Remote Play
Encounter+ can serve the game to your players’ browsers. The device running the app starts a small web server, your players open a page in any modern browser, and they see the map, the initiative order and the shared log — and, if you allow it, move their own tokens.
There is nothing for players to install and nothing to sign up for. They do not need Encounter+, an Apple device or an account: a browser and a link is all it takes.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Three pieces have to line up:
| Piece | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| The web server | Built into the app, off by default |
| The web client | A copy of the player page, installed into the app and served by that server |
| The address | An http://<ip>:<port>/client/ URL your players open |
The important part is that everything is served by your own device. Older versions of Encounter+
pointed players at a hosted page at client.encounter.plus with a ?remoteHost= parameter. That is
gone — the app now serves the client itself, so the address you hand out is your device’s address
and nothing else is involved.
Setting up
Section titled “Setting up”1. Install the web client
Section titled “1. Install the web client”Settings → Remote Play → Web Client.
The client is versioned separately from the app and downloaded on demand, so the row reads None until you install it. Open it and pick the release at the top — that is the newest one. When an update appears later, the same screen offers it under Update Available.
This is the one step that needs an internet connection. Do it before the session, not during it.
2. Start the server
Section titled “2. Start the server”Settings → Remote Play → Web Server → Enabled.
While the server runs, the screen grows a Local Access and a Public Access section, and the device is kept awake so the game does not drop out from under your players.
3. Share the address
Section titled “3. Share the address”Open Local Access and you get the IP address, the server URL, the client URL — the one your players want — and a QR code. Tap the QR code to share the link through Messages, Discord, mail, or whatever your table uses.
The client URL looks like this:
http://192.168.1.42:8080/client/That address only works for people on the same network as you. For players elsewhere, see Playing over the internet.
4. Have players join
Section titled “4. Have players join”Each player opens the link, sets their name and color in the client’s own settings, and — if you have set interactions to Token — picks the token they control. From then on their moves show up on your map, and yours on theirs.
What players see
Section titled “What players see”The web client mirrors the player screen, the same view Encounter+ sends to an external display: the map you have shared, the initiative order, and whatever overlay or handout you are showing. Your notes, the DM layer and hidden tokens stay on your device.
- The map shown is the one you shared to the player screen, and line of sight follows Shared Party Vision.
- Markers placed on the DM layer are not sent. Pen and highlighter drawings are, whichever layer they were made on.
- The log is shared both ways: players can chat and roll dice with
/roll 2d6+3(or/r), and their rolls appear on your device.
What players may touch
Section titled “What players may touch”Settings → Remote Play → Interactions decides that:
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| All | Anyone can move anything |
| Token | Each player moves only the token they picked in the client |
| None | View only |
Token is the usual choice. Note that tokens can be moved through walls unless the map has restricted movement enabled.
Playing over the internet
Section titled “Playing over the internet”A local address is unreachable from outside your home network, so the connection has to be let through your router. The app tries to arrange that itself.
- Open Settings → Remote Play → Web Server → Public Access. The address is looked up when the screen opens, so give it a moment to appear.
- Check UPnP Port Forwarding. When it reports success, the router has opened the port for you and the public client URL is ready to hand out.
- If it did not, forward the port by hand on your router — the default is 8080, and it must point at the local IP address shown under Local Access. portforward.com has instructions for most routers, otherwise consult your router’s manual.
Two things are worth knowing before you troubleshoot for an hour:
- Some connections cannot be port-forwarded at all. If your provider puts you behind carrier-grade NAT — common on mobile and some cable connections — no amount of router configuration will help, because the address the world sees is not yours. Enabling IPv6 in Server Settings sometimes works around this if every player also has IPv6.
- The address can change. Most home connections get a dynamic public address, so the public URL from last week’s session may not be this week’s. Re-check it each time.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”The link does not open at all
Section titled “The link does not open at all”Check, in this order:
- The server is still Enabled — it stops when you switch it off, and nothing else turns it on.
- A web client version is installed. With none installed there is a server but no page to serve.
- Players are using the client URL ending in
/client/, not the bare server URL. - For local play, players are on the same Wi-Fi — a phone that fell back to cellular is off the network.
The browser turns the address into https://
Section titled “The browser turns the address into https://”The server speaks plain HTTP, so a browser that upgrades the address to https will fail to
connect. Have the player type the http:// address in full, and if the browser still rewrites it,
try a private/incognito window or clear the site data for that address.
It says it is disconnected, or players drop mid-session
Section titled “It says it is disconnected, or players drop mid-session”The server restarts when the app has been in the background for more than a few seconds, and clients reconnect after that. Leaving Encounter+ in the foreground on the DM device keeps the session stable; on iPad, a split-screen app running beside it is still foreground.
If a client stays disconnected, switch the web server off and on again and have the player reload the page.
A change I made in settings has no effect
Section titled “A change I made in settings has no effect”Everything under Server Settings — port, IPv6, UPnP — is read when the server starts. Toggle Enabled off and on again to apply it, then have players reconnect.
Tokens are missing or stale
Section titled “Tokens are missing or stale”Move the token on your device to force a refresh. If that does not do it, restart the server and have the players reload.
Which browsers work?
Section titled “Which browsers work?”Any current browser. Safari and Chrome get the most testing; Firefox and Edge are fine. On phones, landscape gives players a usable amount of map.
Known limitations
Section titled “Known limitations”- There is no way to kick a connected player, and no per-game password.
- Tokens can pass through walls unless restricted movement is enabled on the map.
- Markers on the DM layer are not visible to players.
Still stuck?
Section titled “Still stuck?”Ask on our Discord or on r/EncounterPlus.