Your first game in 15 minutes

This walk-through takes you from a blank game to a dungeon room with walls, a door, fog, light, a hero and a monster, and a player invited. Each step links to the page that covers it in full.

For: Game Masters · Plan: Free · 15 minutes

Tip: have a map image ready: a top-down battle map as a JPG, PNG or WebP. On the Free plan a file can be up to 5 MB.

1. Create the game

  1. On your dashboard, click New Game.
  2. Type a Game Name. If you are asked to choose, pick Start from Scratch.
  3. Click Create Game. You are taken straight into your new game, and a short welcome video plays the first time.

More: Create a game.

2. Put a map on the board

  1. Open the menu (three lines, top left) and click Background.
  2. Click Upload Backgrounds and choose your map. The first map you upload goes straight onto the board.

More: Upload a map.

3. Line up the grid

  1. Hover over the Mode menu at the top of the board and choose Grid.
  2. Click Align to Grid and follow its three steps, so each square of the grid sits on a square printed on your map.

More: Line up the grid.

4. Draw walls and a door

  1. In the Mode menu, choose Walls. Click round the edge of a room, one click per corner, and press Esc to finish. Leave a gap where the door goes.
  2. Choose Doors, click either side of the gap, and press Cmd+D (Mac) or Ctrl+D (Windows).

More: Walls and Doors.

5. Turn on fog of war and light the room

  1. In the Mode menu, choose Fog of War and switch it on.
  2. Choose Environment and set the Lighting to Dim Light or Darkness.
  3. Open the menu and click Lights, then + Add. Pick Torch and click Create Light. Drag the light into the room.

More: Fog of war and Lighting.

6. Add a hero and a monster

  1. Open the menu and click Characters, then + Add. Name the character and click Create. The token appears in the middle of your view: drag it into the room.
  2. Click Enemies, then + Add. Choose From the library, search for a creature, pick it and click Create.

More: Add player characters and Enemies and the creature library.

7. See what your players will see

Open the menu and turn GM View off. The fog closes in, and the room shows only what your hero can see. Turn it back on to keep building.

More: GM view and player view.

8. Invite a player

  1. Open the menu and click Invite Player.
  2. Click Generate Invite Link, then Copy Invite Link, and send it to your player.
  3. When they join, open the character's Edit Character window and set Assigned player on the Access tab, so the token is theirs to move.

More: Invite players.

9. Roll for initiative

When the monster attacks, hover over the Mode menu and click Battle, then Start Battle. Everyone rolls initiative and the tracker keeps the turns.

More: Start a battle.