Starting Game

The Starting Game screen is the holding screen presented while the game is preparing an AI opponent for the player to battle against in Solo Adventures. It features a selection of helpful tips and some comical elements, depicting a mechanical element which slowly fills from left to right, supposedly representing the necessary steps in preparing the game. Once the loading bar has filled a certain number of times, the game is ready and battle begins automatically. There is no 'Cancel' option on the Starting Game screen.

The Play mode and Arena equivalent of the Starting Game screen is the Finding Opponent screen.

Tips

Main article: Tips

Tips are offered to players on the Starting Game screen. Tips are randomly chosen from a selection of possible tips, partly determined by the current game mode. For a full list, see Tips.

Tasks

Various tasks are displayed while the loading bar is filling, supposedly representing necessary steps in preparing for the game. A new task is displayed each time the bar is refreshed.

Practice mode

The following tasks are used when preparing for a Practice mode battle.

• Shuffling Cards
• Polishing Mana Crystals
• Filling Up Loading Bar
• Sweeping Up Minion Dust
• Installing New Timer Fuse
• Gathering Spectators
• Corralling Murlocs
• Oiling Up End Turn Button
• Wiping Off Table
• Mentally Preparing
• Positioning Heroes
• Glaring at Innkeeper
• Shaving
• Tightening Hinges
• Serving Beverages
• Choosing Board
• Straightening Decks
• Bribing Guards
• Paying the Band

Spectator mode

The following tasks are used when preparing to spectate a match in Spectator mode. The player can often hear the sounds and music of the match playing out while the system prepares itself.

• Finding your Friend's Table
• Cooking Popcorn
• Polishing Spectacles
• Elbowing through the Crowd
• Finding a Good Seat
• Pouring a Pregame Beverage

Curse of Naxxramas

The following tasks are used when preparing for battles in the Curse of Naxxramas adventure. In contrast to Practice mode's player-oriented tasks, these appear to be written from the perspective of Kel'Thuzad.

• Practicing Evil Laugh
• Replacing Cobwebs
• Refilling Ooze
• Arranging Bones
• Rehearsing Sinister Lines
• Spraying Stench
• Oiling Chains
• Clearing Trash
• Hiding Spiders
• Boiling Ooze
• Using a Weighted Coin
• Dimming the Lights
• Blowing Out Candles
• Getting in the Mood
• Stitching Minions Together
• Experimenting on Minions
• Destroying Interlopers
• Petting Mr. Bigglesworth

Blackrock Mountain

The following tasks are used when preparing for battles in the Blackrock Mountain adventure. These appear to be written from the perspective of various villains from the adventure.

• Enslaving Dwarves
• Plotting Against Ragnaros
• Undermining Nefarian
• Growing Black Dragonflight
• Setting Stuff on Fire
• Kidnapping Nice Dragons
• Marking Territory
• Heating Lava
• Interrupting Brewfest
• Inviting Legendary Guests
• Practicing Playing Dead
• Corrupting Good Guys
• Tormenting Vaelastrasz
• Manipulating Mortals
• Planning World Domination
• Doing Despicable Things
• Bickering Incessantly
• Insulting Each Other

The League of Explorers

The following tasks are used when preparing for battles in the The League of Explorers adventure. These appear to be written from the perspective of characters within the adventure, while some describe constructing the adventure itself.

• Hiding Artifacts
• Drawing Treasure Maps
• Putting Djinni in Lamp
• Placing Horrible Traps
• Waking Up Troggs
• Cooking Murlocs
• Building Pyramids
• Re-wrapping Mummies
• Assembling Skelesaurus
• Grinding Sand
• Planting Jungle
• Breaking the Staff
• Fixing Mine Cart
• Digging Tunnels
• Polishing Armor
• Decorating Scarabs
• Excavating Evil
• Cleaning the Museum

One Night in Karazhan

The following tasks are used when preparing for battles in the One Night in Karazhan adventure. These appear to be written by Moroes or other helpers, preparing for the party.

• Polishing Silverware
• Inflating Balloons
• Pouring Champagne
• Filling Chocolate Fountain
• Placing Black King Pieces
• Flexing in the Magic Mirror
• Enchanting Brooms
• Taking Selfies with Romulo
• Lowering Disco Ball
• Heating Hot Tub
• Rescuing Lost Guests
• Sealing Secret Passageways
• Closing Imp Portals
• Uncrossing Beams
• Choreographing Medivas
• Testing Sound System
• Uninviting Malchezaar
• Polishing Dance Shoes

Notes

• The number of times the loading bar must fill is determined by the underlying preparation process, with the graphical process repeated until the system is ready. In the case of connection problems, the task will refresh indefinitely.
• The Practice mode loading bar appears to fill with some kind of bright blue light or energy, containing sparkles, or possibly bubbles. The Curse of Naxxramas loading bar replaces this with a green and less sparkly substance.

Patch changes

• Patch 1.1.0.6024 (2014-07-22):
  • The Starting Game screen is now used in Practice and Adventure mode.
  • "Paying the Band" added to Practice mode tasks.
• Patch 1.0.0.4944 (Open beta, 2014-03-11): The queue timer now only shows up after you’ve been waiting a while.
• Patch 1.0.0.4458 (Closed beta, 2014-1-16): A timer has been added to the Finding Opponent and Starting Game screens, showing the time spent waiting so far, and an estimated total wait time.