Troubleshooting: connection problems, stuck or "ghost" games

If you see a connection message during a game

Important: your clock keeps running while you're disconnected. If your time bank runs out before you get back, you lose the match on time. Get back into the game as quickly as you can.

Getting back into a game

• Open the app again. If you still have a game in progress, you'll normally be taken straight back to it.
• If that doesn't happen, look on Home for Active Games (1). Tap it, or tap Go to active game.

Stuck or "ghost" games

Sometimes a game still shows as active even though you think it has finished or never started. You might notice this when:

• Active Games still appears on Home, or
• you can't start a new game or rematch.

This matters because you can only have one game in progress at a time, not counting tournament matches.

To clear it:

1. On Home, tap Active Games, or Go to active game, to open it.
2. If the game is still going, finish it. If you don't want to carry on, tap Resign and resign the match.
3. If the game had already ended because someone's clock ran out, opening it should close it within a few seconds.
4. Force-close and reopen the app, then check Home again.

Other things that close games automatically:

• A match where the first game never starts is cleared automatically after about 5 minutes.
• A private or open game nobody joins is cancelled after a while, and any entry fee is refunded.

Do abandoned games count?

• Games that never started are removed. They don't count and nothing is recorded.
• Games you leave part-way through do count. Your clock keeps running until it reaches zero, and then you lose the match. In rated Match Play, your rating changes as normal for a loss.

Lost coins or rating because of a glitch?

If a game froze, got stuck, or you lost on time because of a disconnect, we can help. We refund the coins and/or rating once per incident when the match record shows a disconnect or stuck match. Just send us the match ID (and a screenshot if you have one). See My game froze or I lost on time because of a glitch. Can I get my coins or rating back?

Still stuck? If a game won't go away, or you think you lost a game because of a connection problem, contact support. Please include:

• your username
• the match ID, if you have it (tap Analysis on Home, open the match, and look for Match ID)
• the approximate date and time (and your time zone)
• a screenshot of the message or of Active Games, if you have one