User Guide

Owner: Kelly Ballinger | Last updated: 2026-03-09| Status: Completed

User Guide

For your convenience, here is a linked user guide document that is comprehensive.

User Guide.pdf

Purpose

This guide explains how to use the web app to sign in, create a game, and create cards for that game. It also includes common troubleshooting steps for typical issues during use.

Getting started

Requirements

• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge)

• Access to the TCG Maker web app

• An email address you can receive messages at (used for magic-link sign-in)

Sign in (Supabase email magic link)

• Open the TCG Maker web app.

• Navigate to the Sign In page.

• Enter your email address and submit.

• Check your email for a sign-in link.

• Click the link to return to TCG Maker and complete sign-in.

• The magic link may expire after a short time. If it fails, request a new one.

Sign in alternative method (GitHub)

• We have now implemented OAuth with GitHub, meaning if you have a GitHub account, you can now use it to sign in! Simply follow the on screen prompts following deciding to login with GitHub.

Key workflows

Create a new game

• Sign in.

• Go to My Games (or the Games dashboard).

• Click New Game / Create Game.

• Fill in the required fields (example: title and description).

• Submit to create the game.

• Confirm the game appears in your games list.

Create a new card

• Sign in.

• Navigate to Cards (or a specific game’s page, depending on your UI).

• Click New Card / Create Card.

• Select the Game the card belongs to (dropdown).

• Fill in card fields (example: name, description/rules text, stats, image URL if supported).

• Submit to create the card.

• Confirm the card appears under the selected game (or in My Cards).

View cards for a game (Cards by Game)

• Sign in.

• Open My Games and select a game (or open a game selector on the Cards page).

• View the list of cards associated with that game.

• Click a card (if supported) to see more details.

Edit a card

• Sign in.

• Open My Cards and select a card.

• Click on the Edit action button.

• Edit your card in any way you see fit.

• Click save changes.

Create a deck

• Sign in.

• Open Decks.

• Click on + New deck.

• Choose your game and name your deck.

• Click on Open Builder.

• Add cards from the game to the deck using the UI.

Playtesting

• Click on Playtest

• Click on Go To Decks

• Make a new deck at the bottom of the page

• Name your deck and create your deck

• Click on playtest on your newly created deck

• Complete and interact with the gameplay flow

Troubleshooting

I never received the magic link email

• Check your spam/junk folder.

• Wait 1–2 minutes and refresh your inbox.

• Try again and ensure the email address was typed correctly.

• If the issue persists, try a different email provider potentially.

The magic link says it expired or is invalid

• Request a new sign-in link and use the most recent email.

• Avoid clicking an older magic-link email after requesting a newer one.

I’m signed in but my games/cards are missing

• Confirm you are signed in with the same email account you used to create them.

• Refresh the page (hard refresh if needed).

• If the issue persists, it may be a permissions or filtering issue—report it to the team with the page name and what you expected to see.

I can’t create a game or card (error on submit)

• Make sure all required fields are filled in.

• If stats must be numeric, verify you entered valid numbers (no letters/symbols).

• Try again after refreshing the page.

• If it still fails, capture: the exact error message, the page you were on, the steps you tried and an optional screenshot, submit as a Github issue please!

I can see content while signed out (security issue)

• This should not happen in the final Alpha.

• Report immediately as a bug with: the URL you visited, what content is visible to you and whether you were previously logged in on that session.