virtualtabletop.io

Your personal game library on VirtualTabletop.io starts empty, and you fill it in one of three ways: pin a game from the public library with its star button, click Add game to upload a VTT or PCIO file you downloaded elsewhere, or drag VTT files directly onto the page. Once games are in the library, you filter and sort them to find what you want to play. This applies to the browser-based table at virtualtabletop.io — there is no separate account library to sync, and the page gives no indication of paid tiers or storage limits.

Getting games into your library

The library panel shows the message "Your personal game library is currently empty" until you add something. The page lists three routes:

• Pin a public game. Use the star button on any game in the public library to pin it to your own shelf.
• Add game button. Opens an upload flow for VTT or PCIO files you downloaded from the web.
• Drag and drop. Drop VTT files onto the page to add them.

The upload path is the one that matters if you want a specific game that isn't already hosted. The page points to a few places to find compatible files:

• a BoardGameGeek geeklist
• the PlayingCardsIO subreddit
• a Notion page (the excerpt cuts off mid-URL, so treat the first two as the reliable starting points)

VTT and PCIO are the two accepted file types named on the page. If you have a file in another format, the page gives no indication it will load.

Finding a game once your library has entries

The library includes a filter and sort bar above the game list. Filters:

Sort options: by Name, by Similar Name, by Stars, by Popularity, by Last Updated, by Year.

If the list comes back empty, the page's own hint is to adjust the filters — "No games displayed. Adjust the filters above to show them." That usually means a player-count or duration filter is narrower than your collection.

Loading a game and keeping it

Two buttons sit near the library: Update loaded game and Save active game. The naming implies a distinction between the game currently loaded at the table and the saved copy in your library — save the active game to keep changes, update the loaded game to pull in the saved version. The page does not spell out the exact overwrite behavior, so if you have made edits you care about, save before loading something else.

To switch between games you return to the main server, which is where the library lives.

Practical notes

• The library is per-browser in practice: it's part of the same page that hosts your room, and the page describes connections as browser tabs. Clearing site data or switching browsers is the kind of thing that would affect it, though the page doesn't state this explicitly.
• Compatible files come from outside the site. BoardGameGeek geeklists and the PlayingCardsIO subreddit are the two sources named; both are community-run, so file quality and format compliance vary.
• The AI filter (Made with AI / Made without AI) is a metadata flag on library entries, useful if you want to know how a game's assets were produced.

If your goal is simply to play, the shortest path is: open a room, share the URL, and pick a game from the public library — you don't need to upload anything. Uploading only becomes necessary when you want a game that isn't already in the public shelf.

Open virtualtabletop.io, enter a room ID, and have everyone else enter the same ID — or start the room and use the share button to send the room URL to the people you want to play with. Each browser tab with the room open counts as one player connection, so the same person can occupy several seats by opening multiple tabs, and several people can share one device by adding local players and switching between them.

Starting a room

1. Open virtualtabletop.io in a browser.
2. When the page asks for a room ID, type one and confirm. The page shows "Loading room..." while it connects.
3. Anyone who should join you enters the same ID. The prompt states it directly: "Please enter an ID and ask your friend to enter the same one."
4. Once inside, the room loads the game shelf and table interface, with a toolbar containing Game Shelf, Active Game, Players, About, Edit Mode, Feedback, Sound, zoom, Fullscreen, and Hide Toolbar.

There is no account step described in the interface — the room ID is the only thing that has to match. If you want a private table, pick an ID that is hard to guess, since anyone who enters the same ID lands in the same room.

Inviting remote players

Remote play means everyone uses their own device:

1. Open the Players panel.
2. Use the share button in the player table.
3. Send the room URL to the other players.
4. They open the URL and join the table. Their browser tab appears in the player list as a connection, and they can pick their own name and color there.

The share button's stated purpose is exactly this: "Share the room URL so other players can join."

Hotseat: several people, one device

If everyone is gathered around one computer:

1. In the Players panel, use the person_add row to add a player for each person at the device.
2. When it is someone's turn, use the visibility button to switch this browser tab to that player.
3. Only the browser tab switches — the game state itself stays untouched.

The visibility button is greyed out while a player is connected and playing, and the delete button only appears while a player is not connected (and asks first if parts of the game still belong to them).

How connections and players relate

Switching games

To change games, return to the main server using the "Return" control in the game-selection area. From there you can browse the game shelf, filter by player count, duration, language, or whether a game was made with AI, and sort by name, similarity, stars, popularity, last update, or year. You can also add games by uploading VTT or PCIO files downloaded from the web; the interface points to compatible files on a BoardGameGeek geeklist, the PlayingCardsIO subreddit, and a Notion page. Your personal game library starts empty until you pin public games with the stars, use Add game, or drag VTT files in.

Common snags

• Nobody can find the room. The ID has to match exactly for everyone. Sharing the room URL avoids typos entirely.
• You seem to be two players. Every tab with the room open is a separate connection, so close extra tabs if you only want one seat.
• A player's visibility button is greyed out. That player is currently connected and playing; disconnect them first.
• You cannot delete a player. The delete button only appears while that player is not connected.

VirtualTabletop.io is a browser-based virtual tabletop for playing tabletop games online. You open a room, share its ID or URL, and each player joins from their own browser tab — no install or account is mentioned in the site's own interface. It supports both remote play (everyone on their own device) and hotseat play (several people sharing one device), and it includes a game library you can load from or add to.

How a room works

The landing screen shows "Loading room..." and asks you to enter an ID and have your friend enter the same one. That ID is the whole join mechanism: anyone who enters the same ID lands in the same room.

Inside a room, the toolbar exposes the main controls: Game Shelf, Active Game, Players, About, Edit Mode, Feedback, Sound, zoom, Fullscreen, and Hide Toolbar.

Players and connections

The site's own help text defines the rule clearly: every browser tab that has the room open is one connection of a player.

From the Players panel you can:

• Edit the name and color of any player.
• View the game as another player (the visibility button) — greyed out while that player is connected and playing.
• Add a local player who shares this device.
• Rename a player everywhere in the game.
• Remove a player from the list — only shown while they are not connected, and it asks first if parts of the game still belong to them.

One useful consequence: if you keep the room open in more than one tab, adding a player switches the current tab to them, so each tab can act as its own player.

Remote play vs. hotseat

Remote play is the default for people in different places. Hotseat is for a group around one screen: you add each person as a player, then hand the device over and switch the active view.

The game library

The Game Shelf holds your games. Your personal library starts empty, and you can fill it by:

• Pinning public library games with the stars.
• Using the Add game button.
• Dragging VTT files in.

You can upload VTT or PCIO files downloaded from the web. The site points to compatible game files on a BoardGameGeek geeklist, the PlayingCardsIO subreddit, and a Notion page. Library games can be filtered by player count (1–20), duration (≤30 min, 30–60 min, >60 min), language, whether they were made with AI, and sorted by name, similar name, stars, popularity, last updated, or year.

To switch games, return to the main server.

Practical notes

• Joining is ID-based, so agree on the ID first. If you and your friend enter different IDs, you end up in different rooms.
• Sharing the URL is the fastest path for remote players — the share button in the player table sends the room link.
• Cancelling an input closes it for everyone and all choices are lost, so avoid hitting Cancel while others are mid-decision.
• A disconnected player can be removed, but the game may still reference them, which is why removal asks for confirmation first.

Remote play and hotseat differ in one thing: how many devices the players use. In remote play, everyone plays on their own device and joins the same room through a shared URL. In hotseat, several people share one device and take turns by switching which player the browser tab is viewing. Both modes use the same player list, so you can mix them in one room.

Remote play: one device per person

Each player opens the room URL on their own device. Their browser tab appears in the room as a connection, and they can pick their own name and color in the player table.

To set it up:

1. Open the room you want to play in.
2. Use the share button in the player table to get the room URL.
3. Send that URL to the other players.
4. As each person opens it, their browser tab shows up in the player table as a connection.
5. Each player selects their name and color.

The key detail: every browser tab with the room open counts as one player connection. That is why a second tab on your own machine can act as a separate player if you want it to.

Hotseat: one device, several players

In hotseat, several people share a single device. You add each person to the player list, then switch the tab to whoever's turn it is.

To set it up:

1. In the player table, use the person_add row to add each person who shares the device.
2. When it is someone's turn, use the visibility button to switch this browser tab to that player.
3. Play their turn, then switch to the next player the same way.

The important limitation: only the browser tab switches over — the game itself stays untouched. Switching players changes whose view and permissions the tab is using; it does not reset, advance, or otherwise alter the game state.

Side-by-side comparison

Player table buttons you will use in both modes

• edit — rename the player everywhere in the game.
• visibility — view the game as this player. It is greyed out while that player is connected and playing.
• delete — remove a player from the list. Only shown while they are not connected, and it asks first if parts of the game still belong to them.
• add — add a player who shares this device (the hotseat case).
• share — share the room URL so other players can join (the remote case).

Which one should you use?

Choose remote play when each person has their own device and you want everyone to see the game from their own perspective at the same time. Choose hotseat when people are in the same room around one screen and you want to pass turns without passing hardware. Because both modes draw on the same player list, a room can support remote players and hotseat players at once — for example, two people on a laptop taking turns while a third joins from another device.

Every browser tab that has the room open counts as one player connection. To manage them, open the Players panel in the room: there you can rename a player, change their color, view the game as that player, or add a local player who shares your device. Remote players join by opening the room URL you share, and each of their tabs appears in the same list.

What counts as a player connection

VirtualTabletop.io treats each browser tab with the room open as one connection of a player. That has two practical consequences:

• If you open the same room in three tabs, you have three connections listed, even on one device.
• If you add a player while the room is open in more than one tab, the current tab switches to that player, so each tab can act as its own player.

This is why the player list is really a list of connections, not a list of people.

The player management buttons

The Players table gives you one row of controls per player:

The visibility button is the one to remember for checking a hidden hand or a private view: it only works once the player is disconnected, because you can't peek through a connection that is actively playing.

Adding players for remote play and hotseat

The two setups use the same player list but different buttons.

Remote play

Everybody plays on their own device. Send them the room URL with the share button, and they join the table as soon as they open it. Their browser tab shows up in the player list as a connection, and they can pick their own name and color in the table.

Hotseat

Several people share one device. Add each of them with the person_add row of the table, then use the visibility button to switch this browser tab to whoever's turn it is. Only the browser tab switches over; the game itself stays untouched.

Removing a player

A player can only be removed while they are disconnected. If parts of the game still belong to them, the interface asks for confirmation before deleting. If you need to remove someone who is still connected, they have to close their tab first.

Common snags

• A player won't appear in the list. Their tab isn't open on the room URL yet. Re-send the share link.
• The visibility button is greyed out. That player is still connected and playing. Ask them to disconnect, then switch to their view.
• Adding a player changed the wrong tab. With the room open in several tabs, adding a player switches the current tab to them. Do it from the tab you want to reassign.
• A player can't be deleted. They are still connected, or the confirmation prompt is waiting for an answer.

To switch to a different game entirely, return to the main server first.