TabSpawn

Runbook

Player guide

How to get from this page to playing, what each kind of game needs, and what to do when something does not work.

1. Playing in a tab

  1. Pick a game from the games page. Cards show the players, the input methods and an access badge.
  2. Press Play now. The game opens in a new tab on its own domain; TabSpawn stays open behind it.
  3. Go fullscreen with the game's own control or F11 on desktop. Sound is off until you turn it on in most titles.
  4. Close the tab when you are done. There is nothing to sign out of.

2. What the badges mean

  • Instant play: opens and runs. Nothing to bring.
  • Bring your files: an emulator. You supply disc images or ROM files dumped from hardware you own, plus a BIOS where the console needs one. Files are opened in your browser and never uploaded.
  • Invite only: a streamed console. A real machine runs on a server for each room, so Player 1 needs a 24-hour hosting key and Player 2 joins from an invitation link.

3. Controls

Keyboard works everywhere. Touch controls appear on phones where a game supports them (Jugnu II and Dusk Duel). Gamepads are picked up by Dusk Duel, the emulators and the streamed consoles; press a button after the page loads so the browser exposes the pad.

4. Saves and scores

Everything is stored in your browser for that game's domain: leaderboard names, save states, memory cards. Clearing site data clears them, so export save states before you do. Jugnu II sends only your best score to the shared Top 10.

5. Per-game guides

6. Troubleshooting

A game shows a black screen or will not start

Most games here need WebGL. Update the browser, turn hardware acceleration on in its settings, and close other tabs that use the GPU. On phones, Chrome and Safari from the last two years are fine.

The game is slow

Jugnu II lowers its resolution automatically; you can also pick a quality tier in Settings. Emulators run at the speed of your machine, so 3D consoles want a recent laptop. Streamed rooms depend on your connection; a wired network helps.

My saves or scores vanished

They live in browser storage for that game's domain. Clearing site data, private browsing or a different browser profile removes them. Export a save state from the emulator before clearing anything.

My controller does nothing

Press any button on it after the page has loaded; browsers only expose a gamepad after the first input. Bluetooth pads may need re-pairing after sleep.

7. Reporting a problem

Say which game, which browser and what you saw, through the contact panel on the studio portfolio. Screenshots help; hosting keys and invitation links should never be shared.