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June 9, 2003
Now that you've figured out what kind of game you want to play, off you go into one of The Lord of the Rings Online Trading Card Game's Matchmaking Lobbies. The screenshot below is skinned with an Elven culture theme, and is set up to support casual multiplayer games.
The first thing to decide when you enter a Lobby is whether you want to host a match, or join one that someone else has created. If you're in a real hurry, just click the "Quick Join" button and it'll find the first available match that meets the criteria you've specified in your "Quick Join" settings. If you want to take a bit of time and look around for a match to join, you can scroll through the available matches, or re-sort them by several different keys.
The Matchmaking Lobby
Clicking "Create Game" will bring up a dialogue box that lets you set the parameters of a match that you'll host. You can specify play format (Block, Open, Standard, etc.), number of players, time limits, number of games in the match (usually just one), and whether the game is password-protected or only for the friends on your Buddy List.
Each match (whether a single game or multiple games) is represented by a set of graphical icons that show you at-a-glance, the details about how it's been set up, including the host's avatar, the number of seats available, and whether they've been filled or not.
The Game Lobby
Once you've created a match, or joined someone else's, you'll find yourself in the Game Lobby, which carries on the culture theme of the Matchmaking Lobby that it is in. This is where the game gets set up and underway. You can chat with your opponents, and the host can re-configure game settings (depending on the lobby you're in). Once all the participants are in, the game's settings have been finalized, and everyone has clicked the "Ready" button, each player places their bid. Then, once bidding has been resolved, and depending on the outcome of the bid, each player selects their seat number. Once seats are selected, the game begins!
Scott Martins
Lead Designer
Worlds Apart Productions
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