.
When the application is started, it would start up a Startup Module. From here, you can either connect to a Server Module to join a game, or you can start a new game, in which case a Server Module will be started on the same PC. A Client Module for you will also be started. Once a Client Module for each player is connected the game begins.
During the game, a player performs some move. That move is sent from the players Client Module to the Server Module, and if valid, the Server Module then sends out a verification of the move to all Client Modules, such that they can update their maps to reflect the move. This continues until the game is complete.
There will actually be 4 different types of Client Modules:
1) Local Client Module - A human player module on the same machine as the server.
2) LAN Client Module - A human player module on some other machine on the local network.
3) Internet Client Module - A human player connecting over the Internet.
4) AI Module - A computer player (always runs on same machine as the server)
So types 1-3 are all pretty much the same, but have difference communications methods. Type 4 would be quite a bit different, but would use a connection scheme similar to type 1. Each would execute in it's own thread (and in it's own JVM, in the case of LAN and Internet modules).
I'm hoping this design will allow me to start with just Local Client Modules. For instance, I could set up a 2 player game, where both players play off of the same computer. This will be handy during development and testing, allowing me to ignore most network and AI issues at first. Once the game is functional and stable, I can begin adding on the additional client module types.
My main concern is in building a robust engine that can, as gracefully as possible, handle the game and all of it's players.
Given the type of game I am building, are there any tutorials, articles, or otherwise you would recommend I read or review before diving more into the design and development? Do you have any suggestions or concerns regarding my initial design idea?
Thanks for any suggestions.
-- Skotty

Answer 1

I read through the description and reviews of the Practical Java Game Programming book SoulTech2012 linked. Here is an excerpt of the highlights:
Highlights
* Provides a complete guide to Java game development for Java programmers new to game development
* Focuses on Java specific topics such as performance issues and the virtual machine, garbage collection, Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler, native timers, and Java as a scripting language
* Covers 3D game development issues including the new Java bindings for OpenGL (JOGL), using JOGL to make a 3D Render Engine, and Collision Detection and Response
* Includes a chapter on "Local Area Networks for Java Games" by Jeff Kesselman, the Sun Game Server Architect, and "Game dbases and JDBC" by Sun Certified Java 2 Programmer, Will Bracken
* Explains genre specific issues for sports, puzzle, racing, strategy, action/adventure, and massively multiplayer online role-playing games
* Provides up-to-date information on J2SDK 1.5 in the book and on the companion site
The 2nd and 3rd highlight items are ones that are often covered in greatest detail, yet they are issues that are not of greatest interest to me. My game is not 3D, needs no collision detection, and the performance issues are minimal. Not that these aren't good things to learn, but I don't want whatever source I use to focus only on these issues. However, the other highlights and some of the reviews suggest that it has alot of other good content as well that will be more applicable in my case, so thank you for the suggestion. I will strongly consider it.
SoulTech2012: Have you used this book yourself? If not, do you have any specific reasons for recommending it?