TableNight/Guides/Playing without internet
Guide · No signal
Playing without internet: how it really works
In the mountains, on a train, in a beach house with no Wi-Fi: TableNight games can be played with no connection. They do need two minutes of preparation, done while you still have signal. This guide explains what, and what happens behind the scenes.
The one thing to do before you leave
Without internet a website normally will not open. TableNight games are the exception because they save themselves in the browser the first time you open them. So there is a single rule: everyone who wants to play must have opened the game at least once while connected, on the same phone and in the same browser.
The evening before is fine, or in the car before you lose signal. You do not need to play: just open the game page and wait a few seconds for it to finish loading. For the room-based games, opening one saves the others too. Waterbomb and Thumbs are separate: open each of them once.
The tip that avoids the problem: send the link to the group before the evening and ask everyone to open it. It is the one step you cannot make up for once you have no signal.
Which games work without internet
| Waterbomb | One phone. Open it and play: there is nobody to connect. |
|---|---|
| Thumbs | One phone. Like Waterbomb, nothing else is needed. |
| Who Knows Me | One phone each, connected with the QR greeting. You need a shared network. |
| Team Quiz | One device for the host and a phone each, with the QR greeting. AI question generation is not available. |
| Cronos | Like the quiz. AI stays out here too. |
| Full Moon | One phone each, with the QR greeting. With many players the greeting takes a few extra minutes. |
Why you need a network even with no internet
Internet and a local network are two different things. Internet is the link to the outside world; a local network is what joins the devices in a room. To play on several phones you only need the second.
In “On your device” mode the game runs in the browser of whoever opens the room, and the other phones connect straight to it. Nothing goes through a server. But the phones have to be able to see each other, which means being on the same Wi-Fi. If no Wi-Fi is available, one phone creates it with its hotspot. That works with no data and no signal, because here the hotspot does not have to bring internet to anyone: it only has to join the phones.
The QR greeting, step by step
With internet, phones find each other thanks to a four-character code. Without it that service cannot be reached, and the phones have to introduce themselves by hand. This is the QR greeting, and it is done once per player.
- Everyone on the same network The host turns on their hotspot, or everyone joins the same Wi-Fi.
- The host opens the room A pill appears at the bottom of the screen saying “No switchboard”: tap it, then “Invite a player”. The browser will ask for permission to use the camera.
- The player scans the QR From the entry screen they tap “No internet? Join by QR” and scan the code on the host's phone.
- The host scans the reply A second QR appears on the player's phone: the host scans it, and the two phones connect.
- Next please The host taps “Invite another” and you repeat. It takes around twenty seconds per person.
If the camera does not work, under each QR there is text to copy and paste, though that is awkward with no chat to hand. It is worth granting the camera permission: as well as reading QR codes, while it is open it helps the phones recognise each other on the local network.
What happens if the connection drops mid-game
If you started with internet and the connection falls over, you generally will not notice. The service that introduces the phones is only needed at the start: once connected, the devices talk directly and carry on doing so. The host's pill may switch from “Room open” to “No switchboard”, but the game goes on.
The only problem is for anyone who drops out at that moment: to get back in they will have to repeat the QR greeting, because the room code no longer works without internet.
If something does not work
| The page will not open | The game was not opened beforehand in that browser, or a private window was used, which saves nothing. You need a minute of connection. |
|---|---|
| “They could not find each other” | The phones are not on the same network. Check everyone is on the hotspot and not on mobile data. On some public networks devices cannot talk to each other: a phone hotspot solves it. |
| The camera will not start | Permission was denied. Turn it back on in the browser's site settings, by tapping the icon next to the address. |
| The host closed the page | The game ends for everyone, because it was running there. Keep the screen on and the phone charging. |
| The host's phone switches off | Same problem. Have the device with the most battery be the host. |
In summary
- Open the game at least once while you have signal.
- Waterbomb and Thumbs need nothing else.
- The other games need a shared network, even a phone hotspot with no data.
- Do the QR greeting for each player and keep the host awake.