How to Play Typing Battles with Friends — Free for 2 or 4 Players, No Sign-Up

Here is the full list.

• Players

  Two for 1v1, four for 2v2. Up to 4 people can sit in seats and type. On top of that, up to 10 people can join the spectator seats.

• Device

  A PC (Windows or Mac), or a tablet (iPad or Android tablet) with an external physical keyboard. The on-screen keyboard can't be used for typing. Opening the game screens on a phone redirects you to the official site, so phones can't play. The game recommends a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. For iPad setup, see Typing practice on iPad & phone; for school devices, see Preparing Chromebooks and school PCs.

• Sign-up

  No account needed. As a guest (not logged in) you can use every feature, friend battles included. The one extra step: the first time you open the game, a screen asks you to pick an age group and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. If you log in with Google, you can carry your records to another device.

• Cost

  Free. At the moment there are no paid purchases and no way to buy in-game items with real money.

• Friends feature

  The “Friends” feature (inviting from your friend list) unlocks after you play 5 Random Battles. If you only use room codes, you don't need to be friends or to have played 5 battles.

First-time players fight with the character they start with (Samurai). You don't need to have bought any characters or icons.

The room creator (the host) and the people joining do different things. Button names are written as they appear on screen, with the meaning in brackets.

1. 01.Everyone opens the Battle page (/battle) on a PC, or on a tablet with an external keyboard. On a first visit, answer the age and agreement screen first.
2. 02.The room creator finds the “プライベート対戦” (Private Battle) card — the other card is Random Battle — and presses “新規作成” (Create New).
3. 03.On the “対戦形式を選択” (Choose Format) screen, pick “1vs1” or “2vs2”. You go straight to the waiting room.
4. 04.The waiting room shows a 6-character code under “Room Code”. Press “Copy” to copy it and send it to your friends. “Invite via SNS” sends a link that opens the room directly.
5. 05.Your friend opens the same Battle page, types the code into the “ルームコードを入力...” (Enter room code...) box on the Private Battle card, and presses “参加” (Join). If you sent a link, they just open it.
6. 06.When every seat is filled, the “Start Battle” button works on the host's screen. Everyone else sees “Waiting for host to start...”. Once all screens are ready, a 3-2-1 countdown starts the match.
7. 07.To play again, press “ルームに戻る” (Back to Room) on the result screen. It returns you to a room with the same code, so you don't need to resend it.

A room code is 6 letters or digits (it is 6 characters, not “6 digits”). The easily confused I, L, O, 0 and 1 are never used, so copying it by hand is safe. The input box turns lowercase into uppercase.

The room exists once its creator has opened the waiting room. Friends should enter the code after that.

In the 2v2 waiting room, “Room Code”, “Copy”, “Start Battle” and “Leave” appear in Japanese: ルームコード, コピー, 対戦開始 and 退出. The waiting message there reads ホストの開始を待っています... (waiting for the host to start).

“Invite via SNS” opens your device's share sheet (messaging apps and so on) when there is one. If not, it copies the link and message, and the button reads “Link copied”.

You pick the format when you create the room. Here is how they differ. Neither changes your rating.

For how this differs from Random Battle (rating, MC, matchmaking), see Ranked Battles Explained.

2v2 is the “Tag Battle” (the screen subtitle is 控え継承型, a Reserve-takeover format). Each team has two players: a Starter and a Reserve.

• Seats are assigned in the order people join

  The room creator sits in TEAM 1's Starter seat. People joining by code are seated automatically: the 2nd person becomes TEAM 1's Reserve, the 3rd TEAM 2's Starter, and the 4th TEAM 2's Reserve. If nobody changes anything, players 1 and 2 end up on the same team. When people return to the same room code after a match, each one is seated where they sat last time if that seat is free.

• The host can rearrange teams and order

  When the host presses a seat card, move mode starts. Pressing a destination seat moves the player there (or swaps with whoever is sitting there). The host sees a note at the bottom: “占有スロットをクリックすると順番・チームを入れ替えできます” (click an occupied slot to swap order and teams). The Start button stays disabled until the seats are filled, and reads “全員集合待ち...” (waiting for everyone).

• When a Starter falls, the Reserve comes in

  A match begins as a 1v1 between Starters. When a Starter's HP reaches 0, the Reserve enters with their character at full HP. All four players' hands freeze for 3 seconds during a “player swap” animation. Reserves can't type until their turn; they watch their teammate fight.

Friend battles have “Custom Rules” that only the host can set. Open them with the “Custom” button to the right of the room code, and confirm with “Done”. Other players can view the settings and send the host a suggestion with “Suggest these rules”. Random Battles don't have custom rules.

In a 1v1, once your opponent has joined, a handicap suggestion can appear in the HP multiplier section. It compares both players' recent average typing speed (characters per minute) and suggests more HP for the slower player. Press “Use this as a handicap” to fill in the multiplier. If either player has fewer than 3 battle records, you see “Not enough battle records to suggest a handicap (both players need 3+ battles).” and no suggestion. If your speeds are close, you see a note saying no handicap is needed. The multiplier tops out at 3.0x, so bigger gaps can't be fully covered.

Because ultimates and character differences also affect a match, the suggestion deliberately does not cover the whole speed gap. Treat it as a starting point and adjust after one match.

You can save a setup you use often under a name (saved on this device). When you return to a room with the same code, the previous custom rules come back.

Yes. If you enter the code of a room whose seats are full, you see “Room is full” and, if a spectator seat is free, a “Watch this match” button. A room where the match has already started shows “The match has started”, with the same button.

A room holds up to 10 spectators. Spectators can't type; they can only send cheer stamps. From the spectator seats you can see the battlefield (HP, ultimate gauge, combo and so on).

From the “Spectator seats” panel in the waiting room (bottom right on wide screens), the host can move a seated player “To spectator seat” or bring a spectator “Seat” up. In 1v1, a move that would leave zero players in the seats isn't allowed. Even if the host moves themself to a spectator seat, they stay the host and can still start the match and move seats — handy if you want to act as the organizer.

Friend battles don't change your rating. Win streaks and similar records are also left as they are. They don't count toward your Random Battle total either, so they don't add to the battle count used for ☆ upgrades. Only Musou Credits (MC) are paid out, according to win or loss.

The waiting room and the result screen have a “Stamp” button for sending text stamps. There is no text or voice chat. If you want to talk, you will need something outside the game.

Here are ideas by situation. The ways of running 5 or more people are not built-in features; they are suggestions from the developer.

• Family (parent and child, siblings)

  When speeds differ, give the slower player more HP with the HP multiplier in Custom Rules; it makes matches closer. Setting ultimates to “Banned” makes it a pure typing duel. In 2v2 you could put a faster and a slower player on the same team. Seats are assigned in join order, so the host should rearrange them.

• Friends (2 to 4)

  Two people: 1v1. Four: 2v2. With three, create a 2v2 room and set one team's Reserve to “sit out” for a 1v2. There is no voice call inside the game, so gathering in the same place is the easy way to talk.

• 5 or more (suggestion 1 from the developer: round robin)

  Split into pairs, and each pair creates its own room. A single-game match (the default) lasts 180 seconds (3 minutes) at most, so when it ends, swap partners and repeat until everyone has met everyone once. A round robin of n people is n−1 matches per person. If people tie on wins, have them play a 1v1 final.

• 5 or more (suggestion 2 from the developer: winner stays)

  Two people play in one room; everyone else enters the same code and picks “Watch this match” to join the spectator seats (up to 10). After a match, players press “ルームに戻る” (Back to Room) and spectators press “Back to room”, which returns them to the waiting room; the host then moves the loser to a spectator seat and brings the next person to a seat. Let the two players sit first, then have the others enter. This is a plan built from the screen's features; we haven't test-run it with a real group.

• Classes and schools

  For lessons, there are teacher-side features (classes, assignments, in-class battle lock and more) that are separate. See For Teachers and Preparing Chromebooks and school PCs. In a class where the teacher turned on “stop battles during lessons”, friend battles can't be started during lessons either. They work during breaks, after school and at home. Dojo practice isn't blocked. Opponents can see your in-game username and icon; your class number and school email are not shown to opponents.

Here is what to check, by the message you see.

• “Room not found”

  The screen says the opponent may not have rematched yet, or the room may have closed. Likely causes: a typo in the code, the room doesn't exist yet (its creator hasn't opened the waiting room), or it is already gone. Check the code again. I, L, O, 0 and 1 are never used in codes.

• “Room is full” or “The match has started”

  A 1v1 room fills with 2 players and a 2v2 room with 4. If a spectator seat is free, “Watch this match” appears. To take a seat, first join the spectator seats with “Watch this match”, then ask the host to bring you up with “Seat” (if that seat is taken, you swap).

• “Can't join”

  This is shown when you can't get in for a reason other than full, in battle or not found (maintenance, for example). Wait a little and try again. If it still fails, contact us through the contact form. If the host removed you from the room, you see “You were removed from the room”; you need the host's invite to enter again.

• “いまは授業中です” (It is lesson time now)

  Shown when you belong to a school class and the teacher turned on “stop battles during lessons”. The message says battles open up when the teacher releases them. The Dojo stays available during lessons.

• The Start button doesn't work

  Only the host can press it. In 1v1 it stays disabled until your opponent joins; in 2v2 until the seats are filled. The 2v2 button reads “全員集合待ち...” (waiting for everyone).

• Keys don't type

  The on-screen keyboard can't be used for typing. Connect an external physical keyboard. If an iPad suddenly stops accepting keys, the game guides you in steps: tap the screen once; if that doesn't work, touch the address bar and tap again; if that still fails, unplug the keyboard and reconnect it.

• A link opened on a phone sent me to the official site

  Game screens don't open on phones. Open the same link, or enter the code, on a PC or a tablet.

• Q. Can I play with a friend who is far away?

  Yes. As long as you can send them the room code, you don't need to be in the same place. Both of you need an internet connection.

• Q. Can three people play?

  Create a 2v2 room and, in Custom Rules, use “Player handicap” to set one team's Reserve to “sit out”. You then play 1v2. A team whose Reserve seat is occupied can't be reduced to one player.

• Q. Can I reuse a room code later?

  Rooms are meant to be created fresh for each session. For 30 minutes after a match you can return to a room with the same code (“Back to Room” on the result screen, and “さっきの部屋に戻る” (Back to the last room) on the Battle page — that one only appears on the same device). After 30 minutes, create a new room.

• Q. What if I have no friends to play with?

  There is Random Battle, which pairs you with players worldwide automatically. If no opponent is found, you face a CPU built from real players' records, and that match still counts for rating. See Ranked Battles Explained for how it works.

All you need is a PC or a tablet with an external keyboard, and a room code. The room creator presses “新規作成” (Create New) on the “プライベート対戦” (Private Battle) card, picks “1vs1” or “2vs2”, and sends the code that appears. No sign-up needed.

When skill levels differ, you can adjust the game with an HP handicap or by banning ultimates. Friend battles don't change your rating, so they are easy to try. If a first-timer joins, let them try the tutorial first so the rules don't trip them up.