Live games

Play a synced multiplayer game where every player's life, commander damage and counters stay in sync from their own phone — no passing one device around the table.

Steps below are shown for iOSAndroid — use the iOS / Android switch in the sidebar if that's not your phone.

On this page

Live games vs single-device games Before you start Start a live game Build your roster How everyone joins During the game End the game and save

Live games vs single-device games

The Life Counter guide covers what we call the single-device game here — Quick StartStart Game without any pod mates — where one phone gets passed around the table. A live game is different: everyone tracks their own life total, commander damage and counters from their own phone, kept in sync in real time.

A live game's roster is built from your trade pod — the same friend list you use for Pod Trading doubles as your play group here.

Before you start

A few things need to be true before you can build a live roster:

You're signed in

Live games run through your Compendium account.

Your pod mates have accepted

Only people already Accepted in your trade pod show up when you build your roster. Don't have a pod yet? Set one up first — you need at least one accepted pod mate.

Notifications are on

The push notification is the only way pod mates join — make sure Compendium notifications are allowed on their phone before game night.

Everyone has live games

Live games are rolling out gradually, so your pod mates need it too, not just you. If someone never gets the notification, ask them to update Compendium and check whether they see a live-game option when starting a game.

Start a live game

Tap Start Game from a deck, or press and hold a deck on the Decks tab and choose Start Game. It's the same setup screen as a single-device game — it becomes a live game the moment you add someone under Pod Mates.

Tap Start Live Game next to the regular Start Game button on a deck, or long-press a deck on the Decks tab and choose Start Live Game from the menu. This opens the Start Live Game setup screen — a separate flow from the single-device Quick Start.

Live games are rolled out gradually — if there's no Pod Mates section on the Start Game screen, live games aren't enabled for your account yet.

Live games are rolled out gradually — if you don't see Start Live Game yet, it isn't enabled for your account.

Build your roster

As the host, you're automatically the first player, and a live game seats up to 6 including you. Set up the rest of the table before starting — nobody is notified until you tap StartStart Game, so add everyone first:

Select Deck

Your Deck

Pick what you're playing from a searchable deck list, or leave it unset.

Tap Choose a deck to pick what you're playing — a deck is required, and Start stays greyed out until you've picked one.

Starting Life Total

Starting Life

Pick a preset life total for the table.

Pod Mates

Tap Pick from Trade Binder — it lists pod mates, not cards, and only pod mates who've already accepted appear. Adding at least one is what turns this into a live game rather than a single-device one.

Players

Guests

Tap Add guest to add a row for a player without an account, then type their commander in Guest 1 commander (optional) — guests are tracked by number, not name. Add guest greys out once the table is full.

Type a name and tap Add guest for players without an account.

Guests don't have a device in the game — the host tracks a guest's life and counters from the host's screen, and every other player sees those changes too.

Tap Start in the top-right corner when everyone's added — that's the moment invites go out.

Tap Start Game when everyone's added — that's the moment invites go out.

How everyone joins

There's no invite code to type. The moment you tap Start, each pod mate on the roster gets a push notification — something like “[Host] started a live game — join now” — that opens the game directly on their phone. Anyone not on the roster can't join.

When you land in the game, tap your own panel where it says tap to pick your commander — you can change it any time during the game.

When you land in the game, pick the deck you're playing on the join screen that appears.

If a pod mate never joins, the game isn't held up — their panel just sits there showing waiting to pick a commander, and everyone else plays normally. They can still join anytime before the game ends by reopening the notification.

Missed the notification, or tapped Leave by accident? There's no in-app way to rejoin and the host can't resend it — try finding it again in your phone's Notification Center (gone once you've dismissed it)notification shade or notification history. If it never showed up, live games may not be enabled on your account yet. As a last resort the host can end the game and start a new one, but that logs a result for everyone at the table — and Android's Game Log has no delete, so it stays there, so treat it as a last resort, not a quick fix.

During the game

Adjust life, commander damage and counters exactly like the single-device game — the difference is everyone's doing it from their own screen, and it stays in sync for the whole table. Any player can tap +/- on any panel, not just their own, so it's worth agreeing at the table who tracks what — most pods have each player adjust their own life and the damage they've taken.

Two controls sit at the top of the screen: Leave (left) and End Game (right, host only).

Tap the floating gear button for Leave and End Game (host only).

Leave closes the game on your phone only — everyone else keeps playing. There's no Rejoin button, but reopening the original notification gets you back in (see the tip above). End Game (host only) ends it for the whole table.

End the game and save

Host ends the game

Tap End Game, then pick the winner from Who won?
Everyone fills in their result

The moment a winner's set, every device jumps to Game Complete, showing You won! or You lost. There are optional MVP Card, Mana State (e.g. flooded, screwed, or fine) and Notes fields. Choose Shared with pod if you want your pod mates in this game to see your result and notes, or Private to keep them to yourself.
Save

Tap Save — this screen won't dismiss until you do. Your result lands in your Game Log automatically.