> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.witt-play.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manage player join requests, waitlists, and rosters

> How to view, approve, and decline join requests, manage your waitlist, promote waitlisted players, and cancel a game with notifications to all members.

Once your game is live, players can request to join. As the host, you decide who gets in — and every decision triggers a notification to the player so they always know where they stand. You can manage requests directly from the game detail page or from the centralized [Host Console](/hosting/host-console).

## Where to see pending requests

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Game detail page">
    Open the game at `/games/{id}`. If any requests are pending, a **Pending requests** card appears between the equipment reminder and the notes card. Each row shows the player's name and phone number (visible to you only through a secure lookup), with **Approve** and **Decline** buttons.

    The number of pending requests is not shown in the badge on this page — use the Host Console badge for a count across all your games.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Host Console">
    Go to `/host/console` (or click **Console** in the hosting navigation). The **Requests** tab lists every pending join request across all your games in chronological order (oldest first). Each card shows the player's name, avatar, Witt Rating if they have one, and the game they want to join. You can approve or decline from this view without opening each individual game.

    A badge on the **Requests** tab shows the total number of pending requests.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

***

## Approving a request

Click **Approve** next to the player's name on either the game detail page or the Host Console.

When you approve a request:

1. The player's status changes from `pending` to `approved`.
2. They receive a **push notification**: "You're in! \[Game title] — The host approved your request."
3. They receive an **SMS** with the game title, sport, location (city/state), and a link to the game page.
4. If you have **Hide address until approved** turned on, the player can now see the full street address on the game detail page.

<Note>
  The SMS is sent to the phone number associated with the player's account. If they have not verified a phone number, the push notification is the only delivery channel.
</Note>

***

## Declining a request

Click **Decline** (the X button) next to the player's name. This opens the **Decline request** dialog.

<h3 id="the-decline-dialog">
  The decline dialog
</h3>

The dialog shows the player's name and an optional message field (up to 300 characters). You can:

* Leave the message blank to send a generic decline notification
* Write a short note — for example: *"Thanks for your interest! This game is for intermediate+ players — hope to see you at a future one."*

The player receives a push notification with either your custom message or the default text: *"The host wasn't able to add you to this game."*

Click **Decline request** to confirm. The participant record is deleted and the player is removed from the roster entirely.

<Warning>
  Declining a request is immediate and cannot be undone. The player will need to request to join again if they want to rejoin.
</Warning>

***

## Waitlist management

When your game is full (approved player count equals max players), new requests go straight to the waitlist rather than the pending queue. Waitlisted players see a message on the game page: *"You're on the waitlist — we'll notify you if a spot opens."*

### Automatic promotion

When an approved player leaves the game, the platform automatically attempts to promote the next person on the waitlist. The promoted player receives a notification that a spot has opened.

### Manual promotion

You cannot manually promote a waitlisted player from the host UI — promotion is handled automatically when a spot opens. If you want to make room for a specific waitlisted player, you can either increase the max players via the **Edit** button or ask an approved player to leave.

***

## Cancelling a game

To cancel and delete a game, open the game detail page and click the **Delete** button (visible only to you as the host). A confirmation dialog appears showing:

* The game title
* A breakdown of how many approved, pending, and waitlisted players will be notified

Click **Yes, cancel game** to proceed. Before the record is deleted, Witt & Play sends a cancellation push notification to every affected member (anyone with `approved`, `pending`, or `waitlisted` status) with the message: *"The host cancelled this game. Sorry about that — check the home page for other games."*

If no one has joined yet, no notifications are sent.

<Warning>
  Cancelling a game is permanent and cannot be undone. The game, its chat history, and all participant records are deleted.
</Warning>