A field guide to every screen in gamedeck — what it's for, how to use it, and why it works the way it does.

🎮 Getting Started

Sign up with an email and password. On first launch you land straight on Deck with a criteria bar reading "0 criteria" — the deck is playable immediately with zero setup, but picking criteria is what turns browsing into matching.

Right after signing up you'll be asked to verify your email — a 6-digit code lands in your inbox, valid for 2 days. This isn't a hard gate: tap Skip for now and keep using the app right away. The only thing that changes once the 2-day window passes unverified is that logging back in on a new session will ask you to verify first — so it's worth doing at some point, just never blocks you up front. A reminder banner on your Profile tab links back to the verification screen any time you skipped it.

⚠️ Email delivery isn't switched on yet for this preprod environment — the code is generated, but nothing actually lands in your inbox until that's finished. Ask whoever's running the server if you get stuck waiting on a code.

Forgot your password? Tap Forgot password? on the sign-in screen, enter your email, and a 6-digit reset code arrives (valid for 30 minutes this time — resets are shorter-lived than signup verification since whoever holds the code can take over the account). Enter it plus a new password, then sign in again — resetting doesn't log you in automatically.

Once you're in, you stay signed in for up to 30 days — the app quietly refreshes your session in the background, so you won't be asked to log in again just from leaving the app closed for a few days. You can sign in with either your email or your username. Only one session is active per account at a time — signing in on another device or app install immediately signs you out here.

🎯 Set Your Mood

Tap the criteria pill to open What are you in the mood for?

• Filters (Release status, a custom release-date range, Platforms, Age Rating) sit in a collapsible section — closed by default, tap the header to expand it. They narrow which games can appear; they don't affect scoring.
• Instead of the Any/Upcoming/Released switch, set an exact From/To release-date range — leave either end open if you only care about one side. Picking Upcoming clears the range since the two don't mix; Released caps the "To" date at today.
• The Mood — genres, themes, keywords, and game modes — is what actually gets scored against every card. Pick at least 3 for a match to even be possible.
• Tap Start swiping once you've picked your mood.

💡 Tip: More criteria = a pickier deck, not a bigger one. The scoring bar only fills up on cards that genuinely fit what you asked for.

💡 Tip: Anywhere you see a sliding pill behind a set of tabs (this Release switch, your library tabs, Social, Party Up, a party's Feed/Members/Requests) you can drag the pill straight to another option, not just tap it.

🃏 Swipe the Deck