ScreenCrawler

The map is on the table.

A TV lies flat in the middle and works as the board. You run the game from your laptop or PC, and every player has their sheet on their phone.

Coming soon on itch.io Try the demo
Coming soon on itch.io

The demo needs a laptop or PC. Send yourself the link and open it there.

Runs on Windows 10 and 11.

Laptop · you see everything
The game master view on the laptop: the whole tavern, including the rooms the players have not seen yet.
TV · what the players see
A player phone showing the character sheet of Torvin, a dwarf cleric.The game master’s phone as a remote: read-aloud texts for this map, scenes and the music player.
Phones · players and you

What the table needs

The table view: only the taproom is visible, fog covers the rest of the tavern.
The same moment on the laptop: the game master sees the whole tavern.
TV and laptop

Players see what their heroes see

Fog covers everything the party hasn’t found yet. Move a hero and the fog gives way along their line of sight, while walls and closed doors block it. On your laptop you see the whole map.

The tavern on the TV with its grid and a test square in the middle: one square is 2.54 cm.
The bank card frame on the TV: lay a card on it and match the size.Table settings on the laptop: one square at the table is 1.00 inch, measured with a bank card.
TV and laptop

Miniatures fit the squares

Lay a bank card on the TV and adjust the frame on the laptop until the card fits. From then on a square on the table is one inch wide, so your miniatures stand right in it. A test square on the map shows whether everything fits.

Torvin’s character sheet on a phone.The dice tab: attacks, saving throws, skills.Torvin’s bag with gold and items.
On the phones

Character sheets and dice on every phone

Each player opens a link on their phone. There they have their character sheet, roll their own dice and look into their bag. There is no app to install and no account to create.

The sound drawer on the laptop: the tavern soundscape is playing.
The music app on the game master’s phone: playlists, soundscapes and ambient sounds.The large player on the phone, showing the track that plays on the laptop.
Laptop and phone

Music and sounds come with it

ScreenCrawler comes with 72 music tracks, 44 ambient loops and 362 sound effects. Give a map a soundscape and it plays whenever that map is on the table. You control the sound on the laptop or on your phone, which works like a music app.

A fireball in the taproom marks three bandits. It stops at the wall, so the fourth bandit behind it is not marked.
On the TV

Spells show who they hit

Drop a fireball or a cone on the map and everyone inside is marked. At walls the area stops, so the bandit behind the wall stays safe.

The wheel after a right-click in the taproom: point, measure, spells, combat, figure, event, roll, light, fog, scene, table, settings.
The same tools as menus: the drawers on the left, here weather and atmosphere.The figure wheel on Brenna: damage, heal, condition, hidden, dead or unconscious, spell from here.Ctrl+K: typing “fog” finds the fog cloud spell, mist, the fog tools and more.
On the laptop

Menus or the wheel, whichever you like

Everything sits in drawers along the left edge, sorted by topic. If you would rather not go looking, right-click the map and a wheel opens right there with twelve choices, from fog and light to spells, measuring and combat. Hold the right button on a figure for damage, healing and conditions. Ctrl+K finds any action by name: type a word, press Enter.

What makes game night special

The Crowford marketplace by day.
The same marketplace at night in a thunderstorm, the stalls are gone.Snow on the marketplace at night.
On the TV

Weather, light and time of day

Rain, snow, thunderstorms and fog lie over the map, on your laptop and on the TV. One click sets the mood. At night only the lights you place are burning.

The mercenary chest on the TV: the loot rolls past, the marker picks the find.
On the TV

Chests open in front of everyone

A hero opens a chest and the whole table watches the loot roll past. Whatever stops under the marker goes into that hero’s inventory.

The Dwarven Gold slot machine in the tavern, reels spinning, Brenna has bet 10 gold.
The Soul Scales in a candlelit cathedral: three heroes bet chests, the heaviest pan wins.The gambling drawer on the laptop: every hero’s purse and the list of tavern games.
On the TV

Games in the tavern

Dwarven Gold, the Soul Scale, the juggler’s cups and more play out large on the TV. The heroes bet their own gold. You let the dice decide or set the result yourself.

Level up on the TV.
The curtain before the session starts.
On the TV

Big moments

Level up, a lightning strike or a new chapter: one click and it fills the TV. Before the session starts, a curtain hides the map.

An opening in the map room: candles, a window and an old map on the table.
On the TV

A short film to open the evening

Write a few sentences about where the last session ended and pick a setting: the map room, an old book, a stained-glass window or a shadow play. ScreenCrawler turns it into an opening on the TV.

Ottmar’s shop on the TV with prices in gold.
On the TV

Merchants on the table

Ottmar the shopkeeper lays out his goods. The players pick something on their phones, you confirm it, and the gold changes hands.

And there is more

  • Combat in one listCombat in one listInitiative, hit points and turns. N moves to the next turn.
  • Party panel on the TVParty panel on the TVEveryone’s hit points at a glance. Fold it away when it is in the way.
  • Creatures and NPCsCreatures and NPCsPick from the library and drag them onto the map.
  • SpellbookSpellbookSpells sorted by level, with the area to drop on the map.
  • Time of dayTime of dayEight steps from dawn to midnight, each on Shift and a number key.
  • MapsMapsReady-made places, or drag in your own map and line up the grid.
  • Crowford comes with itCrowford comes with itA tavern, a crypt under it and a marketplace, ready to play.
  • EventsEventsLightning, an earthquake or a scream, at once and on the TV too.
  • Character sheets, drop in the PDF export from D&D Beyond; upload it again after a level-up
  • Measuring, paths with bends, difficult terrain and the hero’s speed
  • Boss fights, with phases and a transformation
  • Death marks and hit effects, different for every kind of creature
  • Conditions, small signs right on the token
  • Shadow play, scenes cut from paper figures
  • Betting market, the heroes bet on each other
  • Your phone as a remote, with a music player
  • Scene transitions, down the trapdoor, up the stairs
  • Backups, your campaign as one file
  • English and German, switch any time
  • Votes, everyone votes on their phone, the result shows on the TV

Get ScreenCrawler

You pay once, there is no subscription. Try the demo first, it runs in your browser.

Coming soon on itch.ioTry the demo
Coming soon on itch.io

Try Crowford.

Crowford is the small adventure that comes with ScreenCrawler: a tavern at night, the crypt beneath it and the market square. Your laptop sits next to the TV and a player’s phone, connected as they are at the table. Click around as much as you like. “Start over” at the top resets everything.

Try the demo

Checking your browser …

The demo needs a laptop or PC. Send yourself the link and open it there.

You don’t need an account, and what you do in the demo stays in your browser.

The demo in the browser: the game master view of the tavern, a fireball hits three bandits in the taproom.

What you need

Laptop or PC
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. A Mac version will follow later.
TV
Connected to the laptop or PC by HDMI, ideally lying flat in the middle of the table.
Phones
On the same Wi-Fi. There is no app to install, the browser is enough.
Internet
Only for the download. Game night works without it.

Buy

You pay once and there is no subscription. ScreenCrawler will be sold on itch.io, and you can test the free trial version on your own TV first.

Coming soon on itch.io Trial version: coming soon

Questions

Do I need internet on game night?

No. Your laptop or PC, the TV and the phones connect over your home Wi-Fi.

What happens to my data?

Campaigns, maps and heroes stay on your laptop or PC. There is no account.

Can I use my own maps?

Yes. Drag your map image into the program and line the grid up with it.

Is there a Mac version?

Yes, later. The Windows version comes first.