How Hosting and Joining Actually Work
We get asked this a lot, so here it is in one place.
Every CardsALot game has two roles: the host, who sets up the game, and the guests, who join it. Just like a real card night — one person brings the deck, everyone else just pulls up a chair.
The Host Needs the App
The host runs the game, so the host needs the CardsALot app installed. That’s the whole requirement.
Guests Need Nothing
If someone invites you to a game, just open the link and play. Have the app? The game opens right in it. Don’t? It opens in your browser and you’re playing right away.
No account. No sign-up screen standing between you and the first hand. If you’ve ever been the fourth person at a table waiting for three people to finish creating accounts, we solved that for you.
The Free Allowance
Every host gets five free games a month.
A few details that matter:
- They arrive on the first of the month. If you just started hosting in the middle of the month, you get all five of them right away.
- They don’t roll over. A month you didn’t play isn’t credited toward a month you do.
- They’re for hosting only. If you’ve used yours and still want to deal, an in-app purchase buys more.
Guests always play for free.
When You Need an Account
Only when money is involved.
- Joining a game never needs one.
- Hosting your five free games doesn’t either.
- Buying plays does.
An account is the only way we can keep track of any extra purchases you’ve made.
An account also keeps your record: wins, losses, and who you’ve been beating. Worth having, but never required to play.
The Short Version
One person gets the app. Everyone else just plays. Nobody pays for anything until somebody wants to host more than five games in a month.
More detail lives on the support page, which is also where to find us if any of this doesn’t match what you’re seeing.
Somebody’s got to bring the deck. It might as well be you.