Inviting Players: Invite Codes and Joining a League

Every league on Nerd Leagues has a unique invite code. Whether you want to share it with your playgroup, post it in a Discord, or invite a specific player from inside the app, this guide covers all three ways to get someone into your league — and the three ways they can join.

Your League's Invite Code

When you create a league, Nerd Leagues automatically generates an invite code from your league name (lowercased, with non-alphanumeric characters stripped and spaces converted to hyphens). For example, "Friday Night EDH" becomes friday-night-edh.

If that code happens to already be taken by another league, the system generates a random unique code instead.

To find your league's invite code:

1. Open your league page (from My Stats → click the league card).
2. Scroll to the League Info panel in the sidebar.
3. The invite code is displayed there as a clickable link.

Any league member can see and share the code — it isn't commissioner-only.

Changing the Invite Code

Only the commissioner can change the code. From the league page, click Manage League, edit the Invite Code field, and save. The new code only allows lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.

Tip: if your auto-generated code is messy, rewrite it to something memorable like tuesday-cedh or shop-league-2026.

Three Ways to Invite Players

1. Share the Join Link

The cleanest way to bring people in. The invite code on your league page is itself a clickable link to /join_league/<your-code>. Right-click → copy the link and paste it into Discord, iMessage, email, wherever. Anyone who clicks it (and signs in) joins automatically.

2. Share Just the Code

If you'd rather pass around a short string, give friends just the code. They can paste it into the Join League form on their own My Stats page (covered below).

3. Send an In-App Invite

If your friend already has a Nerd Leagues account, you can invite them directly:

1. Open the league page.
2. Click the Invite Friend button in the league header.
3. Search for the player by username.
4. Click Invite next to their name.

They'll get an in-app notification, and a "You've been invited" banner appears at the top of your league's page when they visit it. By default, any league member can send these invites — the commissioner can lock that down (see below).

The system prevents duplicate invites: if a player already has an unread invite to your league, the button will report "Invite already sent" instead of stacking notifications.

Three Ways to Join a League

1. Click a Join Link

Click any /join_league/<code> link. If you're signed in, you're added to the league instantly and redirected to the league page. If you're not signed in, you'll be prompted to log in first.

2. Enter a Code on My Stats

1. From the top navigation, click My Stats.
2. In your leagues grid, click the Join or Create a League tile.
3. Paste the league code into the League Code field and click Join League.

This takes you straight to the join URL, same as clicking a link.

3. Accept an In-App Invite

If a league member sent you an invite, you'll see a notification in your bell icon at the top of the page. Click it. You'll land on the league's page with a banner that says "You've been invited". Click Join League in that banner to confirm.

Open vs Locked-Down Invites

The commissioner controls whether non-commissioner members can send in-app invites. In Manage League, the Member Invites checkbox toggles this:

• Checked (default): Any member can use the Invite Friend button.
• Unchecked: Only the commissioner sees the Invite Friend button.

Important: this setting only affects the in-app invite button. The invite code link still works for anyone who has it, regardless of the toggle. If you want a truly closed playgroup, change the invite code to something only your group knows — and don't post it publicly.

What's Next

Once your league has members, the next steps are:

• Register your decks so each one tracks its own per-league ELO — see Adding Decks to a League.
• Record your first game and watch the league standings populate — see Recording a League Game.
• Plan a season if you want a time-bounded competitive window — see Creating and Managing Seasons.