Starting a 3 player game with a friend and an open chair

[Jonhinch]

I seem to be having trouble starting a 3 player game of crafting the cosmos with the new interface. I want one chair to be a friend and one to be open. I try doing this and I think it waits for my friend to join but then I have had configuration errors and I have noticed I seem to have to start the search after the friend has joined. What should I be doing? Or is there a bug? Thanks

[Exotic Dreams]

If I'm understanding this correctly how it should work is you invited your friend. Then your friend either accepts or declines.
Assuming your friend accepts the invite, you can now click on the option to start the search for another player.
Then the search proceeds as normal until another player joins, you start the game with less players ( if it's a game that works in two player mode) or you quit / cancell the game start.

Hope that helps.

[Meeplelowda]

with the new interface

If you are dead set on using the new lobby for some reason, more power to you. If you want to do it using the "old" (Play Now) lobby, I can tell you how.

[expoolman]

How do I know if I am using the new lobby or the old lobby? For 3 years I have only clicked on the "play now" tab which is shown on almost any screen. This takes me to a lobby that seemingly has everything I need. What is the "other" lobby?

[Meeplelowda]

How do I know if I am using the new lobby or the old lobby? For 3 years I have only clicked on the "play now" tab which is shown on almost any screen. This takes me to a lobby that seemingly has everything I need. What is the "other" lobby?

Play Now is the "old" lobby. And you're right, it does have everything you need...and more! But now for every game there is a lobby just for that game (a single-game lobby) where you can also start a game, which was added because supposedly Play Now was too confusing. But it is either missing functionality that's in the Play Now lobby, or hides the same functionality in obscure ways. For some people, that's all they need, or if they are new to BGA they don't even know there's any other (better) way.

I don't know if there's a consensus name for the lobby on the Games tab were you can also start a game. I never start games from there, so I don't need a name for it. So there's just the "old" (Play Now) lobby and new (single-game) lobby to me.

[expoolman]

Thanks for that info. Just noticed from your sig I certainly came to the right place with my question.

[Meeplelowda]

Just noticed from your sig I certainly came to the right place with my question.

I might be a little bit obsessed with it.

[Jonhinch]

Ah fabulous. I didn't know we could still start games the old way. I thought it was up to the game designer which was used. I much much much prefer the old game start interface. I will remember to start with play now. Thanks very much

[FrankJones]

My Default screen is the "play now" screen, which I find very easy to use, and fully functional.

Sometimes I end up in the game creation page for a specific game (usually when someone has invited me to a game, and I click the invite to view the settings the person has selected), but that page seems very poorly designed and a terrible way to start/create new games.

[Meeplelowda]

but that page seems very poorly designed and a terrible way to start/create new games.

The irony is that they hired outside consultants to help design that UI because Play Now was supposedly too "confusing" and frustrating to new players.

There was even some beta testing by the player base. I participated. I don't remember exactly what my comments were but they weren't positive. I think part of the problem is that they got actual BGA users involved after the major design decisions had already been made based on usability testing by non-BGA players. I get that non-BGA players were their target because they wanted an easy design for new players, but I think they underestimated how quickly "new" players would become experienced enough to want something more than the simplified UI.