Play Across Time Zones: Async Mode Is Here

Stories That Unfold Over Time

Not every family can gather around a screen at the same moment. Work schedules, time zones, different bedtimes — life gets in the way of real-time play. Async Mode solves this. Your story grows gradually, turn by turn, notification by notification, across hours or days.

How It Works

1. Start a game as usual — create a room, invite players
2. Take your turn — add your three words, draw your scene
3. Walk away — close the app, go live your life
4. Get notified — when it’s your turn again, you get a push notification (or email if you prefer)
5. Continue the story — pick up exactly where you left off

The story grows like a shared journal, with each player contributing when they’re free.

Perfect For

Long-distance families

• Grandparents in different time zones
• Cousins across the country
• Military families with irregular schedules

Busy schedules

• Play during your commute, respond at lunch
• Kids can take turns after school, parents after work
• No need to coordinate a specific time

Slow storytelling

• Let ideas percolate between turns
• More thoughtful, literary stories
• The anticipation makes each notification exciting

The Experience

Async games feel different from real-time sessions. There’s a delicious waiting — wondering what your partner will add, checking your phone hopefully, the satisfaction of seeing the story advance. It’s like having a pen pal, but you’re writing the same story together.

Some of our favorite community stories were written over weeks:

• A father and daughter across 3 time zones
• A writing club that plays one turn per day
• Friends who kept a story going for an entire month

Notifications That Respect Your Time

• Push notifications — Instant alert when it’s your turn
• Email summaries — Daily digest of activity
• Quiet hours — Don’t disturb during sleep or work
• Batch notifications — Get notified for multiple turns at once

Technical Details

• Games stay active for 30 days of inactivity
• No pressure — games can be resumed anytime within that window
• All comics are saved permanently once completed
• Works with both private and public rooms

Starting an Async Game

1. Create a room
2. Invite your players
3. Enable “Async Mode” in settings
4. Take your first turn
5. Wait for the magic to unfold

Start an async story →

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Tip: Async mode pairs beautifully with the camera import feature. Draw on paper during the day, photograph it when you’re ready to play, and let someone across the world wake up to your contribution.