Changelog

What's new, improved, and fixed in NextOath.

v0.19.0

October 13, 2026
  • addedReveal All on the reward screens — flip every face-down card at once once you've had a look
  • improvedPlacing a piece now lands it: a drop and a ground ring on place, a firm press when you commit
  • improvedTutorial "place here" tiles now glow with a bobbing arrow, so the target is easy to spot
  • improvedClick anywhere on the featured landing poster to start that world's tutorial
  • improvedCampaign links open straight onto the right world poster, with no flash of another card
  • improvedThe featured poster is about 25% bigger on phones
  • improvedAbout, Pricing, Help, Blog and the rest of the site now share the game's machined look
  • improvedBlog posts now show code blocks, bullet lists and italics properly
  • improvedPrivacy Policy now explains ad conversion measurement, which runs only if you accept cookies
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedThe full-screen image viewer's buttons couldn't be tapped on phones
  • fixedThe Continue button on the sigil picker sat below the screen on phones
  • fixedPanel outlines broke at the cut corners
  • fixedThe tutorial coach bar's gold edge was missing on mobile and the bar could overflow
  • fixedThe tutorial's target arrow disappeared on Capture targets

v0.18.0

September 15, 2026
  • addedImages in the Dreaming showcase now open full-screen — click any one and arrow through the gallery
  • addedPractice draws its boards from the seven tutorial worlds — one board, three to six cards a round
  • improvedActive Games and Past Games redesigned: your faction sigil on every card, clearer status, and the art showing through
  • improvedPanels, buttons and cards across the game now share the same machined look
  • improvedFaction sigils redrawn to hold their weight from a scoreboard chip up to a card back
  • improvedOn desktop, the board, action bar and your hand now fit on screen together
  • improvedSnobby Hotel Staff board art re-drawn — the carpet no longer swallows the hex edges
  • improvedHaunted Cruise Ship landing card now shows the game you actually play
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedSingle-board games no longer show a faint, empty second board behind the real one
  • fixedThe board sat off-centre in its frame on single-board games
  • fixedEmberthrone Keep's terrain had five unnamed gray tiles; it now has six named terrains and is back in Practice
  • fixedTwo faction sigils rendered off-centre or clipped, and hovering a sigil lost its turn
  • fixedIn the tutorial, the power step looked like a choice it wasn't — the alternative is now marked "Full game only"

v0.17.0

September 10, 2026
  • addedYour world's defining power — the host names (or writes) the one power every card, network and score runs on
  • addedAdvisors now offer two contrasting plans for each problem; adopt one, edit it, or write your own
  • addedYour advisors assemble — meet your council before the first round
  • addedWorld Building suggestions show the score they'd earn, and picking one can now earn Inspiration
  • addedOne advisor portrait is drawn free for every player; its character sheet unlocks at game end for one credit
  • addedFive new guided tutorials — Emberthrone Keep, Snobby Hotel Staff, Riftglass Academy, Haunted Cruise Ship, Soccer World
  • improvedA shorter first game: two world questions, one problem and one plan per round, and a single hex board — no lane switching
  • improvedEvery judged plan now yields three to six cards to play
  • improvedRound Progress reads as steps — Deciding, Placing, Sealed — instead of a fraction
  • improvedSealed orders sit centered and larger while the round resolves
  • improvedLanding carousel neighbors are easier to recognize at a glance

v0.16.0

September 4, 2026
  • addedPlay free as a guest — start the tutorial with no account, and sign in after your first resolution to keep your world
  • addedTwo guided tutorials to choose from: First Oath and Hot Island Romance, each with its own world, faction, and art
  • addedA new Explore hub and a leaner landing page with new world cards
  • addedWorld soundtrack in the music player, alongside your Theme and Ambience
  • improvedRounds build on each other — problems stop re-asking what's settled, and the referee stops retelling last round
  • improvedA calmer wait after you finalize: a still ledger of your sealed orders while the round resolves
  • improvedAdvisor names vary more from game to game
  • improvedGallery art follows your world's art style more faithfully
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedError messages now say what went wrong instead of a generic "server error"
  • fixedStarting a tutorial from a landing card resumes the right one

v0.15.0

August 19, 2026
  • addedMusic arrives — commission your world's Theme, a 30-second title piece born from its genre, tone, and era
  • addedWorld Ambience — a full-length instrumental made for listening on repeat while you play
  • addedStory Song — after the campaign ends, turn what actually happened into a song, lyrics and all
  • addedSongs appear alongside your art with play controls and lyrics — each costs one credit, refunded if composing fails
  • improvedBuying credits now lands on a proper confirmation page with your purchase and new balance
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedGames could get stuck preparing a round when a faction name contained accented characters

v0.14.0

July 23, 2026
  • addedSuggestion pick-boxes across World Building — tap a ready-made genre or answer to fill it in, then edit freely
  • added"Show more suggestions" rotates through fresh genre ideas
  • addedYour referee panel now greets you with a quip on the genre screen
  • addedBoard pieces are generated per game in your factions' colors
  • addedTraps that expire now rust out in the replay
  • improvedA new machined look across the app — chamfered metal plates, edge lighting, and a display typeface for titles
  • improvedBig flip chains build to a real spectacle — embers, bloom, and a shockwave scaled to the size of the swing
  • improvedReplay has a tempo now: quick through setup, slow for the drama
  • improvedCapture, trap, placement, and failure each get their own beat in the replay
  • improvedPractice, the demo board, and live games now play identically
  • improvedPositive world events are marked with a new lotus glyph
  • improvedAdvisor portraits vary more from face to face
  • improvedSetup screen shows the real six steps in the order they happen
  • improvedA stalled round now surfaces a Repair button right where you're looking, instead of hiding in a panel
  • improvedSetup that takes too long offers a Retry button instead of stranding you
  • improvedArt gallery downloads save with the artwork's title as filename
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedLosing a game no longer shows an opponent's "Victory" banner — you now see Defeat
  • fixedPractice could get stuck in an endless replay loop, and a played round could be dropped
  • fixedPlayers other than the host were stuck on the wrong playlist instead of the host's
  • fixedMusic now reliably starts playing instead of sitting paused
  • fixedDead "Back to conversation" button in revise mode
  • fixedFinalize button moved below the cards on the live map
  • fixedAdvisor names could repeat across different factions
  • fixedIf world creation is briefly unavailable, you now get a clear "try again" message instead of a broken world
  • fixedThe Dreaming showcase interleaves art and text instead of clumping them

v0.13.0

July 1, 2026
  • addedNew Practice mode — jump into a solo hex-board match on a real world from a finished game, no setup and no waiting
  • addedBoard sound effects — tactile placements, captures, flips, and trap snaps, with a mute toggle and volume slider
  • improvedA bigger hex board that fits your screen, a cleaner planning layout, and your score now lives up in the top bar
  • improvedA big chain capture now flashes across the board in Practice and the demo, matching the live game
  • improvedDuring replay, the top bar shows your starting score plus the round's live gain as it happens
  • improvedAmbient music gets its own volume control alongside the new sound effects
  • improvedWorld Building accepts longer, punchier genres (up to five words, digits allowed) and suggests a canonical name
  • improvedLanding page refresh — a new "Play at your own pace" card, a Soccer World, and a clearer "Try the free tutorial" call to action
  • improvedSecurity updates

v0.12.2

June 25, 2026
  • improvedRound and endgame artwork now leans even harder into your story — picturing the very people, places, and prizes your faction fought over
  • improvedHex board captures read even more clearly — a "+N coin" pill on placements, a bolder committed-flip ring, and a sweeping highlight when one play flips a whole chain
  • improvedA big chain-capture now gets its own moment in the replay
  • improvedRound stories build with even stronger rising stakes, and the final round now reads as a look back on your legacy
  • improvedConflicts pull from an even wider cast of your world's characters and places each round
  • fixedWhen advisors can't forecast a truly wild plan, they now answer in character instead of leaving the outcome blank

v0.12.1

June 23, 2026
  • improvedRound aftermath art is more varied — each round's artwork feels more distinct.
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedHex board: the Network legend now lists only the networks on the lane you're viewing
  • fixedHex board: the Network badges show on their own lane, so it's clear which lane a network affects
  • fixedHex board: captioning for strongholds improved

v0.12.0

June 17, 2026
  • addedSpeak instead of type — tap the new mic to dictate your genre, world-building answers, advisor questions, and action plans
  • addedDictation appends as you talk and keeps the newest words in view; a gentle nudge helps if the mic isn't catching you

v0.11.0

June 16, 2026
  • addedSave your finished world — export any completed game as a tabletop campaign seed: factions, NPCs, locations, a timeline, and adventure hooks
  • addedTwo export formats — a single Chronicle (Markdown) or a linked Obsidian vault
  • addedIllustrate your advisors straight from the Council — generate a portrait and character sheet for any advisor, just like in the Art gallery
  • improvedAdvisor Council redesign: faction-framed advisor badges, suggested questions you can send in one tap, and a clearer path to your action
  • improvedSuggested actions now show which advisor proposed them
  • improvedRound Progress keeps a live "awaiting players" clock past the deadline, and settles to "paused" once a game has truly stalled
  • improvedNew landing page: a World Poster carousel, comic strip, and atmospheric effects
  • improvedA "Create Game" prompt is now always within reach across the app
  • improvedGenre field accepts real compound words like "Sci-Fi" and gently holds you to a three-word world prompt
  • improvedThe Dreaming showcase now features advisor character sheets from finished games
  • improvedTidied the Play page — credit activity now lives in the credit card itself
  • improvedAdded a YouTube link in the footer
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedReward Cards now read "play cards" (not "spend") and label the stat "Power"
  • fixedFixed a sign-in failure that could block logging in
  • fixedPast Games now clearly marks your First Oath tutorial run and labels resume vs. replay
  • fixedHex board: committed claim coins keep their size, and replay sigils line up with badges

v0.10.0

June 6, 2026
  • addedFirst Oath — a free, guided tutorial that walks new players through a full game, one decision at a time
  • addedNew players land on a "Learn to Play" Create Game flow that points them to the tutorial first
  • addedOptional ambient music per game — pick a YouTube or Spotify playlist, or play the curated NextOath track
  • addedAdvisor portraits & character sheets — illustrate your council's faces, unlock their full sheets at game's end
  • addedLocked game-art cards now show a drawn "Sealed Eye" instead of a lock emoji
  • improvedWorld Building Complete: genre/era/tone hover tooltips, and your objective now weaves in named world entities
  • improvedAdvisor council shows real advisor names and portrait badges throughout
  • improvedConflicts within a round are now more distinct from one another
  • improvedThe Dreaming slideshow now mixes in advisor cards and round aftermath highlights
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedA trap now springs when an enemy claims its hex as a bonus tile — no more "claimed but didn't trigger"
  • fixedGame-art lightbox no longer lets you flip ahead to art from chapters you haven't reached yet
  • fixedAdvisor council avatars now crop to the advisor's face instead of the full card

v0.9.0

May 31, 2026
  • addedRound Progress now shows a phase rail timeline so you can see exactly where the round stands
  • improvedGame art across the campaign is richer and more cohesive, with more natural figures and scenes
  • improvedMade tweaks to story prose generation to more closely fit genre - a mystery should feel more like a mystery
  • improvedMade tweaks to story progression, for improved experience
  • improvedVictory Screen: a tight "decisive moment" hook up top; the full chronicle now lives in the Epilogue
  • improvedStrategy Board help is now a first-class, easy-to-find guide
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedHexboard art now lines up cleanly with the board grid (no more sheared or off-grid terrain)
  • fixedA round could resolve early on its deadline before everyone had taken their turn — no longer
  • fixedWorld events with no text no longer show as an empty banner

v0.8.1

May 27, 2026
  • added"How to Play" link in the app navbar — help is always one tap away
  • improvedGenre selection card: cleaner copy, static examples in the placeholder, less visual clutter
  • improvedSubmitting a genre now shows a spinner and status text while the referees review it
  • improved"Need inspiration?" appears by default so new players spot it immediately
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedStrategy progress showed a checkmark before the player finalized their turn

v0.8.0

May 25, 2026
  • addedIn-depth Strategy help page walks you through lanes, terrain, networks, and Reward Cards
  • addedPress page now offers a downloadable press kit and media assets
  • improvedYour hand is now a clean centered carousel — tap a card to select, tap again on the board to place
  • improvedPlaced cards show a "Placed ✕" pill so you can pull a card back with one tap
  • improvedWorld-Building feedback: referee judgments now show criteria pills, quality-colored scores, and an expandable Referee Dialog
  • improvedReward Cards: refined trap, Ruin, and world-event glyphs with a satisfying shatter on Ruin
  • improvedNetworks now clearly favor their owner, with a lane-scoped badge showing who benefits
  • improvedFaction colors are now picked to stay visually distinct from one another
  • improvedMobile: the app navbar collapses into a hamburger drawer, and the strategy board fills the screen cleanly
  • improvedRefreshed landing and Getting Started pages with live example cards and clearer copy
  • improvedPolished the "Take the Oath" screen and the Google sign-in button
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedAsking the advisor council a question that failed no longer wedges the round — you can dismiss and continue
  • fixedSubmitting a World-Building answer no longer occasionally registers twice
  • fixedStrategy planning: selecting a card now reliably follows the right lane, with correct stronghold dual-lane previews

v0.7.0

May 20, 2026
  • addedNew /dreaming page — an ambient slideshow of recent quips, mottos, accolades, and visions from played worlds
  • addedPer-game Dreaming slideshow at the bottom of the Aftermath — watch your campaign's highlights as a screen-saver
  • addedSpeed control on the Dreaming slideshow (0.5×, 1×, 2×) reveals when you move your cursor to the bottom-right
  • improvedSecurity updates

v0.6.0

May 18, 2026
  • addedRound Pace: the game host can now set how long each round lasts — click the round timer to pick anything from 1 hour to 14 days
  • addedNew shareable /redeem page for credit codes, with one-click prefill links and live code formatting
  • addedAI players now have character cards too — an accolade, motto, and quip in the player sidebar
  • improvedResult reveals now shimmer up or down when a card beats or falls short of what the judge led you to expect
  • improvedFaction sigils now appear inline throughout the Chronicle and replay readers, not just the Aftermath
  • improvedRefreshed the section icons on the Help page
  • improvedToo-short answers are now caught instantly instead of after a wait
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedPicking a suggested genre with "Use this" no longer asks a follow-up question that drifted from what you saw
  • fixedThe Aftermath now opens at the top instead of mid-page when continuing from the Art Gallery
  • fixedSafari: strategy board no longer stays washed-out after toggling lanes
  • fixedSafari: Reward Card chrome no longer clips on the right edge after a flip
  • fixedAsking the advisor council a very short question no longer triggers an error

v0.5.3

May 13, 2026
  • addedNew Accolades page lets you manage which motto, quip, and accolades stay pinned to your profile
  • improvedSigil picker and Faction Matchup screens now lay out cleanly on mobile
  • improvedHex board: hover previews now faithfully show what your tap will commit — ghost glyphs for traps, stacked sigils for combo plays
  • improvedReplay attributes each foiled action, world event, and downgrade to the responsible faction with N-player prose
  • improvedGenerated board art now shows on the replay/resolve view (not just planning)
  • improvedCoin discs, stronghold badges, and win-condition pills unified on the hex board
  • improvedVertical lane tab labels now render correctly on Safari
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedWorld-Building no longer hands two players the same question topic in concurrent rounds
  • fixedAI players that resume mid-round now remember the moves they already submitted

v0.5.2

May 11, 2026
  • addedNew Account page card to manage cookie and analytics preferences anytime
  • improvedReal games now receive cinematic per-lane board art (was preview-only before)
  • improvedEmail on the Account page now masks by default with reveal-on-click for added privacy
  • fixed3- and 4-player strategy games fixed critical issues
  • fixedWorld-Building no longer repeats the same question topics across rounds

v0.5.1

May 11, 2026
  • addedCinematic board art: each strategy board gets per-lane reinterpreted artwork
  • addedNew MAP ART chapter in the campaign carousel showcasing the cinematic boards
  • improvedHex board: terrain and network legend swatches sample colors from your generated art
  • improvedStrategy board on mobile: tighter framing, repositioned legends, easier lane control
  • improvedCampaign Chronicle reader collapses to one column on phones for comfortable reading

v0.5.0

May 9, 2026
  • addedAccount deletion + data export — self-serve GDPR controls with a 29-day grace period
  • addedDisplay names now support discriminators, cooldowns, and admin renames
  • addedEndgame Art Gallery: a dedicated screen between Faction Accolades and the Epilogue
  • addedEach campaign chapter now has a pair of images with LLM-titled tiles
  • addedReport-Art button on every game-art tile for community moderation
  • improvedBuy Credits widget: cleaner toggle for choosing your bundle size
  • improvedEndgame and round image prompts rewritten for richer, more cinematic art
  • improvedTile actions moved into the lightbox so chapter thumbnails stay clean
  • fixedGame sidebar now stacks below main content on narrow screens
  • fixedInterstitial pages scroll properly on mobile
  • fixedCurated default genres no longer get rejected as "too vague"

v0.4.0

May 6, 2026
  • addedNew /community landing page with shared-pool credit sparkline and a weekly cap of 4 (unlocks 4-player games for free)
  • addedPer-game AI image gallery — generate art chapters as your campaign unfolds, viewable in an album widget with lightbox
  • addedDisplay-name management on a new Account page; renames propagate across your active games
  • addedCookie consent banner with Google Consent Mode v2 for analytics
  • improvedVisceral strategy phase: per-player round progression with a revisitable Campaign Chronicle
  • improvedWorld-Building AI judge scoring rebalanced to land in a "solid player" distribution rather than runaway perfect scores
  • improvedStripe checkout: optional automatic-tax support; refund and dispute handling wired up
  • improvedHex board: per-genre lighting modes, dual-board parity in replay, polished trap glyphs
  • improvedRefreshed legal subprocessor list
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedToxicity-gate retry messages now show how long to wait before trying again
  • fixedCommunity-credits button stays unlocked when the pool has credits to spend
  • fixedFailed art-generation tiles can now be dismissed by the author
  • fixedLocked future art chapters no longer leak into the widget

v0.3.0

April 30, 2026
  • addedBrand-new Visceral Reversi-like hex strategy engine: deterministic resolution, two-pass trap firing, lane-based scoring, replay-all
  • addedReward Cards: full tactical-artifact visual pass with per-mode motifs, verb-led mode chips, value+initiative footer pips
  • addedCampaign Chronicle eReader on the Victory Screen — page through your faction's arc, advisor analysis, world events
  • added"Preparing Round" and "Resolving Round" atmospheric loading screens with live progress
  • addedFaction Accolades screen and persistent pinnable user stats across games
  • addedAction Statistics chart, momentum sparkline, and lane-based Victory Scoring panel on the endgame screen
  • addedInline faction sigil chips replace the old split-square badges everywhere
  • addedPostmark transactional email for nudges and bans
  • addedStripe live launch with disclaimers, /privacy and /terms aliases
  • improvedNarrative length and voice tuning across player-facing prose — tighter writing, fewer dropped IDs
  • improvedAI advisor council resurrected with per-problem lead briefings and player-question gating
  • improvedReliability: stalled calls retry with calmer waiting copy; auto-recovery when an AI player gets stuck
  • improvedSecurity updates
  • fixedAI sometimes finalized a round before submitting all its problems
  • fixedWorld-Building orphan answers now recover when judgment fails
  • fixedLead advisor speech bubble showed empty during council
  • fixedFaction primary color was occasionally read from the wrong field
  • fixedHex board: stale hover validation could let you place seeds on restricted terrain
  • fixedAnchor lifecycle: initial anchors no longer age out before strategy round 1

v0.2.0

April 17, 2026
  • addedEndgame Victory Screen overhaul: shared scoring widgets, fractal HeatMap fixes, ratio detail cards
  • addedFaction sigils and a line-art robot icon for AI players replace placeholder badges
  • addedObjectiveWidget on the strategy board with portal tooltips
  • addedNetwork-flavored rewards
  • addedWorld-Building total score archived in the endgame snapshot
  • improvedActive and Past Games list pages restyled into polished session cards
  • improvedEndgame layout, terminology, and chart picks reworked
  • improvedSuggestions now appear immediately after an answer rejection (instead of a fallback card)
  • improvedSmoother hex-board interaction (throttled hover, off-thread territory rendering)
  • fixedCouldn't place a seed on top of an existing seed (no longer silently allowed)
  • fixedWorld event display on the HeatMap now uses humanized names and a fracture glyph
  • fixedResource History chart no longer counts modifier resources (Network)
  • fixedStripped curly quotes; hourglass emoji replaced with a spinning-circle spinner across the UI
  • fixedValidation rejections suppress nudge cards in favor of a lighter lightbulb cue

v0.1.0

April 7, 2026
  • addedPublic website launch with landing page, help guide, and legal pages
  • addedFull world-building phase with AI referee scoring
  • addedComplete strategy phase with faction management and advisor system
  • addedAI opponent support for solo and small-group play
  • addedFractal resource system with Perlin noise terrain
  • addedAsync multiplayer with configurable round timers
  • addedEnd-game truth reveal and narrative summary