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To play Poké Jam with a friend in the same room, use two devices with internet access: open the game on each, select PLAY ONLINE, and have one player create a room and share its six-character code. After the other player joins, you’ll snake-draft a team and play online. Poké Jam does not document split-screen or two-player controls on one computer, so this is same-room play—not traditional couch co-op.

What does “local multiplayer” mean in Poké Jam?

In Poké Jam, playing locally in the everyday sense—sitting together and playing the same match—means connecting two separate game clients over the internet. Each player needs a phone, tablet, or computer running the game in a browser. The game’s multiplayer design is one human per client, with the second person represented as a remote player on another device.

That is different from a local multiplayer mode in which two people share one screen or connect to the same console or PC. Poké Jam does not document split-screen, two people sharing one keyboard with separate control schemes, two gamepads controlling one match on one computer, or a LAN-only mode. A yellow “P1” label in a single-player game means the human player is facing the CPU; it does not indicate that a second local player can join.

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Even if both players are sitting on the same couch or connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the friend match is online Social play. Both devices need internet access. The documented setup uses the game’s online connection rather than a direct, offline local-network session.

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What do you need before starting?

Get these ready before opening the room. The game is free to play in a browser, with no download required.

  • Two devices: Each player needs a phone, tablet, or computer with a current browser. The documented setup is one player on each client.
  • Internet access on both devices: Sharing Wi-Fi is fine, but Wi-Fi alone does not replace the online connection.
  • A way to send the room code: The host can read the six characters aloud or share them in a message.
  • Controls for each player: Keyboard and phone touch controls work. An Xbox-layout gamepad is optional, not required.

Open pokejam.xyz on both devices. The browser version is the game; there is no installer to download or driver package to set up.

There is no listed purchase or subscription requirement for a friend match. Social uses Supabase anonymous sign-in saved on the device, rather than a Pokémon Trainer Club, Google, or other named account. That sign-in is part of the online service; it does not turn the game into an offline LAN session. If the service cannot sign in or the build lacks backend configuration, Social may offer a CPU game instead.

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How do you set up a friend match?

Use the room-code option—not Quick match—when you want to play against a particular person. The developer’s 28 October 2026 Social instructions describe the room-code flow as the friend-play path.

  1. Open Poké Jam on both devices. Each player should load the game in their own browser. If the page has not finished loading, wait before trying to join.
  2. Select PLAY ONLINE. The live site labels the online choices “Quick match · room code.” Quick match searches for an opponent; it is not the choice for inviting a specific friend.
  3. Have one player make a room. The host creates the room and gets a six-character code. Send or read that code to the other player.
  4. Have the second player enter the code. Once the guest joins, both players should wait for the draft screen. A friend room can wait up to 120 seconds for the other person, allowing time to switch to a messaging app to send the code.
  5. Complete the snake draft. Players take turns selecting one Pokémon for each of five positions. The first pick has 15 seconds; later picks have 12 seconds. The server flips a coin to decide who starts, then alternates the order: A, B, B, A, A, B, B, A, A, B. There are no duplicate picks. If a timer expires, the server makes a random legal pick.
  6. Tip off. Once both teams are drafted, the game begins. The host’s court and name are used for the home side.

If one player disconnects during the draft, the server makes random picks for that player. If the other player has not checked in for 25 seconds, the draft is called off and the match closes without a result.

What the draft clock means in practice

The first selection has a slightly longer 15-second window; subsequent choices have only 12 seconds. That is a short timer, so be ready to pick as soon as the draft opens rather than treating it like a pause to compare the whole roster. The Social pool is six random Pokémon for each position, not an open selection from all 291 Pokémon. You will need to build a five-position lineup from the players available in the draft. The server’s random legal pick is a fallback if the clock expires, not a way to hold a turn indefinitely.

The alternating order gives each player consecutive selections at points in the draft, rather than simply switching back and forth for every pick. A server coin flip decides which side is A and which starts. Since the pool is limited and duplicates are disallowed, a Pokémon chosen by one player is not available for the other player’s team.

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What happens after the draft?

Poké Jam is full-court 5-on-5 arcade basketball. Social matches use fixed rules: Pro difficulty, no CPU assists, and quarters of at most two minutes. The game’s presentation combines fast arcade play with player cards that show attributes such as overall rating, position, shooting, passing, defense, stamina, size, and evolution.

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The Social draft is not a free choice from the entire roster. The live roster is reported as 291 Pokémon by Poké Jam and Dexerto in 2026, but the Social draft pool is six randomly selected Pokémon per position from a server table. Players still need to cover the five positions to form a lineup.

The online connection is designed for a match between separate clients. Poké Jam’s multiplayer design prefers a WebRTC data channel relayed through Cloudflare TURN; the relay-only approach is intended to keep players from seeing one another’s IP addresses. If TURN is unavailable or drops, the game can fall back to Supabase Realtime. These are connection details, not setup choices: players do not need to configure a router or choose a networking mode. They do explain why two people on the same Wi-Fi still need an internet connection and why this is not LAN-only multiplayer.

The multiplayer design starts with an input delay of eight ticks, about 133 milliseconds. A test with two browser clients against Supabase settled between eight and 13 ticks, approximately 130–220 milliseconds. Those figures describe the design and that particular test, not a guarantee of the delay every pair of players will experience. Connection quality, device performance, and the route between clients can affect how responsive play feels.

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Useful on-court rules

  • Shot meter: Hold the shoot control and release when the meter is green. The live-site tip says a perfect release never misses.
  • Lineup bonus: Cover all five positions in your starting lineup for a +2 lineup bonus, according to a live-site tip.
  • Type-based specials: Fire and Dragon types can instantly catch fire; Psychic, Fairy, and Steel types can guarantee the next shot; Ghost, Dark, and Poison types can temporarily become immune to steals, blocks, and shoves.
  • Shoves: Type matchups apply. A Normal-type cannot shove a Ghost-type, and a super-effective shove knocks an opponent down longer.

Which controls can each player use?

Each player controls their own team from their own device. The game supports keyboard, gamepad, and phone touch input; the gamepad mapping follows an Xbox layout.

Action Keyboard Gamepad Phone
Move WASD or arrow keys Left stick or D-pad On-screen stick
Shoot / jump to block J or Space X On-screen button
Dunk Hold Shift and shoot near the rim Use turbo with shoot near the rim Use turbo with shoot near the rim
Pass / switch defender K A On-screen button
Alley-oop Hold Shift while passing to a teammate near the rim Hold turbo while passing near the rim Hold turbo while passing near the rim
Steal L B On-screen button
Shove Hold Shift while stealing Hold turbo while stealing Hold turbo while stealing
Turbo Shift Any bumper or trigger RB
Special move I or E when the bar is full Y On-screen button
Pause / menu P or Esc Start Menu control, if shown

On phones, the on-screen buttons use Xbox-style colors: blue X for shooting, green A for passing, red B for stealing, and yellow Y for a special move. Landscape orientation works best. An optional Xbox-layout gamepad can make input more familiar, but each player still needs their own device; a second controller plugged into the same PC is not a documented way to add a second player.

A controller is convenience, not an entry requirement: the game’s developer described it on 28 October 2026 as free in a browser on phone or desktop, with no download. If you choose a pad, the listed mapping is X to shoot, A to pass, B to steal, Y for a special, and any bumper or trigger for turbo. Do not buy a second controller expecting it to create another player slot on one computer; the supported arrangement remains one player and one client per device.

What if you want a different kind of online game?

Poké Jam offers Social play, including friend rooms and Quick match, plus a CPU practice option. Social matches are unranked. In a developer update dated 28 October 2026, Ranked was described as “coming soon,” and the developer said they wanted a few more days of Social testing first. Since mode availability can change, check the current PLAY ONLINE menu rather than assuming Ranked is available.

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The timing matters because Poké Jam launched on 26 October 2026 with Franchise and Quick Play available, and the developer announced Social multiplayer as live on 28 October. Reports from launch day that multiplayer was still planned for a future update describe the earlier launch state. For setting up a friend match, use the live site’s room-code option and Social instructions rather than an older launch-day description or an outdated README line that still lists multiplayer as saved for later.

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Quick match

Quick match searches for a Social opponent about every two seconds. After roughly 15 seconds without finding someone, the interface offers “Play CPU instead” while it can continue searching. Choose this route when you are open to a random opponent rather than inviting a particular friend. A Quick match search waits 25 seconds before the first pick.

Play CPU

Play CPU is practice rather than a match against the person sitting beside you. If Social cannot connect because the build has no backend configuration or sign-in fails, the game may offer a CPU game instead.

Single-player modes

If your friend is not ready, the game’s other modes provide ways to play alone:

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  • Quick Play: Choose a Gym Leader or Elite Four opponent, snake-draft five Pokémon with a 60-second pick clock, select a court, and play. The mode supports a rematch or a new draft afterward.
  • Franchise: Draft ten Pokémon—five starters and five bench players—for a nine-week season against eight Kanto Gym Leaders and the Elite Four, followed by playoffs. The mode includes badges, XP, evolution, stamina, injuries, trades, free agency, and a rookie draft; saves are stored in the browser.
  • Season Draft: Draft ten, simulate a season, and receive a record, grade, and Player of the Season.

These solo modes have different draft clocks and formats from Social. The 60-second pick clock belongs to Quick Play and Franchise draft information in the game’s README; it should not be confused with the 12-second Social clock. Franchise is also a longer campaign with browser-stored progress, not the way to invite someone to a same-room match.

How do you fix common connection and control problems?

Most setup issues come down to selecting the wrong online path, an incomplete connection, or expecting a local mode the game does not document.

The code does not connect us

  • Check that the host created a room and that the guest entered the six characters correctly.
  • Confirm that both devices have internet access and that each is running its own browser client.
  • Wait for the friend-room window, which allows up to 120 seconds for the second player to arrive.
  • If the room closes or either player fails to check in for 25 seconds during a draft, create a new room and start again.

Keep the room code available while both players join; the host may spend part of the 120-second wait sharing it through Messages or reading it aloud. If a connection fails before the draft begins, return to the room-code flow and make a fresh room rather than switching to Quick match unless a random opponent is acceptable.

We accidentally chose Quick match

Quick match is the random-opponent search, not the friend invitation flow. Return to PLAY ONLINE and use the room-code choice to connect to a specific person.

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The page opens a menu, but the game keeps running

Online games never pause. Pressing P, Esc, or the gamepad’s Start button opens a menu over the running match; it does not stop play. Hiding the browser tab does not pause it either. Quitting sends a departure message, and 15 seconds without connection activity ends the game with “connection lost”; the match is voided and no result is recorded.

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For that reason, avoid leaving an online match open while switching apps or putting the device aside. A connection lost after 15 seconds of silence voids the match rather than recording a win or loss. The menu is an overlay, not a pause screen, and the same applies if a player hides the browser tab.

Social offers a CPU game instead

If the build has no backend configuration or anonymous sign-in fails, Social can fall back to offering a CPU game. That is a fallback for practice, not a way to turn one device into a two-player local match.

My friend expects a second controller to work on my computer

That setup is not documented. The game’s design describes one human input per client and a remote player on a separate client. Use two devices for the documented friend match instead of relying on two gamepads or two browser windows on one PC.

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We want to play offline on the same Wi-Fi

Poké Jam does not document a LAN-only mode. The same-room friend path is Social multiplayer through the online service, so both clients need internet access even when they share a router. A shared network does not replace the room code or the online connection. Two browser windows on one PC are not a documented or supported substitute for two players on separate devices.

If the problem persists, KungFuDOOM asked players on 28 October 2026 to send a direct message or use the email option on the game’s contact page to report bugs. Include what each player was doing and any error message shown; that gives the developer useful context without implying that a particular fix is guaranteed.

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Is Poké Jam official?

No. Poké Jam is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project and is not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, or the rights holders of NBA 2K or NBA Jam. Pokémon names and sprites belong to their owners. The game’s online setup does not require buying a controller, downloading an installer, or purchasing a token.

The fan-game disclaimer matters when identifying what you are playing: this is Poké Jam at pokejam.xyz, not an official Pokémon release or a licensed NBA game. The Social room flow, browser access, and optional controls described here are features of this unofficial project. No account from Nintendo or The Pokémon Company is part of the documented setup.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Poké Jam require a Pokémon Trainer Club account?

No Pokémon Trainer Club or Google account is required for Social. The game uses Supabase anonymous sign-in, with its sign-in information kept on the device under the browser storage key pokejam.auth.

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Will my Franchise save move to a new phone or browser?

Franchise saves are stored in the browser, so they are associated with that browser’s local storage rather than a documented cross-device account. Clearing site data or switching browsers may make the saved progress unavailable.

Where can I report a Poké Jam bug?

The developer asked players to send a direct message or use the email option on the game’s contact page. Include what you were doing and what happened so the issue is easier to identify.

Can two people play Poké Jam on the same Wi-Fi?

Yes, if both devices have internet access and join a Social friend room with its six-character code. The game does not document offline LAN play; being on the same Wi-Fi does not remove the online requirement.

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Can I use two controllers or split-screen on one PC?

Poké Jam does not document split-screen, two gamepads driving one match on one PC, or two-player shared-keyboard controls. The supported friend setup is one human per client on two devices.

Is Ranked available for a friend match?

As of the developer’s 28 October 2026 updates, Social was live and unranked, while Ranked was still described as coming soon and undergoing additional testing. Check the current PLAY ONLINE menu because availability can change.

Is Poké Jam free, and do I need to download it?

Poké Jam is free to play in a browser on a phone or desktop, with no download required. A gamepad is optional; keyboard and phone touch controls are also supported.

How long does the room wait for my friend?

A friend room waits up to 120 seconds for the other player to arrive. During the draft, if a player has not checked in for 25 seconds, the draft is called off and the match closes without a result.

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The Bottom Line

For Poké Jam same-room multiplayer, use two internet-connected devices, open PLAY ONLINE, and connect through a six-character friend-room code. Social is online and unranked; the game does not document split-screen, couch co-op, or two controllers on one computer.

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