An Elsewild account is free. You need one to play online (see Online Play); playing alone needs none. Signed in, your worlds are saved to your account and can be played on any device you sign in on, and friends can find and invite you.
Signing in
Open the online window (PLAY WITH OTHERS on the title, or Settings, ONLINE in a world). Signed out, it opens on SIGN IN. There are four ways in:
| Way | How it works |
|---|---|
| With email | Type your email and press EMAIL ME A CODE. Type the six-digit code it sends you. New here, the same code makes your account, and you choose a name (3 to 16 letters or digits). There is no password to remember. |
| With a password | SIGN IN with your name and password, or MAKE ONE: a name (3 to 16 letters or digits) and a password of at least 6 characters. Forgot it? If your account has an email, a code sent to it signs you in. |
| Newgrounds | Where the game is played on Newgrounds, signing in there signs you in here too. |
| Dark Stories | SIGN IN WITH DARK STORIES opens a Dark Stories page: type the code the game shows and approve. Where the game is played on Dark Stories, you are signed in by yourself. |
Making an account or signing in means you agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy (linked in the window), and that you are 13 or older.
Your account page
Signed in, the ACCOUNT page shows your name and what kind of account it is, and lets you:
- APPEAR OFFLINE: friends see you as offline, and invites wait.
- Add or change an email: then you can sign in on any device with a code, and never lose the account to a forgotten password.
- Link Dark Stories or Newgrounds (ALSO SIGNS YOU IN): your email and every linked account sign in to this same account, in a browser, the desktop app or a phone.
- SIGN OUT (pressed twice).
- DELETE MY ACCOUNT (see below).
Cloud saves
- New solo worlds made while you are signed in are saved to your account from the start.
- A world made while signed out, or before you had an account, shows ONLY ON THIS DEVICE in WORLDS. Press SAVE TO ACCOUNT on its card to keep it on your account too.
- While you play, the world is copied up to your account every 3 minutes when it has changed, and again when you go back to the title or close the game. SAVE NOW sends it at once.
- Any device signed in to the same account lists the world in WORLDS. PLAY downloads the newest save.
- A world can be open on only one device at a time. If it is open elsewhere, its card says so ("OPEN ON YOUR ..."): close it there first.
- Played with no signal, the world saves on the device and goes up when you are back online. If the account's copy changed in the meantime, you see TWO VERSIONS and choose which to keep, or KEEP BOTH, AS TWO WORLDS.
- EARLIER SAVES: your account keeps the last three saves of each world for seven days. Choose one to go back to: it becomes the newest, and the others are kept.
- A world saved to another account plays on this device as it is, but doesn't save to your account.
- Online worlds already live in their room (see Online Play); they are listed in WORLDS on every device you sign in on.
Settings shows where the world you are in is saved: on this device only, to your account, or online in its room.
Forgetting a world
A world kept on your account can be forgotten in two ways: THIS DEVICE removes only the copy on this device, and ACCOUNT + HERE also deletes its save on your account. Copies on other devices stay. A world only on this device is simply forgotten. Forgetting cannot be undone.
What else goes with your account
Your keys and controller buttons, volume, screen shake, damage numbers and the play stats setting, your Achievements, and which help cards you have already seen.
What the game sends
- SHARE PLAY STATS (Settings, HELP; ON by default) sends how long and how you play, solo or online, anonymously, so the team can keep the game running well. Turn it OFF to stop it.
- Crash reports: if the game breaks, it sends what broke: the game's version, the platform, the error, its line and a short trace with file paths taken out. Never a name, a save or anything you typed. At most 12 a session, each one once. Crash reports are not sent when SHARE PLAY STATS is off.
- FEEDBACK (in Settings) sends a report only when you choose to.
Deleting your account
On the ACCOUNT page, press DELETE MY ACCOUNT, then press again to be sure. It deletes your account details, cloud saves, friends and online Wanderers, and cannot be undone. Bring your hosted worlds home first (STOP SHARING, see Online Play).
