From 745b8e99b9f093b5ce54efdcfe93882494dc526e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Eric Wagoner <ewagoner@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:04:28 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] The host is asked before beginning while a seat is still held
 for someone on their way, since the seat goes once the game begins; and the
 gallery says the game began before they arrived, so whoever was called and
 finds the table under way knows why there is no seat

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0141G6xqLeNRYEtviLWSB5Up
---
 src/routes/join/[code]/+page.svelte | 13 ++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/routes/join/[code]/+page.svelte b/src/routes/join/[code]/+page.svelte
index d75e3d2..656cad4 100644
--- a/src/routes/join/[code]/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/join/[code]/+page.svelte
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 	let room = $state<Duel | null>(null);
 	let name = $state('');
 	let joining = $state(false);
+	/** The host asked to begin while a seat is still held for someone on their way. */
+	let beginAsked = $state(false);
 	let busy = $state(false);
 	let error = $state('');
 	let copied = $state(false);
@@ -259,7 +261,8 @@
 {#if watching && room?.remote?.started && !room.state.over}
 	<div class="notice muted">
 		{#if seatLost}<p>{seatLost} Claim it here, or <a href="mailto:eric@ericwagoner.com?subject={encodeURIComponent(`My seat in room ${roomId}`)}">write to the keeper</a>.</p>
-		{:else}<p>Had a seat at this duel? Ask the host for a transfer phrase, or make one on the device that still holds the seat, and claim it here. Or <a href="mailto:eric@ericwagoner.com?subject={encodeURIComponent(`My seat in room ${roomId}`)}">write to the keeper</a> for a link that brings it back.</p>{/if}
+		{:else}{#if room.remote.expected.length > 0}<p>{room.speaker(room.remote.host)} began the duel before {room.remote.expected.join(' and ')} arrived, and the seat held for {room.remote.expected.length === 1 ? 'them' : 'each'} went with it.</p>{/if}
+			<p>Had a seat at this duel? Ask the host for a transfer phrase, or make one on the device that still holds the seat, and claim it here. Or <a href="mailto:eric@ericwagoner.com?subject={encodeURIComponent(`My seat in room ${roomId}`)}">write to the keeper</a> for a link that brings it back.</p>{/if}
 		<form class="rename" onsubmit={claim}>
 			<input type="text" bind:value={claimPhrase} placeholder="the four-word phrase" autocomplete="off" aria-label="transfer phrase" />
 			<button type="submit" class="quiet" disabled={claiming || claimPhrase.trim().split(/[\s-]+/).length < 4}>Claim the seat</button>
@@ -337,8 +340,12 @@
 				{#if r.seats.length < r.size && room.isHost}
 					<button type="button" class="quiet" onclick={() => room?.addBot()}>Seat a bot</button>
 				{/if}
-				{#if room.isHost}
-					<button type="button" class="reveal small" disabled={r.seats.length < 2} onclick={() => room?.begin()}>Begin the duel</button>
+				{#if room.isHost && beginAsked && r.expected.length > 0}
+					<span>A seat is held for {r.expected.join(' and ')}, who {r.expected.length === 1 ? 'has' : 'have'} not arrived. The seat goes once the duel begins.</span>
+					<button type="button" class="reveal small" onclick={() => room?.begin()}>Begin without them</button>
+					<button type="button" class="link" onclick={() => (beginAsked = false)}>wait</button>
+				{:else if room.isHost}
+					<button type="button" class="reveal small" disabled={r.seats.length < 2} onclick={() => (r.expected.length > 0 ? (beginAsked = true) : room?.begin())}>Begin the duel</button>
 					<span class="muted">{r.seats.length < 2 ? 'once a second wizard is seated' : `with ${r.seats.length} wizards`}</span>
 				{:else}
 					<span class="muted">{hostName} will begin the duel when the table is ready.</span>