Buttons and automations
Build buttons that shuffle, deal, flip, recall and count in one press, and let AI set up the table from a description.
Last reviewed October 11, 2026
This article is for hosts tired of dealing five cards to four players by hand every round. A Button runs a list of steps in one press, and Automate with AI can build the whole setup from a sentence.
What this page helps you do
- Add a button and give it steps.
- Pick from the eight step types.
- Ask before running, or make a button open a link.
- Describe a setup and let AI build decks, zones and buttons (Oracle and LaunchBoom).
You'll start inside a room in edit mode (Prototypes > Virtual Table, open a room, click Edit).
Before you start
- Beta, rolling out to teams. If Prototypes is missing from your sidebar, your team is not in the rollout yet.
- Plan: Buttons and steps are part of the Virtual Table, Pathfinder plan and up. Automate with AI is Oracle and LaunchBoom only, with 50 builds per team per day. Other plans see "Building with AI is part of the Oracle plan." with Upgrade to Oracle.
- Roles: Collaborators cannot use the Component Designer or 3D Mockups. Guests can press buttons but cannot edit them.
Add a button and its steps
Click Add button, select it, and open Properties. Under Automation steps, click + Add step... and pick a step type.
Helpful details
- Key areas: Each step can Move up, Move down, Collapse or be removed. Run now tests the button without leaving edit mode.
- What you can do: Chain up to 150 steps. A new-round button might be: Recall to deck, Shuffle deck, Move objects (deal 5 to each hand).
- Good to know: The Label is what players see on the button.
Choose the step types
Eight step types cover most setups.
- Move objects: pick a Source deck, Target zones, Cards each, a Deal mode (One by one or Pile), a Flip mode (Face up, Face down, As is) and where to Put them (On top or At the bottom).
- Shuffle deck: pick the Deck to shuffle.
- Flip objects: pick a Target and Flip to (Face up, Face down or Toggle).
- Recall to deck: pick the Deck to recall to, with Shuffle after recall.
- Change counter: pick a Counter and an Operation (Set, Increment, Decrement, Reset).
- Roll dice: pick the Dice to roll.
- Sort cards: pick the Deck or zone to sort and an Order (A to Z or Z to A).
- Rotate cards: pick Cards in a zone and an Angle (degrees).
Helpful details
- Key areas: Pickers list the matching widgets on the table; "No matching widgets" means add the deck or zone first.
- What you can do: Deal into several zones at once by picking more than one target.
- Good to know: A button imported from .pcio may show "Imported source" on a step; click Replace to pick a deck on this table.
Ask first, or open a link
Two settings under Behavior change what a press does.
Helpful details
- Key areas: Ask before running takes a message such as "Start a new game?". Players see it as a confirmation and press Run. Leave it empty to run right away.
- What you can do: Opens a link turns the button into a link that opens an address in a new tab, for guests too. Use it for a rules PDF or a feedback form.
- Good to know: The playtest dialog can place a Give feedback button for you (see Log a playtest from a room).
Build with AI
In edit mode, click Automate with AI. Select some components first, or just describe what you want in the box. Examples sit under it: "Shuffle the deck and deal 5 cards to each player", "New round: gather every card, shuffle and deal again", "Set up for 4 players: a score track with 30 spaces and a meeple for each player".
- Type your request (up to 1000 characters) and click Build.
- Review what is listed under New on the table, and the buttons with their steps.
- Click Add to the table. Or click Ask for changes to refine ("deal 7 cards instead, and shuffle first"), or Start over.
Helpful details
- Key areas: The AI can make decks, zones, holders, seats, counters, dice, cards, pieces, labels, notes, buttons, timers, scoreboards, tracks and turn order. When a game is linked, Use the rules of {game} lets it read the rules; otherwise Link a game to build from its rules appears.
- What you can do: Point it at an existing button and it says "Updates Deal" instead of making a new one.
- Good to know: Each Build and each follow-up counts as one of the team's 50 builds per rolling day. When fewer than 10 remain, the panel says how many are left. "Some of the answer could not be used and was left out" means check the result before adding it. Limits per request: 150 components described, tracks up to 100 spaces, scoreboards and turn trackers up to 12 names, spawners up to 500 copies.
Tips & common questions
Can guests press buttons? Yes. Buttons are for playing. Only editing them needs a member in edit mode.
My button dealt nothing. Why? Check that the Source deck still exists and has cards, and that the Target zones are picked. Run now shows the result right away.
Why does the AI panel say I have no builds left? Your team used its 50 builds for the day. The count resets on a rolling 24-hour basis; try again tomorrow.
Does AI building need Oracle for everyone on the team? The plan is per team. On Oracle or LaunchBoom every member can use it; on Pathfinder nobody can, though hand-built buttons work on every plan with the Virtual Table.