What's new in ClapOut

Every change that reaches the table, newest first — from the first playable version to real twinkling stars over the Dusk scene.

By the ClapOut team · Updated 28 September 2026

ClapOut is updated continuously. There is nothing to download: the next time you open clapout.app, you are playing the newest version. Many of the changes below began as a note from someone who had just played — a sound that came in late, a button that said the wrong thing for a moment too long — so if something bothers you, tell us.

28 September 2026

• ClapOut has a proper home for its rules. How to play covers every rule the table enforces, with a walkthrough of a first game, alongside new guides to the four elements, house rules and the bots, a glossary, a guide to family game night, this page and the FAQ.
• The badge every character wore on their chest is gone, for a cleaner, simpler cast.

24 September 2026

• Rocket now cheers with open hands instead of fists.
• The Dusk scene has real twinkling stars: each one drawn with its own core, halo and glint, and each twinkling on its own rhythm.
• The sun is a clean, whole disc with a warm glow.
• When you are hushed, a muted seal now sits on your avatar, rather than a pane covering your whole seat, so the table stays easy to read.

23 September 2026

• The table sounds real. Cards, claps and clashes now play real recorded takes, and the same take never plays twice in a row, each one at a very slightly different pitch, so a long game never sounds like a loop.
• The scenes behind the table take real skies: photographs of the sun and moon, real stars, rippling light on the water and drifting embers.
• Card landings and clashes play out on real filmed material, so an Ember card really does throw sparks.
• The table appears first and the pictures follow a moment later, so a game starts quickly even on a slow connection.
• After an update, your browser picks up the new sounds and pictures straight away instead of holding on to old ones.

20 September 2026

• Voices win: the game's sound effects dip whenever someone is talking, so you never miss a word over a flurry of cards.
• During voice chat, your phone keeps the sound on its loudspeaker wherever the browser lets it choose.
• Muted means muted. While your voice mic is off, your phone does not hold the microphone at all.

19 September 2026

• Voice chat arrives. A mic button sits beside the emote button at the table; tap it to talk. A glow around a seat shows who is speaking, and each seat shows whether its mic is on.
• Mute anyone, just for you: tap another player's seat to silence them on your own phone. They are not told, and everyone else still hears them.
• The store opens. Packs of Claps and the Club can be bought securely through Stripe, and your Claps land in your wallet the moment the payment clears.
• When your Claps run low, a friendly note tells you how many games you have left and points you to the free ways to top up.
• Clap Catch is a tougher test: the pace ramps up and the timing tightens as your multiplier climbs, and the stage now shows a pair of bright clapping hands.
• The rule book's house-rules chapter covers every switch in the lobby, including the sixty-second turn timer, laid out to read comfortably on a phone.

18 September 2026

• Quick play: one tap finds you a table. Real players come first, and if the table has not filled after 20 seconds, bots take the empty seats.
• A rank card on the join screen shows your level, and the results at the end of a game show the experience you earned.
• The Rule book is in the game. Open it from the join screen, the lobby or the table and read how ClapOut plays, page by page, without leaving your game.

17 September 2026

• The elements come to life on your phone. A hint along your hand reminds you which element beats which, and it stays readable however many cards you hold.
• Clashes and Surges now play out over the pile, so you can see at a glance who overpowered whom, who fizzled, and when a Surge hands someone a bonus card.

16 September 2026

• Sound effects start from your very first tap anywhere on the page, not only when you press CLAP.
• The other players make a face when they clap: eyes shut, a shout, hands meeting.
• The draw pile goes quiet the moment you tap it, instead of inviting a second draw for a few seconds.
• Every character's hands were checked and tidied. Sly now pins his fan of cards with his thumb.

13 September 2026: a table worth sitting at

• A drawn scene behind every table — a meadow by default, or a lakeside or a treehouse — lit by the element in play.
• A sunlit picnic table of honey oak with a linen play mat, and bright paper panels around it.
• Every player sits at the table as a character whose face changes with the game.
• A ring around the seats shows the direction of play, a comet carries the turn from seat to seat, and a spotlight picks out whoever is acting. A clock ring counts down the seat the table is waiting on.
• Emotes: a wheel of eight ClapOut signs, popping out of the sender's seat as a bubble.
• New card faces, with every element's sign in the corners, and an indigo back with the ClapOut mark.
• The table lays itself out in portrait and in landscape.
• One-tap invites: the lobby shows the table's link with its code in big letters, ready to share.
• A way out of the lobby: "Leave the table" for guests, "Close the table" for the host.
• The lobby seats one of each bot, so a table never has two Nanas.
• No more accidental text selection when you press and hold a card, and the ClapOut name is never cut short on a narrow phone.

13 September 2026: Claps and saving them

• Claps arrive, with a wallet on your phone.
• Clap Catch, a twenty-second mini-game for free Claps: two hands drift in at different speeds, and you tap as they meet. The harder mode asks you to clap for real.
• If you are out of Claps when a game starts, the table tells you and offers the free ways back in.
• Save your Claps: sign in, with no password, to keep your Claps and purchases on any phone.

12 September 2026

• The first playable ClapOut in the browser: join with a table code, wait in the lobby, play your hand, clap and catch, and tap Play again for another round.
• Clap for real: turn on the microphone and a real clap counts as your clap.
• A refresh keeps your seat. Lose your connection and you come back to the same hand.