A spot just opened in a game I wanted
A spot just opened in a game I wanted
You see a push: a game that was sold out just freed up a spot. Maybe it’s a pitch you follow, maybe the host is someone you like, maybe you’d been watching that specific game. You open the app — and now you have to decide fast, because you’re not the only one who got the push.
The short version: a spot opens when a player leaves a game or gets removed, and Furbol tells the people most likely to be interested so they can grab it. If you want it, move quickly — the app doesn’t reserve it for you, and other people are seeing the same notification.
Why the push came to you
Furbol sends the “game is open” push to a specific group:
- People who had shown interest in that game, or in its venue or its host.
- People who meet the game’s matching criteria (location, kind, player requirements).
- People whose notification preferences let through game-open alerts.
You’re one of them, not the only one. The push is a nudge, not a reservation.
How fast do you have to move?
Fast, but not frantic.
- The spot goes to whoever books first. There’s no queue.
- Some spots refill within seconds (a popular game), some sit open for a while (a game that had fallen below quorum for a reason).
- If you open the app and the spot is already gone, that’s simply someone else got there first. No “I was pushed, so I get priority” behaviour.
What the spot actually means
When a spot opens, it’s one of these cases — and the cases have different implications for whether you want it:
- Someone left voluntarily. Normal case. The lineup is intact minus one person. You’re filling a genuine vacancy.
- Someone got removed by the host. The roster lost a specific player. Nothing else changes for the other players or the fee.
- The game dropped below quorum. If the spot opening pushed the game below its minimum, Furbol notes “quorum lost” on the game’s log. It’s not cancelled automatically — the host still has time to refill, and you joining back up might be exactly what saves it.
You can see which case it is by scrolling the game’s activity log briefly. For most people, it doesn’t really matter — a game is a game, and the outcome depends on whether others also refill, not on why the one spot opened.
Booking the spot
Same as any other booking. Open the game, tap book.
- If the game is online-paid, the fee hold goes onto your wallet immediately. See Paying for Online Games.
- If there’s a same-day conflict with another game you’re in, Furbol either warns you (same-day rule) or, if one of your same-day games already hit quorum and locked you in, blocks the booking. See Same-Day Booking.
- If the game has requirements you don’t meet (host blacklist, private-game access, playing requirements not met), the book button is disabled. See Joining a Game.
If you miss it
Nothing happens. No record of “you were pushed about a spot but didn’t take it.” No downstream effects. The push just didn’t land on you in time.
If you want to maximise your chances next time: follow the venue or the host. That’ll keep you in the notification group for their games.
Turning the push down
If game-open alerts are too noisy for you, you can tune them in Notification Preferences. You won’t get those specific pushes anymore — you’ll still get the ones you actively subscribed to (invitations, confirmations of games you’re in, etc.).