Download the Nerd Leagues App (iOS and Android)
The Nerd Leagues app is on iOS and Android, and it is the same account as the website — your leagues, decks, ratings, and friends are already there when you sign in. Two things only exist on the app: an offline life tracker that needs no account at all, and the camera that scans a lobby's QR code.
Where to get it
- iOS — Nerd Leagues on the App Store.
- Android — Nerd Leagues on Google Play.
Signing in
The app signs you in with Google or Apple. The website uses Google. Signing in to the app with the same Google account you use on the site puts you on the account you already have, with your leagues, decks and ratings on it.
What works without an account
Quick Play is the offline life tracker, and it asks for nothing. Open Play, choose Quick Play, set the format, starting life, player count and names, then Start Game. It keeps totals on the device and saves nothing to your account — a game played in Quick Play is not recorded and does not touch anyone's rating. If you close it mid-game, a Resume Game banner brings it back.
What the app adds
- The online Life Tracker — a shared lobby where everyone tracks their own life total on their own phone, and the result is recorded for you when the game ends.
- QR joining — point the camera at another player's lobby code instead of typing it. The browser can show a lobby's QR code but cannot scan one.
- Quick Play — the offline tracker above, with no sign-in.
Opening an invite link
Lobby invites are links of the form nerdleagues.com/join/burning-colosseum-42. With the app installed, tapping one opens the lobby in the app; without it, the same link opens in your browser and works there.
Before you can play online
Online lobbies need two things on your account: at least one deck and at least one league. Until you have both, the home screen greys the lobby buttons out behind a lock icon, under the line Create a deck and join a league to play online. Quick Play stays available the whole time.
Where to go next
If you have not joined a league yet, What Is a Nerd Leagues League? explains what one is and Inviting Players and Joining a League covers getting in. For what happens to your rating once games start landing, read How ELO Works on Nerd Leagues.