Host Controls
As the host you're the table's stage manager. This page covers the host-only controls for shaping the space. Several of the bigger ones have their own guides, linked below.
Note
Co-hosts share host powers, with one exception: Admin mode only reveals hands and hidden zones for the room's creator. To promote a co-host, and for the full who-can-do-what breakdown, see Players, Hosts & Co-Hosts.
Shaping the Table
- Table background color: a picker in the bottom controls; it broadcasts to everyone live. Use it to set a mood or mark teams.
- Project dependencies: pull another project's components into this room (see below).
- Free Scale: to resize a piece to an exact size, right-click it, open the Scale row, and choose Free. Drag the corner handles, then click Done. (For uniform 25% steps, just press
+and-.) - Room Options: what players can see and do at this table (see below).
Room Options
Open Room Options in the bottom toolbar. Only hosts see this panel. Everything in it applies to every player at the table, takes effect straight away, and starts off.
Tip
Room options are saved as part of a Saved Table Setup, so loading a setup brings back the options it was saved with. A setup only restores the options it actually recorded, so an older setup leaves anything newer untouched.
Hand visibility
- Show hand counts: players can see how many cards each other is holding, but not what those cards are.
- Open hands: every player's hand cards are visible to everyone. Use it for a teaching game, a solo test, or a post-game review.
Drag to Hand
Whether players can drag components off the table into their hand. Three settings:
- Player Choice (the default) leaves it to each player's own preference.
- Force On enables it for everyone, ignoring their preference.
- Force Off disables it for everyone.
Personal decks
Decide whether players may save decks from this table to a file, load their own deck files into it, or both. See Personal Decks.
Allow copy, paste & duplicate is the third switch here. Copying is host-only until you turn it on; once you do, every player can use Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+D on table objects, plus Copy and Duplicate in the right-click menu. Turn it on when players are building their own decks, since that needs more than one copy of a card.
Admin mode
Shows you every player's hand and the contents of hidden zones. It changes your view only; nothing about the table changes for anyone else, and no player is told it is on.
Note
Admin mode works for the room creator only. A co-host can switch it on, but it will not reveal anything for them. Every other room option works the same for hosts and co-hosts.
Project Dependencies
A room is started from one project, but you can pull in the components of other projects as dependencies. Their cards, tokens, boards, and everything else show up in the room's left sidebar alongside the host project's pieces, ready to spawn onto the table. This is how you playtest an expansion against its base game, combine separate modules, or reuse a shared component library without copying anything.
To add a dependency:
- In the room's left sidebar, click Add Project Dependency (above the Game Info section).
- A picker lists the projects you own, minus this room's own project and any already added.
- Click a project to attach it. Its components appear right away as a new collapsible section in the sidebar.
- To detach it, click the remove (×) control next to the dependency's name. Removing it clears the sidebar section; pieces already spawned on the table stay put.
Note
Dependencies are host-only to add or remove (co-hosts included), and you can only add projects you own. You can't add the room's own project to itself.
Tip
Dependencies are remembered by Saved Table Setups: saving a setup records its attached projects, and loading that setup re-attaches them so the same combined pool is ready next time.
Keeping Data in Sync
- Sync from Database (): re-fetch your components and push any changes onto matching pieces already on the table. Edited a card's art in another tab? This brings it in.
- Dextrous Sync: if a Dextrous feed is configured, re-import external component data. See Dextrous Import.
- Fresh Room: open a brand-new, empty room for this project without leaving your session, handy for a clean test table. See Starting & Joining Rooms.
- Editing a single piece: right-click any component-linked piece to edit, restore, or save its definition. See Editing & Syncing Components.
Designer Notes (Action Items)
Capture thoughts mid-session without breaking your flow. Right-click empty table and choose Add Action Item, type the note, and Save Note (or press Ctrl+Enter). Notes are private to you and appear on your project dashboard and the linked session page, where you can check them off as you address them.
More Host Tools
Each of these has its own guide:
- Zones , regions that enforce rules.
- Grids & Snapping and Snap Points , for precise placement.
- Saved Table Setups , snapshot and reload a whole table.
- Markers, Drawing & Labels , annotate the table.
- Session Replay , record and rewatch a session.
- Personal Decks , let players bring their own deck files.
Related: Players, Hosts & Co-Hosts · Editing & Syncing Components · Realtime Playtest overview