Quickplay Matchmaking, Friend Challenges, and Reconnects

The biggest recent step for Hidden Path Dojo is something simple that changes everything about how you play here.

We now have a Quickplay matchmaker.

You and another person can just be on the site at the same time, click Quickplay, and the server will pair you into a game. No manual room codes, no sharing URLs, no setup screens. Just queue and play.

You also do not need to be logged in to use Quickplay. It takes you straight into the queue using the current Quickplay server settings.

Current Quickplay defaults

Right now, the Quickplay queue runs with a specific default ruleset. You can think of it as the “standard ladder” for the site.

The current Quickplay defaults are:

  • All cards are enabled

  • The mode is always Master’s Path

  • The Spirit’s Breath air elemental is enabled 25% of the time

  • If the air elemental is present, there is a random number of wind cards between 0 and 5

These numbers and choices will probably evolve as more people play, but this gives us a consistent, interesting default experience with a mix of stability and surprise.

Challenging a friend with your own settings

Quickplay is great when you just want to hit “play” and see who shows up. Sometimes you want something more specific.

You can now create friend challenges that respect your own settings.

That means if you:

  • Always want the air elemental in your games, or

  • Never want the air elemental, or

  • Only want to use primary form cards and not secondary forms

you can set that up once and send your friend a challenge link. When they accept, the game uses your settings for that match.

This gives you much finer control over what a “let’s play a game” link actually means.

Playing as a guest

You must be logged in to send a friend challenge, but your friend does not need an account to receive one.

If they do not have an account, or cannot log in for some reason, they can choose to continue as a guest when they follow your link. They will connect to the game right away using the settings you chose.

This makes it much easier to pull people in for a game without forcing them to go through account setup first.

Forfeits, disconnects, and reconnects

We also spent a lot of time making the experience around games less fragile.

You can now forfeit matches against both other human players and the AI. If you need to step away, the position is completely lost, or you are just not having a good time, you can resign and move on. In Quickplay this is not a big deal, since there is no rating on the line. You are there to gain experience and play games. If a game is bad, you do not owe it extra time.

Previously, games were basically just URLs. If your browser closed or your connection dropped, it could be very hard to find your way back to the game you were playing with a friend.

Now, when you come back to the site after a disconnect, the dojo will prompt you to reconnect to your current game and give you time to do that.

In Quickplay, if your opponent disconnects and does not come back within about two minutes, you can claim a victory and end the game. That clears the stuck game so you can queue again instead of sitting forever.

If you disconnect and decide you do not want to return to that game, you can also forfeit it yourself to clear it out and start something new.

Why this matters

Quickplay, friend challenges, and reconnects are more than just convenience. They are the foundation for an actual community around the site.

You can:

  • Sit down and get a real opponent in a few clicks

  • Share a link to a custom ruleset with a friend

  • Recover from disconnects without losing everything

  • Step away from bad or hopeless games without feeling trapped

The system still needs polishing and tuning, but this is the first big step toward Hidden Path Dojo feeling like a living place to play, not just a static demo.

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