User guide

Apps and the store

New games and apps come from the AuctorPlay store. Everything in it is free, and a person looks at every game before it is listed. You do not need an account to get things from the store.

Getting an app

1. On the store site, pick an app and press Get the install code. You get a short code like AB12-CD34-E (and a private link that shows it again).
2. On the board: Menu > Install an app > Enter a code. Turn the knob to a letter or number and press to add it; the left button deletes the last one; the right button is done. The board checks the code before it sends anything, so a typo is caught at once.
3. The board gets the app, checks that it is complete and signed by the store, and installs it. A game appears in the Games list (Host a game); an app appears in the main menu.

A code works on one board: the first board that uses it keeps it. A friend's code will not work on yours; the friend can get their own on the store.

Updates

Menu > Install an app > Update my apps asks the store about every app you got from it: newer versions are installed, and an app the store has taken down is removed. With Update apps itself switched on in Parent controls, the board does this about once a day when it is idle on the clock and connected to WiFi.

Update the device looks for a newer version of the board's own software. If there is one, you see what is new and press the knob to install it: it downloads, checks that it is genuine, and restarts. If the new software does not start properly, the board goes back to the old one by itself.

Games for several boards

Some games say "2 players", "1-2 players" or "3-4 players" on the store: they can be played on two to four boards at once. Every board needs the game installed. Host it from Games > Host a game on one board and join from the others; for a game like Pong Across the host cannot start until enough boards have joined. If a board does not have the game, the host says which one, and nobody is left waiting.

Community stores

Besides the main store there are community stores: shelves run by a club, a school, a family or a friend. Find them under Stores on the store site. Every app in the main store was looked at by a person at AuctorPlay; the apps made for a community store are looked at by the people who run it, and the page says so. You get an install code in the same way, and the device does not care where an app came from. To run a store of your own, sign in on the store site and ask for one; a person at AuctorPlay reads every request before it opens.

Making your own

The builder (in a browser, nothing to install) makes games with blocks, like Scratch: draw pictures and tile maps, make sounds, snap blocks together, and press Run to play it in the browser right away. You can also write the game as text (the Lua language). When it works, share it with friends using a private code for up to ten devices, or send it to the store: a person looks at it before it is listed. Young creators need a parent's approval and a parent's e-mail address. Give your game a small icon (24 × 24 pixels) and it shows next to the game in the store and in the lists on the board.

Start from the examples (Pong, Pong across two boards, Tic-tac-toe, and Gather for up to four boards) to see how the blocks work.