Hosting & Joining a Draft

The commissioner launches the room from a prepared league. Everyone else joins with the room code shown by the host or TV display and claims the team assigned to them.

In this guide

• Host checklist
• Launch the draft room
• Open the TV and draft board
• Join from a phone
• Commissioner and owner access
• Reconnect to an active room
• Canceling or replacing a room

Host checklist

Before selecting Launch Draft, verify that:

• Every participating team exists and has the correct draft position.
• Keeper assignments and custom rounds have no validation warnings.
• The timer and number of rounds are correct.
• Auction rooms have the intended budget, bid clock, nomination order, roster target, and keeper salaries.
• The TV device has power, internet, audio, and a way to enter fullscreen.
• Owners know which team to claim and have the join page available.
• A backup internet connection is available if the venue network is unreliable.

Launch the draft room

Open the league from the dashboard and review its draft settings. Launching creates the live room and displays the room code and links for the available draft surfaces.

Keep the dashboard or commissioner controller available throughout the event. Do not launch duplicate rooms for the same league when reconnecting; use the existing room instead.

Open the TV and draft board

Open the TV link on the computer connected to the shared display. The pre-draft screen shows the room code so owners can join. Enter fullscreen and interact with the page once to enable browser audio.

The draft board is a separate grid-oriented view. Use it on another screen or switch to it when the league prefers a traditional round-by-round board.

See Draft Controls & Broadcast for display and audio guidance.

Join from a phone

1. Open the DRAFTNIGHT join page from the shared link or site navigation.
2. Enter the room code exactly as displayed.
3. Choose Play to enter the room.
4. Select the team assigned to you and confirm the claim.
5. Keep the controller page open for the duration of the draft.

An owner should not claim a different team merely to test the room. If the wrong team is claimed, ask the commissioner for help before picks begin.

Commissioner and owner access

The commissioner account receives the live controls permitted for the room. Team owners receive the drafting controls for the team they claimed. The TV display is presentation-only and should not be used to submit picks.

Owners can browse players while waiting, but the active team is the one allowed to complete the current selection. The controller indicates whose turn it is and shows the remaining time.

Reconnect to an active room

If a phone refreshes or loses its connection, reopen the same controller URL or join again with the same room code. If the session can be restored, the controller returns to the claimed team and current draft state.

If the TV disconnects, reopen the same TV URL. The synchronized snapshot should rebuild the current board, timer, and completed picks. Avoid creating a replacement room unless the dashboard explicitly indicates that the original room was canceled.

Canceling or replacing a room

Cancel a room only when the commissioner intends to stop that live session. Cancellation is different from temporarily pausing or reconnecting, and owners may need a newly launched room code afterward.

For an active-draft problem that cannot be resolved by pausing and reconnecting, email support@draftnight.tv with URGENT, the room code, affected device, browser, and the last successful action.