BAR Join Button Not Working for Private Lobbies: What to Do

Players occasionally report that the join button fails to respond when trying to enter a private lobby. Here is what causes this and how to work around it.

Tags: bar, beyond all reason, join button, private lobby, fix, connection, bug

The join button bug

This issue shows up most often with private lobbies. You click join, nothing happens, and the lobby host sees you sitting in the queue screen. The problem is usually a connection handshake between your client and the lobby server rather than a client-side settings issue.

Quick fixes to try

• Leave the lobby queue entirely and rejoin from scratch
• Have the lobby host re-invite you directly rather than relying on the public lobby listing
• Restart your BAR client. A clean restart resolves most handshake failures
• Check if you are already in another lobby session in the background. Close all lobby windows first
• Verify your game version matches the lobby host. Version mismatches silently block joins

When it happens consistently

If the join button fails for you across multiple lobbies, the issue is likely on your end. Check your firewall settings for blocked BAR connections, verify your game files through the launcher, and if necessary, delete your local lobby cache files before restarting.

Players on NAT-restricted networks may also need port forwarding for the ports BAR uses. The exact ports are documented in the BAR technical guides.

Reporting the issue

If nothing works and this happens repeatedly, report it on the BAR GitHub with your client logs. Include your network setup description (wired or wireless, NAT type, any custom firewall rules). The more detail you provide, the faster the issue gets tracked down.

Creed of champions: organized play means fewer connection headaches

Creed of Champions runs organized team lobbies with dedicated hosts who know how to manage invites and connection issues. When something goes wrong, there is always someone technical around to help troubleshoot rather than leaving you stuck on a broken join screen alone.

"Before discovering Creed, I was thinking the only thing that separates BAR from the perfect RTS is a friendly and safe social environment for new players to learn and feel included."