ComLabGames User Guide

This guide describes the current ComLabGames browser application for designing, testing, running, and reviewing strategic-behavior experiments. It is intended for moderators, testers, and participants.

The application has four main paths:

Design creates and manages game definitions.
Execution organizes games in rooms and monitors sessions.
Player room links let participants join and play in separate browser tabs.
Demo presents predefined reference games in one observer tab.

Current Workflow

A moderator opens or creates a game in Design, saves and validates it, adds it to a room in Execution, and starts it. Players join through the room link. Game sessions shows current progress, while Run Logs preserves the run for review and analysis. Design navigation is available for every game, and a browser-local language selector provides English and Slovenian interface labels.

Find The Instructions For Your Task

I want to…	Start here
Try a small example and make my own copy	Quick Start, then Demo Mode
Choose a game type for my experiment	Game Types And What You Can Explore
Build or revise a game, manually or with AI	Designing Games, AI Design
Verify a game before inviting participants	Testing a Game Before Class
Invite players and monitor several groups	Moderator Workspace
Check results, ask AI or reuse analysis instructions	Logs and Run Analysis
Transfer or recover my work	Game packages and deleted games, Workspace Backup
Resolve a failed action or interrupted connection	Troubleshooting

The chapters below explain tasks first. Settings references provide the detailed fields when you need them.

Core Concepts

Definition: the saved canonical description of a game.
Moderator: a registered user who designs games, manages rooms, monitors sessions, and reviews logs.
Room: a named player entry space. The default room is main.
Game set: an optional group of games inside a room.
Open game: a definition that has been started in a room and can accept players.
Run: one moderator start of a game definition.
Session: one group of players within a run.
Assignment: participant counts, Player Types, allocation, rounds, and execution policies.
Stage: a step in a game process, such as Instructions, a decision, or Results.
Page: authored content shown within a Stage to a specified Audience.
Image: a reusable presentation image stored inside one game definition.
Demo: a one-tab observer for predefined reference games.
Open test: a realistic test using separate player tabs.

Game Types

For the purpose, examples, and differences between types, see Game Types And What You Can Explore.

Auction: one or two sealed-bid, English, or Dutch auctions with shared presentation Stages.
Market Game: assets, accounts, orders, transactions, and periodic updates.
Strategic Form Game: decisions and payoffs in a matrix.
Extensive Form Game: sequential decisions in a tree.
Free Form Game: a custom directed process of Stages, Pages, routes, and Variable outputs.

Older technical material may use Matrix, Tree, FFG, MG, or MGD. The current application stores and executes a canonical definition, including after importing a legacy file.

Chapters

Documentation Status

The English and Slovenian task guides and screenshots were aligned with the local application on 9 November 2026. They cover getting started, editing/testing, room admission and session completion, Run Logs/AI templates, and transfer/recovery. AI screenshots use explicitly illustrative conversations. Game content and example names may remain English when the interface is Slovenian. Deployment of this guide is a separate step.

The conceptual chapter on game types was added on 10 November 2026. It explains experimental purposes and links to the existing introductory games.