How to Play

Lobby and display name

When you open the site, you join a default room automatically (for example the public lobby). Your name may show as a guest label until you change it: open Settings from the top bar, set a display name, and save. Signed-in users can use their account name.

Rooms and Switch Room

Everyone in the same room key shares one lobby: same chat, same participant list, and you can launch games together. Use Switch Room at the bottom of the game picker to enter another key, or use Invite to copy a link for friends. If you all use the same key, you end up in the same place.

Pick a game

Choose a title from the cards — Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Slots, Checkers, or Chess. Counts on the cards show how many seats are in use where that applies.

Chat and account

Use the lobby chat to talk with others in your current room. Guests can play immediately; creating an account (see Account in the top bar) saves your balance and cosmetic unlocks across visits.

Board games and computer mode

In Checkers and Chess you can play another human in the room or, when available, use computer mode. Payouts or difficulty may depend on the mode you choose.

Not gambling

Virtual Arcade is free entertainment. Chips and outcomes are for fun only — there is no real-money wagering, no cash prizes from us, and no way to cash out. See our Terms for how virtual currency works.

Goal

Win chips by having the best five-card poker hand at showdown, or by getting everyone else to fold. Each player gets two private cards (hole cards). Five community cards are dealt face-up in the middle for everyone to share. Your hand is the best five-card combination from your two hole cards plus the five community cards.

Players and blinds

Texas Hold'em here supports 2 to 6 players at the table. A dealer button moves each hand. The two seats after the dealer post forced bets: the small blind ($5) and big blind ($10). In heads-up (two players), blind positions are adjusted so both post each hand.

Betting rounds

Action goes clockwise. On your turn you may fold (give up the hand), check (stay in for free if no bet is facing you), call (match the current bet), raise (increase the bet; minimum raise size is at least the big blind, and can grow after large raises), or go all-in with your remaining chips. There are four streets:

• Preflop — after hole cards are dealt, starting left of the big blind.
• Flop — three community cards.
• Turn — fourth community card.
• River — fifth community card.

If more than one player remains after the final betting round, hands go to showdown. The pot goes to the best hand; tied best hands split the pot. If everyone else folds, the last remaining player wins the pot without showing.

Hand rankings (high to low)

1. Royal flush — A-K-Q-J-10, same suit.
2. Straight flush — five consecutive ranks, same suit.
3. Four of a kind — four cards of the same rank.
4. Full house — three of one rank plus two of another.
5. Flush — five cards, same suit, not a straight.
6. Straight — five consecutive ranks (A may be high A-K-Q-J-10 or low 5-4-3-2-A).
7. Three of a kind — three of the same rank.
8. Two pair — two different pairs.
9. One pair — two of the same rank.
10. High card — none of the above; best single cards decide.

Kickers (side cards) break ties between hands of the same category.

Goal

Beat the dealer's hand without going over 21. Face cards count as 10, aces as 1 or 11 (whichever is better for the hand). Your total is shown on screen.

On Virtual Arcade

Up to six players share the same dealer. Each hand starts with a betting phase: choose a wager of at least $10 (up to your chip stack). Every seated player must place a bet before cards are dealt. There is no splitting pairs and no insurance in this version.

Your turn

After the deal, players take turns in seat order. On your turn you can:

• Hit — take another card. You may hit repeatedly until you stand or bust (over 21).
• Stand — keep your current total and end your turn.
• Double down — only with your first two cards, if you can afford to match your bet. You double the wager, receive exactly one more card, then automatically stand.

Blackjack and the dealer

Natural blackjack is an ace plus a 10-value card on your first two cards. It pays 3:2 (you receive your bet plus one and a half times your bet) unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case the hand is a push (tie) and your bet is returned.

The dealer receives one up-card and one hole card. After all players finish, the dealer reveals the hole card. The dealer must hit on 16 or less and stand on 17 or higher (including a "soft" ace hand that totals 17–21). If the dealer busts, all non-busted players win even money (1:1) on their bet. If you are closer to 21 than the dealer without busting, you win even money. Same total as the dealer is a push.

Goal

Each spin costs a chosen bet size. After the reels stop, payouts are based on the three symbols shown. This is a simple three-reel game — there are no paylines; the three center symbols on each reel determine the outcome.

Bet sizes

Pick a denomination before spinning: $5, $10, $20, or $100 per spin. You need enough chips to cover the bet.

Payouts

Three of a kind (same symbol on all three reels) pays a multiple of your bet. Exactly two worms anywhere on the three reels pays 1× your bet (net zero on that spin after the bet is deducted and payout added). Any other result pays 0× (you lose the bet).

A big win may be announced in the room chat. Outcomes use virtual chips only.

Goal

Capture all of the opponent's pieces or block them so they have no legal move. You play on an 8×8 board with dark and light squares; pieces only use the dark squares.

Movement

Each side starts with 12 men on the first three rows of their side. Men move one step diagonally forward (toward the opponent's back row) into an empty square. Kings (crowned pieces) move one step diagonally in any direction into an empty square.

Captures

You capture by jumping diagonally over an adjacent enemy piece into an empty square immediately behind it. The captured piece is removed. If any capture is possible for your side, you must make a capture — you cannot play a quiet non-capturing move while a jump exists anywhere among your pieces.

Multiple jumps: if the same piece can continue jumping from its landing square, you must keep jumping with that piece until no more jumps are available from it. Turn then passes to your opponent.

Kinging

When a man reaches the far back row of the board, it is promoted to a king (usually shown with a distinct look). Kings move and capture diagonally as described above.

On Virtual Arcade

Two human players in the room can agree on a wager before the game. You can also switch to vs computer with selectable difficulty when that mode is offered. Standard win/loss handling uses your virtual chip balance when a wager is in play.

Goal

Checkmate the opponent's king — attack it so it cannot escape capture on the next move. You can also win if your opponent resigns or runs out of time when a chess clock is enabled.

Piece movement (summary)

• Pawn — one square forward (two from its starting rank on that pawn's first move), captures one square diagonally forward. En passant and promotion to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight on the far rank are supported when the position allows.
• Rook — any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
• Bishop — any number of squares diagonally.
• Queen — combines rook and bishop movement.
• Knight — in an "L" shape: two squares in one direction and one perpendicular; can jump over pieces.
• King — one square in any direction. Castling is allowed under standard rules (king and rook unmoved, empty squares between, not in check, king does not pass through check).

Check and draws

You may not make a move that leaves your own king in check. If your king is in check and you have no legal move, it is checkmate and you lose. If you are not in check but have no legal move, it is a stalemate — the game is drawn. Other draws (repetition, insufficient material, etc.) follow normal chess rules as implemented in the game.

On Virtual Arcade

Colors are assigned when the game begins. Two players can agree on a wager amount before play; both must lock in the same stake where the UI requires it. An optional timer per player can be selected for faster games. Vs computer mode uses a rated-style engine strength setting for solo practice.

Use the in-game controls for offers (draw, resign, rematch) and clock options.