How do I .... ?

All commands (except private messaging) are of the form /commandname   names-or-objects: they start with a (forward) slash as the first character, then, without any spaces, comes which command it is, and then the things it operates on.

For example, /find mrpuzzle.
In this case, the commandname is find, and mrpuzzle is the player you wish to locate.
All the slash-commands work similarly.

To keep things simple, you only need to remember one of them /help, which brings up a panel listing and describing all the commands. A few of them you can click right there to launch.

... Start a game?

The "New Game" button at the top of the left of the lobby display opens a form where you specify the name of your game, and choose the options for it.

... Choose a game type?

The choices refer to the way in which topics or themes or each round are chosen:

• By Winner: The winner of each round choose the topic or theme of the next round.
• Story Time: Round 1 is to be a story title, and the remaining rounds, chosen by the round winners, move the story along.
• By Server: The server chooses one from its long list.
• By Creator: The person starting the game specifies the topics, and can do so from a list, all at once.
• Word Acro: the letters will always spell a word, which will also be the topic.
  
  
  Then the idea is to write an acro that is related to that word in some way:
  
  Such as:
  - Defines the word directly
  - Gives an example
  - Some other indirect use

  Tip: Avoid the temptation to use that same word to start the acro!
  as in: BOOKS: Books often offer kinky subjects.
  Instead: BOOKS: Bible offers one kingly stories.

  Here are some examples:
  ALLAY: Anxieties, let's lay aside yours.
  (usually you allay a fear, but maybe this is close enough)
  ALGAE: A lake's green again. Ewww!
  ALEPH: A letter, expressing perfect Hebrew.
  (first letter of Hebrew alphabet)
  PORNO: Pictures of real nudes online.
  

• No Topics: All rounds are "General" and players can write about whatever they like.

... Join a game?

... Click the game description in the lobby, or on the "/games" display from within a room.

... Submit an entry?

Type it in the wide box in the middle of the screen, and hit ENTER.

After that, you can edit it and re-submit, or if you wish, Revoke it by clicking the button labeled Revoke. After doing that, if there is time you can still submit a new entry.

When you successfully have submitted your entry, your hear a "click" sound, and an arrow icon appears on the screen. Also, the submission box dims, but if you start typing, it returns to full brightness.

The game checks that the entry matches the given letters with each character typed. When all the letters turn green, the entry is acceptable.

If the timer expires, but your entry matches the letters, it will be submitted for you automatically.

You can also use the "I got nothin'" button if you can't think of anything, or simply wish to skip a round. That saves some time in case everyone else has already submitted. Note that if time doesn't expire, you can still submit an acro if you change your mind or come up with something after all.

At the 10-seconds-left mark, if no entry has been sent, a ticking clock sound lasting about one second is heard.

... Change between playing state and non-playing, spectator state?

At the top of the scoreboard, your current status is displayed. Playing or Watching, in the same color as names are shown on the scoreboard. To change state, click the button marked Change.

Being in a non-playing state allows you to remain in a room, without holding things up (if you get a phone call, say, or are otherwise diverted).

NOTE: If a player misses two consecutive, complete rounds (acro-vote-acro-vote or vote-acro-vote-acro), non-playing state is set automatically. The action can be reversed as just described above.

... Leave a game?

A button at the top right allows you to exit a game. If you are a player at the time, you'll be asked to confirm the request. Spectators leave without further ado.

... Record acros and scores?

Use the commands /logstart to begin recording, and /logstop to end it.

All acros and their associated votes and bonus points are then written in a popup window which appears. Use your browser's "File → Save As" function to preserve it in a file. To avoid accidentally losing that record (when you log off, for example), you have to close it explicitly.

... Send a private message to another player?

There are several ways:

This is the only one which doesn't start with a slash: it starts with an @.
You type @playername yourmessage, with no spaces around the @.
You can get the @playername set up for you by:

• Clicking the player's name on the Players list in the lobby, or on the scoreboard in a game room.
• Clicking a private message from OR to the player in the chat.
  Private messages appear in green.
• Typing it out yourself!

... Stop someone who is pestering me or others generally in the chat?

You can block the chat of another player by entering /block (along with /unblock to undo it), or in the lobby click the icon with small green bars next to the player's name and choose "Block" or "Unblock".

Blocking covers both chat and acros. Chat lines simply do not appear; acros will show on the list as dashes or "blocked".

It is possible to clear out the chat box entirely with /clear or by clicking the eraser icon .

In extreme cases, the player who created the room can remove someone from it entirely using /boot. It also prevents the troublemaker from returning. The action can be reversed using /unboot.

This powerful command should be used sparingly - only when someone is there to cause trouble, and not over some slight disagreement or indiscretion.

... Pause a game?

If everyone in the room is spectator and there are no active players, the game pauses automatically, and anyone can make it resume.

The owner of the room (the person who created it) can also issue a /pause command, which will pause the game. In that case, that same player is the only one who can resume it.

... Find out who else is logged in?

The lobby display shows all games and all players, cross referenced.

Within a game /who lists all players in all rooms in a popup display, and /games shows all the games.

Alternatively, you can click one of these icons: (/who)   (/games).

The command /lobby lists all players waiting in the lobby, and NOT in a playing room.

To locate an individual player, /find will tell you in which room they are.

... Block or unblock the various sounds the game makes?

There is an icon in the lower left corner of the screen which controls the sound.
Click it to change from sound to no-sound or back.
When there is a red X over the speaker, it means sound is off.

... Close the various panels which popup during the game?

Click the gray box with the X at the upper right, or press ESC on your keyboard (usually found at the top left of the keyboard). If there are multiple popups onscreen, ESC closes all of them.