How to Just Play With a Friend

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Burijidah

I am a very casual and admittedly terrible player. Just like to goof around learning cards with bots and from time to time pay for a month of expansions and play with a pal. I am trying to figure out exactly how to set up a max 2 table quickly enough that a random (much better) player doesn't pop in and have the worst game of their life. I can do that with bots but if I want to set up a table and just play with an in-game friended real-life friend, is there a way that I can do that? Or invite a friend? (Probably missing something obvious).

I have twice recently kicked people who have joined the table before my pal could and it feels like being a jerk. Don't mind being a casual player, don't want to be a jerk!

Thanks V much.

Ingix

First, don't consider yourself a jerk for kicking players that join your table. It's nice that you think that way  :) , but as long as there is no really good way to start a table "in private", that's the accepted way to say "this table is not meant for you".

The best way I found to do what you want is to create a table, then immediately add a bot to it. That removes the table from the view of almost all players, because now they need to check "Show bot games" in the table view, which nobody who looks for a human opponent does.

So your friend sees that you are at a table in the matching tab and joins you. They are now a spectator to the match (because it is a 2-player table, and both spots are already taken, by you and the bot). Now your friend needs a little patience.

There is a "Play" button on the lower left of their table view, but they should not press it yet (otherwise things get screwed up). They need to wait until you, after seeing your friend as spectator at the table, have kicked the bot. They see that because the bot simply vanished from the players list. If they press the "Play" button now, they get added to the players list.

Now both of you need to press "Ready", maybe after chaning some more table option, and have fun playing.

Burijidah

Thanks so much for the process info, and the assurance that it isn't rude to kick someone like that (though I am glad I won't have to anymore!)

markus

There is actually a trick: if you set the min and max rating of your table to 0, only your friends can join it.