Board Game Arena

I have set up a new table for four players, restricted to my friends, have invited three friends, and two so far have accepted. On the table screen are the two buttons "Open table to other players" and "Start game": what is the functional difference between these two in this state? Does "Start game" ditch the player who hasn't accepted and start a three player game? Does "Open table to other players" let my other friends see the table?

Aside: Is it just me or is "Open table to other players" ambiguous? Does it mean "other players" (ie people who haven't been invited) or "the other players" (ie the people who have accepted)?

I can't find the answer in the FAQ and "Open table to other players" isn't in there at all, so hopefully someone here can help!

Open to other players means ANY player can join. You don't want that unless you want strangers at your table.

You are correct, start game should ditch the player who has not yet joined.

GTSchemer wrote: ↑31 January 2024, 18:34 Open to other players means ANY player can join. You don't want that unless you want strangers at your table.

Well, it depends - if as the OP says, they set restricted to friends, then it will only be open to their entire friend group (not just those who they invited) and only if a space comes up (if the third player declines). Otherwise it's considered a full table and won't be visible to anyone.

Basically, if you invite people, you don't need to open the table up (if you setup your table via the game page, it doesn't give you this option). You only need to open it if you want it to appear to players in the search because you have one or more empty seats, and then it will still respect any restrictions (eg. restrict to friends, ELO, reputation) you've placed.

Thanks for the answers! I feel like the FAQ could do with mentioning this detail... I was reading "open" in the context of "I've finished messing with the table settings, open it to those I've invited", but what you've both said makes more sense.