Play INKWAVE Online with Friends — Rooms, Codes and Hosts

INKWAVE has online multiplayer, and it runs in the browser like the rest of the game. Online play uses private rooms instead of public matchmaking: you create a room, the game gives you a five-character code, and the people you send it to join with that code. There is no account, no download and no friend list to sign into.

Create a room

From the main menu, choose Online, then Create a room. The game returns a five-character code, and you send it to your friends.

• A room holds up to eight players, four to a team.
• The code is five characters from an alphabet that leaves out look-alike pairs such as O and 0, so it is easy to read aloud.
• The code space has more than seventeen million combinations.
• Rooms are private: only people with the code can join.

The room runs on the project’s own relay at relay.inkwavegame.com. The relay only moves messages between players; your browser still simulates your squidkid and the game itself runs on your machine.

The game was updated recently? A protocol mismatch shows “Please refresh the page — the game was updated”. Refresh and create a new room.

Join a room

Choose Online, then Join a room, and type the code. Capital letters are not required, and spaces or dashes are ignored.

Message	What it means	What to do
Room not found	The code is wrong or the room has closed	Check the code with the host
Room is full	Eight players are already in the room	Wait for a free slot or start a second room
Match in progress	The room locked when the match started	Wait for the results; the room returns to the lobby
Lost connection to the room	Your connection dropped during play	Rejoin with the same code if the room is still open

The lobby

The lobby shows every player live, with their team, weapon, look and ready state. There is also a row of emotes: Booyah, Wave, Dance and Flex, with a 1.3-second cooldown between uses. The whole room sees them.

• The host keeps teams balanced at four per side, so a team request can be refused.
• Pick a weapon and a locker look before you ready up.
• The match starts when the host and every other present player are ready. The host counts as ready.
• A slow-loading browser cannot hold the start forever; the match begins without it after a short fallback wait.

Host settings

The host owns the rules of the room:

Setting	Options
Stage	Tidewater Plaza, Kelpline Terminal, Halyard Marina, Cargo Terminal (online only)
Time of day	Day or dusk
Mode	Turf War or Boss Battle
Match length	Turf War: 90 or 180 seconds. Boss Battle: 180, 240 or 300 seconds
Bots	On or off, at Chill, Fresh or Fierce difficulty
Team inks	Five palettes: Tangerine vs Cobalt, Bubblegum vs Mint, Lemon vs Grape, Aqua vs Cherry, Lime vs Magenta

Two stage rules matter online. Cargo Terminal is online only and humans only: it needs at least two players, never fills with bots, and cannot host a Boss Battle. Choosing Boss Battle when Cargo Terminal is set moves the room to another stage.

What happens when someone drops

A match does not stop when a player leaves:

• A player who drops is replaced by a bot that takes over their squidkid exactly where the others last saw it.
• On Cargo Terminal, which never uses bots, the squidkid is removed instead and the teams can be uneven.
• If the host leaves, the room moves to the oldest remaining player, and the bots, the clock, the results and the boss go with it.
• The room locks during a match, so nobody joins in the middle. After the results, everyone returns to the lobby and the room reopens.

Practical tips

• Play on the HTTPS site at inkwavegame.com; browsers block the Gamepad API on plain HTTP addresses, so controllers only work here.
• Chrome and Edge are the target browsers, Firefox works, and Safari runs but is slower.
• There is no built-in voice chat. Use a call next to the game.
• The host should pick the stage the group knows; read the stage guides before a room night.
• New to the game? Start with the How to Play rules and the strategy guide.

Keep reading

• Boss Battle guide — take the room into a boss fight
• How to Play — controls, ink mechanics and match rules
• Technical overview — how the online relay works
• Play INKWAVE — create a room now