Playing games on Game Night — the Player guide

Welcome! This guide shows you how to use Game Night on your phone — how to sign in, start a game, keep score, and see who's winning. It's written for everyone, no tech knowledge needed. If you can tap buttons, you're ready.

Running the game night for your group? There are extra sections marked "If you're an event admin" — that's the person who approves the scores. Everyone else can skip those.

New to the words we use? There's a plain-English glossary at the bottom.

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1. Get in — claim your profile

The organiser (the "super admin") has already created a profile for you — your name and a picture — and given you a 4-digit code. The first time, you "claim" that profile so it's yours on your phone.

1. Open https://gamenight.hsu.mobi in your phone's browser. (Your organiser may give you a different address — use whatever they share.)
2. On the "Who are you?" screen you'll see everyone's pictures. Tap yours.
3. Type your 4-digit code and you're in.
4. The first time only, you'll be asked to set your own 4-digit PIN (type it, then type it again to confirm). This PIN is just for you — you'll use it if you ever sign in again. Pick something you'll remember.

That's it — you're claimed. You need internet for this first step (it checks your code). After that, the app remembers you on this phone and works even without a signal.

Tips

• Can't see your name? Ask the organiser to add a profile for you.
• "Claiming needs a connection"? You're offline — get back on Wi-Fi or data and try again.
• Add it to your home screen (your browser's "Add to Home Screen") so it opens like a normal app.
• New phone, or signed out? Just claim again and enter your PIN instead of the original code. One phone is active at a time, so claiming on a new one signs the old one out.

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2. Find your way around

Once you're in, there's a bar along the bottom with three tabs:

Tab	What it's for
Home	Your profile and your list of game nights (events). Your starting point.
Play	The game night you're currently in — start or rejoin a game here.
Board	The leaderboard — who's winning.

The very first screen after signing in is your events — the game nights you've been added to. Tap one to go in. (Don't see the game night you expected? Ask the organiser to add you to it.)

Inside an event you'll see the group, a Start a game list, and a Leaderboard button. Let's play.

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3. Start a game (you become the host)

Anyone can start a game. Whoever starts it is the host for that game — you'll keep score and tap the buttons. Everyone else just plays.

1. In your event, under Start a game, tap the game you want to play (these were set up by your organiser).
2. You drop into the game screen. You're now the host.

Already a game on the go? Under Jump back in, tap Resume to return to it.

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4. The lobby — get everyone in

Before a game starts, you're in the lobby — the waiting room where you gather players.

• Add players: tap Add [name] for each person joining. (They can also join themselves from their own phone if they're in the event.)
• Remove someone: tap remove next to their name.
• The 👑 crown shows who the host is.
• Singles or Teams? If the host, use the Next game switch to pick Singles or Teams for the round you're about to play.
• Tags (if your organiser made any): tap the labels that fit this game (like "Round 1"). They just help sort the leaderboard.

When everyone's in, tap Start game. The player list is now locked for this round.

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5. Play a game

What you see depends on the kind of game your organiser set up.

The usual: host keeps score

1. Play your game in real life.
2. On the phone it says "Game … in progress." When you're done, the host taps End & enter scores.
3. A results sheet opens. Type each player's score. As you type, the app shows the points each person will earn (→ 2pt, etc.) — highest scorer gets the most points, and ties are handled fairly.
4. Tap Submit results.

Not the host? You'll just see "Playing…" and the running standings — the host handles the scoring. That's normal.

Team games

If you chose Teams: set the number of teams, tap the letter buttons to put each person on a team (or tap Shuffle to split them randomly), then Start. After the round, the host taps Enter team scores, types each team's score, and taps Submit team scores.

"Closest guess" games

Everyone plays on their own phone: tap Join game, type your guess (a time like 2:30), and tap Lock in (you can Change it until scores are revealed). When everyone's in, the host taps Lock joining, then Enter answer & score, types the correct answer, and taps Reveal & score. Closest guess without going over wins.

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6. After a game

Once scores are in, you'll see the winner celebrated 🎉 and the full result. Then, as host, you choose:

• Rematch (or Next round) — play again with the same group.
• Back to lobby — change who's playing, then start again.
• End session — finish this run of games.

Just want to step away without ending the game for everyone? Tap ← Leave at the top. The game stays open and you can come back to it later from the Play tab.

About your scores: when the host submits, the result is provisional — it counts right away on the board but still needs a thumbs-up from the event admin to become official. You don't have to do anything; just keep playing.

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7. See who's winning — the leaderboard

Tap the Board tab (or the Leaderboard button inside your event) any time.

• Score or Wins — switch between ranking by total points or number of wins.
• Provisional / Official — tap to flip between all scores so far (provisional) and only the approved ones (official). If some are still waiting, you'll see "N pending review."
• Tag pages — if your organiser made tags, use the ‹ › arrows to move between the overall board and each tag (like "Round 1," "Finals").

Putting it on a TV? Anyone can open the login-free board at https://gamenight.hsu.mobi/boards and pick the event — perfect for casting to a big screen. It refreshes on its own.

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If you're an event admin: approving scores

Skip this section unless the organiser has made you an event admin. You'll know because you'll see a "Review scores" button in your event, and an admin badge next to your name.

Being an event admin doesn't change how you play — you play like everyone else. It just gives you one extra job: you decide which submitted scores become official. You're the keeper of the scoreboard's truth for this game night.

Approving a game

1. In your event, tap Review scores. (This needs internet — score decisions can't be made offline.)
2. You'll see the review queue: every game waiting for your decision. Tap one to open it.
3. Check the results. You can add a short note explaining your decision (optional). Then choose:
   • Accept — the scores are correct. They become official. ✅
   • Edit points, then accept — fix a number first, then Accept with edits.
   • Reject — something's wrong; these scores won't count (you can undo this later).

Changing your mind later

• Approved a game by mistake? Open it and tap Modify (re-score), adjust, and Save modified scores.
• Rejected one that was actually fine? Open it and tap Reverse (accept).

Every decision is recorded in an audit trail on the game, so there's always a clear history of who changed what.

Managing who's playing: adding and removing people from the event is done by the super admin in the /admin area — see the Super Admin guide. As an event admin your job is the scores.

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What works offline (and what needs internet)

Game Night keeps working even when the Wi-Fi drops — your scores are saved on your phone and catch up automatically when you reconnect.

Needs internet	Works offline
Claiming your profile the first time	Starting a game and the lobby
The host submitting scores	Playing and keeping score
An event admin approving scores	Seeing the current standings on your phone

If you ever see the little status pill say "offline," don't worry — keep playing, and everything syncs up once you're back online.

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The words we use

Word	Plain meaning
Profile	You in Game Night — your name and picture.
Claim code	The 4-digit code the organiser gives you to take over your profile the first time.
PIN	Your own 4-digit code you set after claiming; used to sign in again later.
Event	A game night you've been added to.
Host	Whoever started a game — they keep score for it. Anyone can be a host.
Lobby	The waiting room where players gather before a game starts.
Session	One run of games in a sitting. Game = a single round in it.
Provisional / Official	Provisional = counts now but not yet approved. Official = approved by the event admin.
Leaderboard / Board	The standings — who's winning.
Event admin	A player who also approves this event's scores.
Tag	A label (like "Round 1") that groups scores on the leaderboard.

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Quick troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Can't find your name on "Who are you?"	Ask the organiser to create a profile for you.
"Wrong code — try again"	Double-check the 4 digits with your organiser (they can reset it).
"Claiming needs a connection"	You're offline. Reconnect and try again.
The game night isn't in "Your events"	Ask the organiser to add you to that event.
Nothing under "Start a game"	The organiser hasn't added a game yet — ask them to.
Signed out unexpectedly	Your profile was claimed on another phone. Claim again with your PIN.
(Event admin) "Review needs a connection"	Score approvals are online-only — reconnect to review.

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See also: the Super Admin guide — for whoever sets up and runs the game night.

🤖 Authored by Claude