Game Closet Support

Help with playing, stats, head to head, Game Center, iCloud and the fold layouts. Last updated November 5, 2026.

How to play

1. Open Game Closet. The Closet shows every game as a box on a shelf. The button with the shelf's icon at the top changes the layout (a grid, shelves, a carousel or rows by kind) and the sort order.
2. Tap a game's box, then Play. If you left a game unfinished, you can pick it up again.
3. Every game has its rules written out. Tap Rules in the game's toolbar.
4. Play the CPU, or in games that allow it, pass the device around the table. Who's Playing? on the Closet narrows the games to ones that suit your group.
5. Every game keeps a play-by-play, newest first. A line with a circled question mark explains the rule, the scoring or why the CPU chose its move. Tap it to read.

Hints and coach tips

The coach points out a clearly better move after you make one, never before. It is on by default; turn Coach Tips off in Settings. Some games have a Hint button, and others have a switch with the game's controls.

Favorites and order

Touch and hold a game to make it a favorite, which keeps it at the front. In the grid and on the shelves, drag a game onto another to change the order.

Head to head on two devices

Thirteen board games, marked Head to head on their boxes and in their rules, can be played against a friend on another iPhone, iPad or Mac close by. Both devices need Game Closet 1.2 or later.

1. On both devices, open Settings in Game Closet and turn on Head to head.
2. Both open the same game and tap Play nearby in its toolbar. Allow Local Network access when asked.
3. One of you turns on Host this game. A six-digit code appears.
4. The other taps the host's name under Nearby and types the code. The host accepts, and the game starts.

Can't see each other? Check that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, that Local Network access is on for Game Closet in the device's privacy settings, and that both run the same version of the app. If the connection drops, the game waits and picks up again when the devices find each other.

Stats and resetting them

Each game keeps your record: wins, losses, ties, streaks, best scores and play time. Tap Stats on the Closet to see them all, or open a game's stats from the Closet.

• Reset one game: open that game's stats and choose Reset Stats.
• Reset everything: open Stats on the Closet and choose Reset All Stats.
• Resetting cannot be undone. With iCloud sync on, a reset applies on your other devices too. Games in progress are not affected.
• Game history (the saved play-by-play of finished games) is cleared separately with Clear History at the bottom of a game's stats. It does not change your stats.

Resetting stats does not erase leaderboard scores or achievements already in Game Center. Those belong to your Game Center account.

Game Center is not working

Game Center is Apple's service for leaderboards and achievements. Game Closet signs in by itself with the Game Center account on your device, and asks once if there is not one. Settings in the app, under iCloud and Game Center, shows what is wrong in plain words. Try these in order:

1. Check that "Game Center" is switched on in the app's Settings.
2. Sign in to Game Center in your device's Settings app, then come back to Game Closet.
3. If you cancelled a sign-in, Game Center stops asking this app until it is opened again. Close Game Closet fully and reopen it.
4. If Settings says Game Center is turned off by restrictions, check Screen Time or any device management on the device.
5. If it says it could not reach Game Center, check your connection. The app tries again the next time it opens.
6. Game Center works in the version of Game Closet from the App Store. Some test builds cannot sign in.

Only your total wins, each game's best score and your achievement progress are sent to Game Center. You can leave it off and the games work the same.

iCloud sync is not working

With "Sync Stats with iCloud" on, your stats, favorites and shelf order follow you to every device signed in to the same Apple Account. Games in progress, game history and settings such as the theme stay on each device.

1. Check that "Sync Stats with iCloud" is on in Settings in Game Closet, on every device.
2. Check that each device is signed in to the same Apple Account and to iCloud, and has a connection.
3. Give it a few minutes. iCloud decides when to send small changes, and it can be slower than the app.
4. Open Game Closet on each device so it can send and receive.

To stop syncing, switch the setting off. This stops the app reading and writing iCloud but does not erase what is already stored there.

The fold layouts (folding phones, iPad and Mac)

On a folding phone such as iPhone Duo, opening the phone puts the board on one half of the screen and the controls on the other, with nothing on the fold. Closed, the same game stacks on the cover screen. On iPad and Mac the window splits the same way when it is wide enough.

• No folding phone? In Settings, Fold preview shows each posture's layout on any device.
• Fold to Pause, in Settings on a folding phone, makes CPU players wait while the phone is closed.
• Board on the right (left-handed) swaps the halves.

Tips

Game Closet is free. The optional Tip Jar in Settings lets you say thanks and unlocks nothing. How Many gives up to ten of a tip at once, and Your Tips lists the tips you have given. If a tip did not go through, try again later and check your purchase history in the App Store. For billing questions about a purchase, contact Apple through its support pages.

Privacy

Game Closet has no account and collects no data. Read the full Privacy Policy.

Contact

natured-lobular8t@icloud.com