Player guide
One device hosts.
Everyone plays.
A Pay the 2 table has one host — the device that runs the referee. It holds the shuffled decks, enforces the rules, and deals each player exactly the information they’re allowed to see. Everyone else joins from their own device and just plays. No shared screen, no manual bookkeeping, no honor-system life totals.
Play in browser →Hosting in your browser — room codes
Open play.paythe2.com and tap Host. The browser tab runs the referee; the free relay only carries messages between the table’s devices, so nobody has to touch router settings or forward ports. Read the short room code aloud, send the invite link, or show the QR code, and friends anywhere can join.
The relay is deliberately dumb: it carries the table’s messages without interpreting them, doesn’t know the rules, holds no authority over the game, and keeps nothing once the room closes. Which leads to the standing promise:
LAN-native hosting for self-hosters
The original all-local path remains supported for self-hosters: everyone stays in the same room, on the same Wi‑Fi, and the game never touches the relay. Native distribution is parked, so this path is for people running a local build.
- Pick the host. Any desktop or tablet at the table running the local app can referee the game.
- Tap Host. The host screen shows the table’s local address.
- Friends tap Join on their own local builds and pick the table.
- Everyone submits a deck. The host starts the game and the referee takes it from there.
No server, no sign-up, and nothing uploaded anywhere.
What you need
- For internet rooms: any modern browser. Open play.paythe2.com, tap Host, and share the room code.
- A device per player — tablets are the first-class experience; phones and desktops work too. Open the invite link, scan the host’s QR code, or type the room code.
- Decks — paste a deck list to import; card text and images come from Scryfall.
- For LAN self-hosting: a local app build on each device and everyone on the same Wi‑Fi.
Where things stand today
Honesty is the house rule here (it’s how the engine itself works), so here is the real status board rather than a marketing one:
Curious what the referee is actually doing under the table? How the engine works →