Set up a race

There are two ways to set up a game depending on how many people are playing.

You want	Go to	What you get
Several teams racing each other	/host	A lobby with a race code, a roster, and a start button
One person walking a board	/solo	No lobby. The clock starts on the tap that creates the run

First you need a board

A race is run on a board, so that part happens days before everything else on this page. See Design a board.

Hosting a race

1. Pick who referees

   	What it means
   Honour system	Photos are accepted straight away and nothing grades them. They are still saved for everyone to look back at afterwards.
   You referee	Every photo is approved or rejected by the host.
   AI referee	Photos go to a third-party AI service and are graded against each challenge’s criteria.

   The honour system is the default, because it is the only mode that asks nothing of anyone outside the game. The AI option only appears when the server has configured a model backend.

2. Pick a map

   Choosing one creates the race and drops you into its lobby at /host/{id}.

   Only the phone that creates a race can host it

   Hosting stays in the browser you made the race in. That phone is the only one that can start the race, end it, settle a dispute, and open the host tools. See When things go wrong if it loses its place.

3. Get everybody into the lobby

   The lobby offers one invitation three ways: a race code to read out across a room, a QR code to scan in person, and a link for the group chat.

4. Let the teams form

   A player either starts a squad, naming it and taking one of six colours, or taps a squad already on the roster.

   As host you can take a colour and race, or tell the lobby you are only running it.

5. Start

   The button stays disabled until at least one team is on the roster. Starting sends you to the live race.

Latecomers are fine

A live race can still be joined. A race that has already ended cannot.

Setting up a solo run

Decision	The choice
How you are running it	Time trial, timed from the start line, where vetoes cost time and a finished run can be posted to the board’s leaderboard. Casual, where nothing is timed, nothing is ranked, and vetoes are free
Who checks your photos	The honour system, or the AI referee when one is configured. A casual run is always the honour system
Your name	Shown anywhere only if you choose to post your time

Posting a time is opt-in and happens at the finish.

Next

When things go wrongGetting a player back onto their team after a phone loses its place.

Run it locallyPostgres and MinIO in Docker, the Go server and worker, and the Vite dev server from source.

Runway is in Alpha release

Rules, data formats, and APIs change without notice, and databases may be wiped between releases. Runway is an independent, fan-made game, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Jet Lag: The Game, Wendover Productions, or Half as Interesting.