Need a hand?

Cardflix finds rooms over your local network, so everyone needs to be on the same one. Try these in order:

1. Join the same Wi-Fi as the host. Not mobile data, and not a different network in the same building.
2. On a guest network? Use the host's Personal Hotspot. Guest, hotel, school and office Wi-Fi often stop phones from seeing each other. The host turns on Personal Hotspot (Settings › Personal Hotspot) and everyone joins that instead.
3. Scan the QR code. The host's screen shows a QR code. Point any phone's camera at it to join in the browser, no app needed.
4. Check Local Network access. On the host's iPhone, and on any iPhone joining from the app, go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network and make sure Cardflix is on. Android doesn't need this setting.
5. Turn off any VPN on the host's phone and the phone that's joining. VPNs can hide nearby devices.

No. Friends can scan the QR code on the host's screen and play in their phone's browser, on any phone. With the app (free on iPhone, iPad and Android), rooms show up by themselves and you can host your own games.

Up to 12 players in a room, host included. Imposter needs at least 3 players; Charades and Doodles need at least 2. Everyone plays on their own phone.

1. On the home screen, tap Make your own deck (or Your decks), then Make a deck.
2. Give it a name, pick an emoji and a color, and choose which games it's for.
3. Type your cards, one per line. You need at least 10.
4. Tap Preview to see your cards as players will in each game, then Save.

Your first deck is free. Unlock All lets you make as many as you like. The host can also make a deck straight from the room: it's the last tile in the deck list.

Open the deck from Your decks and tap Share deck, copy the link, or let a friend scan the QR code. When they open it, Cardflix shows the deck with Add to my decks. Without the app, the link shows them the deck and where to get Cardflix.

Decks friends share are always free and never count toward your limit. The deck lives inside the link, so anyone with the link can see its cards.

After at least one game, the host can tap Tonight's awards. Everyone gets a title on their own screen, like MVP, Best Liar or Picasso, and the host can share a card with all of them. Guests in the browser see their awards too.

No, only the host. When the host has Unlock All, everyone in their room plays every deck, whether they joined in the app or in a browser.

1. Open Cardflix and tap the gear on the home screen.
2. Tap Restore purchase.

On iPhone and iPad, make sure you're signed in to the App Store with the same Apple Account you bought it with. On Android, make sure Google Play is signed in to the Google Account you bought it with. Restoring is free; you're never charged twice.

On iPhone and iPad, yes. Unlock All supports Family Sharing. If the person who bought it has Purchase Sharing turned on, everyone in their Family Sharing group gets it on their own devices.

Not showing up on a family member's phone? Open Cardflix there, tap the gear, then Restore purchase.

On Android, Unlock All belongs to the Google Account that bought it. Restore it on any Android phone or tablet signed in to that account.

Cardflix runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or later, and on Android phones and tablets with Android 8.0 or newer, from Google Play. On an iPad, the host's screen spreads out, with a big QR code and huge cards. Guests can still join from almost any phone, tablet or laptop with a modern web browser, no app needed.