Choose your handle
Every player starts with a random name like RowdyCorgi37. How to pick your own, the naming rules, how often you can change it and where it shows.
Your handle is the name other players see next to your picks, your Drops, your clips and your leaderboard rows. Every account starts with a random one, and you can choose your own, signed in or not.
Your starting name
The first time you open Basement, you get a random name made of an adjective, an animal and two digits, like RowdyCorgi37. You don't need to sign up to have one.
Random names aren't reserved, so two players can end up with the same one. A name you choose yourself belongs to you alone.
Your avatar is the first letter of your handle on a colored tile. There's no photo or bio to set.
Change your handle
Open the leaderboard
Tap Rewards, then the Today's rank row. On a computer, click the Leaderboard tab at the top.
Tap the pencil on your row
Your row is marked You. If you aren't in the top 20, it's pinned at the bottom.
Type a name and tap Save
The @ is added for you. Tap the × to cancel.
You can also rename yourself while sharing. Under the clip in the share sheet, tap Change next to Signed @you. The clip is made again with the new name. On a computer, Change your name in the account menu at the top right opens the same field in the left column.
Handle rules
| Rule | What the app says |
|---|---|
| 3 to 16 characters | 3 to 16 characters |
Letters, numbers and _ only | Letters and numbers only |
| Starts with a letter | Start with a letter |
| Nobody else has chosen it, or a name that reads the same | Taken |
| Not a reserved name | Taken |
| Passes the filter for offensive or misleading names | Try another |
| One change a day | One change a day · again in 5h |
You can use _ too, even though the hint only mentions letters and numbers.
Your first change can happen right away. After that you wait 24 hours between changes, and the field tells you how long is left. If a save fails for any other reason, you'll see Couldn't save · try again.
Names that read the same
A chosen name belongs to you in every way it can be read. Capitals and _ don't count, and nor do digits that pass for letters: 0 for O, 1 for l or i, 3 for E, 4 for A, 5 for S and 7 for T. A capital I counts as an l or an i. So once someone has D0jo_, nobody else can choose Dojo, and N1ght0wl and Nightowl are one name, whichever was chosen first. A lowercase i keeps its dot, so Kai and Kal are two names.
Reserved names
Some names are held back so nobody can pass for someone they aren't. That covers Basement, bsmnt and B3, staff words like Support, Admin, Mod, Team and Official, the 15 crew names, and anything shaped like a random starting name. Swapping a letter for a lookalike digit, like a 0 for an O, doesn't get around it.
Nobody in the feed speaks for Basement, and players can't message each other. A handle that looks official isn't, so don't act on anything it seems to ask. See stay safe.
Where your handle shows
Other players can see your handle in these places:
- The activity line on match cards, when you make a pick or win one. It shows the side and the amount, including real-B3 amounts. You never see your own lines there.
- The toast on stage when you drop, like "@RowdyCorgi37 dropped Banana on Toxic". On your own screen it reads "You dropped".
- The Kingmaker callout at the finish, when your Drop decided the round.
- The leaderboards, while you're up for the day or week.
- The end card of every clip you share, and the top of a shared link when a friend opens it. See share clips.
- The note a friend sees when they arrive from your invite.
Nothing announces a loss. Your picks appear when you make them, and only wins appear after that.
Accounts, sign-in and resets
Your handle belongs to your account. Until you sign in, that account lives in this browser, so clearing your cookies starts you over with a new random name.
Signing in keeps the handle you have. If you later sign in on a second device, that device's guest account folds into yours. Your account keeps the name it chose. If it never chose one, it takes the name you picked on the second device.
If a chosen name gets past the filter, Basement can reset it to a new random name. You can choose again a day later.