Frequently asked questions

Scrywire is a free, browser-based webcam lobby for paper trading card games. You keep your real cards on your desk and share your play area over webcam with the other people at the table. Scrywire adds the shared surface — life trackers, dice, phase logs, chat, card search — on top of the video.

No. Creating an account is free, hosting a table is free, joining a table is free, and entering community events is free. Scrywire is funded by its founders and (eventually) modest ads on non-gameplay pages. Ads never run on live table pages.

No. Scrywire runs entirely in a modern browser. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari all work on desktop; Chrome and Safari work on mobile. There is no app to download.

Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon TCG, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney Lorcana, Star Wars: Unlimited, One Piece TCG, Digimon Card Game, Grand Archive, Riftbound, Sorcery: Contested Realm, and our in-house game Neuroscape. Full rules walkthroughs for each live in the resources section.

Almost any webcam works, including the one built into your laptop. For a top-down view of your play area, most players use a cheap USB webcam on a gooseneck mount or a phone as a second camera. Setup guides for both are on the webcam help page.

Yes. Scrywire supports pairing a phone as a secondary top-down feed. Open a table, click "Pair phone" and scan the QR code — your phone becomes a second stream at the table. Full instructions are in the webcam help guide.

Nine times out of ten it's a browser permission issue — the site needs microphone and camera permission from your browser and, on macOS or Windows, from the operating system. The setup checker on the table creation screen walks you through fixing this. If it still fails, corporate networks and some VPNs block the peer-to-peer connection Scrywire uses; try a different network.

No. Webcam and audio streams are peer-to-peer between the players at the table. Scrywire never stores or records them, and they disappear the moment the table closes.

Sign in, click "Host a table," pick your game, and choose whether the table is public (anyone can join) or private (invite-only). Share the table link with your pod, or wait for players to join from the open lobby.

Depends on the game. 1v1 games like Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, and Sorcery cap at 2 seats. Magic Commander tables seat 4. Most other games support 2–4 seats. The host picks the seat count when creating the table.

The table host can kick any seat at any time. Every player can send a report from the post-game screen — repeated reports flag the account for review and, if warranted, revoke access to public tables. Serious violations are covered in the Acceptable Use Policy.

Refreshing the page rejoins the same table — Scrywire holds your seat for up to 20 minutes. If your camera reconnects within that window, gameplay continues where you left off. Longer than that and the seat opens back up.

Yes. Accounts are free but required, so that other players know who they're sitting down with, and so hosts have someone to point moderation reports at.

Your account email, a display name and avatar you choose, a public profile with your XP and reputation, the history of tables you've hosted or joined, and messages you've sent to friends. Video and voice are never stored. Full details are in the Privacy Policy.

Open your profile settings and use "Delete account," or email Info@scrywire.com from the address on file. Deletion is permanent and clears your profile, messages, and table history within 30 days.

Free scheduled community events — usually a themed play night with a raffle prize for players who show up and finish a match. See the events page for what's coming up.

After the event window closes, we draw from eligible participants (players who checked in and completed a match). Full raffle mechanics and eligibility are in the beta raffle rules and events & prizes terms.