Install on Android
Requirements
- Android 8.0 or newer.
- A 64-bit phone. The APK on the releases page is the 64-bit ARM build, and the world the app hosts runs only on a 64-bit device. Every phone sold in the last several years is one.
- A current WebView. The game screens use CSS the system WebView added in Chrome 120 (December 2023). Android updates it through Google Play; an old phone with updates switched off shows unstyled screens until it is updated.
- About 120 MB to download, plus room for the unpacked server and your world, and 76 MB more if you download the sound library. A camera is optional (for scanning QR invites).
From Google Play
Search for Open Dungeon Master, or use the store link. Play installs the split that matches your device and keeps the app updated. The listing is in closed testing before its public launch, so the button on this site is marked Soon until it is live.
Sideloading the APK
- Download
open-dungeon-master-client-0.17.2.apkfrom the release on the phone. - Open it from the download notification or a file manager. Android asks to allow installs from that app (the browser or file manager) the first time: allow it for this install.
- Install. The APK is the same build Play receives; updates are manual (install the newer APK over it).
The Play build and the APK are signed with different keys, so one cannot be installed over the other. Uninstall first to switch; your world is part of the app's private storage and goes with it, so export the characters and workshops you want to keep first.
First start
The first launch unpacks the bundled server into the app's private storage before your world can start; on a slower phone that takes a few seconds. Then the title screen appears, as on the desktop: Begin your world, Start playing, and the menu with Join with a code, whose panel has Scan a QR code. See First launch.
Permissions
| Permission | Asked when | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Joining voice chat, push-to-talk, or dictation | Voice chat between players; push-to-talk speech to text; a DM's dictation through the phone's own recognizer |
| Camera | Scan a QR code | Reading invite and server QR codes. The scanner owns the prompt. |
| Notifications | First connection to a world | The "Your world is shared" notification while hosting |
| Nearby devices (Bluetooth) | Pairing a Pixels die | Pixels Bluetooth dice |
No location, contacts, storage or install permissions are requested. Network access to a self-hosted server on plain http is allowed, which the Play pre-launch report notes as a security remark; it is what makes a server on your home network reachable.
Tablets and foldables
On a tablet, or an open foldable, the drawer becomes a fixed rail and the table shows the side panel beside the chronicle. A closed foldable is a phone. Seven-inch tablets in landscape get the phone's Hand rail under the message box so the box never hides behind the tab bar.
