Player Matching allows people to jump into your game from a Bunch party and play together right away without the need to exchange game codes.
The linking of people across games and parties is handled through a platform component called Player Matching. Player Matching is the engine behind Bunch's social loops, providing a reliable, low friction way for more people to get in on the fun.
With Player Matching, players no longer need to copy and paste codes, or waste time trying to find each other across disjointed apps. When a player is in a Bunch party, all they need to do is tap to "Join Game." Bunch opens your game and drops them into the associated game session with the party in full swing:
This seamless experience is possible due to the deep links established between Bunch Parties and your game sessions created through Party Reservation platform component. However, there may be times when your player wants to invite others to party up and play together through a text message or some other communications tool. In those cases the Bunch Platform provides the option to invite others via the Share Party Link button inside the Overlay. This button automatically generates a deep link to the Bunch Party and the associated game session which can then be sent via share services registered with the device's operating system:
Again, in these instances people who respond to the party invitations will be deep linked to the Bunch Party and the associated game session, and if they don't have Bunch or the game they will be directed to install the app(s).
Player Matching Best Practices
Skip or Defer Game Tutorial/Onboarding for New Players Coming from Bunch
If friends coming to your game from a Bunch party have never played your game before, it's highly recommended that you skip or defer your standard tutorial or onboarding process and instead allow them to immediately join the game session associated with the party for two main reasons.
First, the new player has friends waiting to play with them, and it's no fun being held back by a tutorial. Second, and more importantly, it's more natural and usually a better onboarding experience to have friends teach your new player how to play your game. Then the next time that player returns to your game you can always offer the option to go through the tutorial.
Learn more about how to implement Player Matching in the Technical Implementation Guide.
Player Matching allows people to jump into your game from a Bunch party and play together right away without the need to exchange game codes.