How It Works

• Browse open sessions at Squarrel Cafe, filtered by game, date, venue, and table type.
• Party up with any open table in one click — no emails, no DMs, no waiting around.
• Host your own session for any supported game, pick a date and time, and let players find you via LFG.
• Track your sessions, submit and confirm post-game results, and build your player rating over time.
• Browse the cafe’s 350+ game vault with BGG ratings, player counts, and community table talk.
• Maintain full D&D character sheets, complete with ability scores, skills, combat stats, and portraits.
• Follow other players, check out a live activity feed, and get pinged when your friends post new tables.
• Use the Discord bot for hands-free LFG, joining, and DM notifications from any Discord client.
• Store owners can create their own store pages and embed a game-library widget on their own websites.

Players looking for a group, DMs running recurring campaigns, casual visitors who want to tackle their shelf of shame, store owners who want to surface their game inventory, and cafe staff who need a single source of truth for upcoming reservations. Whether you are a seasoned grognard or rolling your first d20, you are welcome here.

Three ways to join the party:

• Google — one-tap sign-in with your Google account.
• Discord — sign in with your Discord account (OIDC). Recommended if you plan to use the Discord bot.
• Email & password — classic signup with an email-verification step.

All three methods land in the same profile — you can link additional sign-in methods later from your Profile page. No multi-classing penalties here.

Visit your Profile page to:

• Pick a player alias (e.g. SwiftFox4821). Your alias is what other meeples see in table rosters.
• Add a preferred name, bio, and timezone. These help hosts match players to the right session.
• Configure notification preferences — choose which events trigger in-app, email, and Discord DM pings.
• Link your Discord account if you signed up with Google or email (enables the bot).
• Set your availability (what days/times you’re usually free to game). Hosts can use this when looking for players.

Two pages surface tables:

• Browse — the main LFG directory. Cards show the game, host, date/time, venue, and player count. Click any card to open the full table detail page.
• Game Nights — a calendar-first view of upcoming sessions at Squarrel Cafe. Great for planning your week at a glance.

• Game — autocomplete from the cafe’s game vault (350+ titles).
• Date range — Today, Tomorrow, This Week, or a specific date.
• Table type — Casual, Competitive, Campaign, One-Shot, Rules Teach, Tournament, TCG.
• Player count — show tables with at least N open seats.
• Location — Squarrel Cafe or other venues (for homebrew/guest tables).
• Status — only open tables by default. Toggle to include pending/confirmed bookings.

Clicking any table opens its detail page, which shows the full roster, scheduled timestamps, notes, relevant game info, any type-specific fields (campaign name, tournament format, TCG format, etc.), a map (if the venue is off-site), and a table talk thread for in-session discussion.

On any open table, a prominent Party Up button is displayed. Tap it and you’re on the roster immediately. Your seat counts toward the table’s minimum and maximum player limits.

• If the table now has the minimum number of players, Squarrel Connect automatically transitions its status to Pending Booking and sends a booking request to the cafe.
• If the table is already at max capacity, the join button enables the waitlist. You’ll be queued and auto-promoted if a seat opens up.
• You receive a confirmation in-app, an optional email, and (depending on prefs) a Discord DM.
• The table shows up in your Quest Log list.

You can leave any table you’ve joined up to the scheduled start time. Open the table detail page or your Quest Log, tap Leave Table, and provide a short reason if the table is already confirmed. Your seat opens up for the next waitlisted player.

Hosts (and, in many tables, confirmed players) can invite specific people by username or Discord handle. You’ll get an in-app notification and, if enabled, a Discord DM. Accepting an invite is the same as joining normally, except the host sees that you joined via their invite.

Open Create Table and fill out:

• Game — autocompletes from the 350+ titles in the vault. You can also type a game that isn’t in the library yet; an admin will add it on review.
• Table type — Casual, Competitive, Campaign, One-Shot, Rules Teach, Tournament, TCG. The form reveals extra fields depending on the type (e.g. campaign name for Campaign, round count for Tournament, format for TCG).
• Date and time — start and end time, plus an optional join deadline.
• Player count — minimum and maximum. The max defaults to the game’s recommended maximum from the vault.
• Location — Squarrel Cafe (default) or another venue with a name.
• Notes — anything you want new players to know: house rules, expected BGG weight comfort, DM style, etc.

The form pre-fills the max-player count when you pick a game from the vault, so you rarely need to fiddle with it. Campaign tables inherit their session number automatically if they’re linked to an existing campaign you’ve hosted before — no AP over bookkeeping.

In any channel where the Squarrel Connect bot is active, run /create with the required options. The bot posts a confirmation embed with a View on Web button that links to the new table’s detail page.

• Upcoming — sessions with a future start time, split between "Hosted by me" and "Joined".
• Pending results — completed sessions waiting on you to confirm or dispute the host’s submitted result.
• History — past sessions you played in, with final outcomes and any ratings exchanged.
• Invitations — open invites from other hosts waiting for your response.

From any row you can Leave (with an optional reason), View Details, or Contact Host via in-app message or Discord DM (if they’ve linked their account).

From the table detail page, the host taps Submit Result and enters:

• Attendance — which players actually showed up, who no-showed, and who left early.
• Outcome — winner(s), final score, or "cooperative win/loss" for co-op games.
• Notes — crit moments, house-rule clarifications, or feedback for the cafe.

Each player gets a notification and has 7 days to confirm or dispute the submitted result. Silence counts as a confirmation. Disputed results are flagged for admin review.

When a result is locked, players can optionally rate each other on three dimensions:

• Punctuality — did they show up on time?
• Sportsmanship — did they play fair and keep the table talk friendly?
• Friendliness — would you party up with them again?

Ratings roll up into a profile score visible on player pages, helping the community build trust over time. GG to everyone who keeps their scores high.

Open Game Library. Each game card shows:

• Cover art and title.
• Player count, playtime, BGG weight (complexity), and age recommendation.
• Hybrid rating from BoardGameGeek (global average) and Squarrel community rating (aggregated from session results at Squarrel Cafe).
• Availability — whether the game is currently on the shelf and playable at Squarrel Cafe.
• Category tags (Strategy, Party, Cooperative, Card, etc.) and personal wishlist/owned toggles.

Click any game for its full page: description, detailed stats, complete list of upcoming sessions featuring that game, recent results, and related titles. You can Create a Table for the game directly from this page — go from shelf of shame to scheduled session in seconds.

From a game detail page you can mark it Owned (you have a copy at home) or add it to your Wishlist. Other players browsing the vault see which of their friends own what, and can coordinate to bring copies for sessions.

• Basics — name, class, race, level, background, alignment, sex, portrait.
• Ability scores — Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, with automatic modifier display.
• Combat stats — armor class, current HP, max HP, temporary HP, speed, proficiency bonus.
• Proficiencies — saving throws plus all 18 skills, with toggles for proficiency and expertise.
• Notes — inventory, backstory, party relationships.

Upload your own character portrait (max 2MB, JPG/PNG/WEBP). Portraits are stored in Firebase Storage and displayed on your character card, any Campaign table detail page, and your player profile.

When you join a Campaign table, you can attach one of your characters to your seat. The DM sees their name, class, race, and level in the table roster. Your full sheet stays behind the DM screen unless you explicitly share it.

The Players page lists every active member with filters by rating, recent activity, and shared games. Each player has a public profile showing upcoming sessions, game history, average ratings, and follower count.

Tap Follow on any player profile to subscribe to their activity. You’ll get pinged when they host a new table, and their new sessions appear in your feed.

Your activity feed on the homepage shows recent moves from players you follow: new tables, results posted, ratings received, and favorite game changes. It’s the best way to spot sessions your friends are hosting before they fill up.

• table.created — someone you follow hosts a new table.
• table.joined / left — a player changes on a table you’re in or hosting.
• table.full — a table you’re in has reached max capacity.
• table.confirmed — the cafe booking was confirmed.
• table.starting_soon — reminder fired ~60 minutes before start time.
• table.cancelled — the host cancelled a session you’re in.
• table.comment — someone dropped table talk on a table you follow.
• invite.received — someone invited you to a table.
• result.submitted — a result was submitted on a session you played, needing your confirmation.
• followed_player.table_created — a player you follow just posted a new table.

Open Profile → Notifications. You’ll see a matrix of events × channels. Toggle any combination on or off. Defaults are sensible — everything in-app, important things via email, cancellations via Discord DM.

Click Add to Discord in the footer of any page to invite the bot to your own server. Or use the bot directly in the official Squarrel Connect Discord server.

Run /link in Discord to generate a one-time magic link that connects your Discord account to your Squarrel Connect profile. The link expires in 10 minutes. Once linked, all your joins, tables, and ratings sync between both interfaces.

Use /notify on to opt in to Discord DMs for session reminders, table-full alerts, and cancellation notices. Use /notify off to opt out at any time. Discord DMs complement (not replace) in-app and email notifications — mix and match however you like.

Each partner store has its own profile page with description, address, hours, and a searchable game inventory. Players can filter by store when browsing tables, and hosts can link a table to a specific store’s venue.

Stores can drop a Squarrel Connect game-library widget into their own website via a single <iframe>. The widget is served from an authenticated placement ID, so only pre-approved domains can embed it. Stores configure their placements from their store admin dashboard.

Store admin access is granted manually by Squarrel Connect admins. If you run a game store, cafe, or venue in the NYC area and want to surface your inventory and game nights on Squarrel Connect, reach out via the feedback page.

Hosts can set a join deadline earlier than the scheduled start time, typically to lock in a player count for cafe booking. After the deadline, joining requires host approval. The default deadline is the scheduled start time itself.

You can leave any table before its join deadline without penalty. After the deadline — or after the cafe booking is confirmed — please leave a reason so the host can find a replacement. Repeated late cancellations affect your profile rating.

No-shows (marked at result-submission time by the host) reduce your profile rating and are visible on your public profile. A single no-show won’t wreck you; a pattern will cost you invites and seats. Do not be that player.

Admins can cancel, reopen, or reject any table’s booking and leave a moderation reason visible to players. Harassment, spam, and unsportsmanlike conduct are grounds for account suspension — report issues via the Feedback link in the footer.