diff --git a/xwords4/common/game.c b/xwords4/common/game.c
index 387f59af9..0160c63e2 100644
--- a/xwords4/common/game.c
+++ b/xwords4/common/game.c
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 #include "game.h"
 #include "dictnry.h"
 #include "strutils.h"
+#include "nli.h"
 
 #ifdef CPLUS
 extern "C" {
@@ -335,6 +336,33 @@ game_makeFromStream( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, XWStreamCtxt* stream, XWGame* game,
     return success;
 } /* game_makeFromStream */
 
+XP_Bool
+game_makeFromInvite( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, const NetLaunchInfo* nli,
+                     XWGame* game, CurGameInfo* gi,
+                     DictionaryCtxt* dict, const PlayerDicts* dicts,
+                     XW_UtilCtxt* util, DrawCtx* draw,
+                     CommonPrefs* cp, const TransportProcs* procs )
+{
+    gi_setNPlayers( gi, nli->nPlayersT, nli->nPlayersH );
+    gi->boardSize = 15;
+    gi->gameID = nli->gameID;
+    gi->dictLang = nli->lang;
+    gi->forceChannel = nli->forceChannel;
+    gi->inDuplicateMode = nli->inDuplicateMode;
+    gi->serverRole = SERVER_ISCLIENT; /* recipient of invitation is client */
+    replaceStringIfDifferent( mpool, &gi->dictName, nli->dict );
+
+    game_makeNewGame( MPPARM(mpool) xwe, game, gi, util, draw, cp, procs );
+    model_setDictionary( game->model, xwe, dict );
+    model_setPlayerDicts( game->model, xwe, dicts );
+
+    CommsAddrRec returnAddr;
+    nli_makeAddrRec( nli, &returnAddr );
+    comms_augmentHostAddr( game->comms, NULL, &returnAddr );
+
+    return XP_TRUE;
+}
+
 void
 game_saveNewGame( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, const CurGameInfo* gi, XW_UtilCtxt* util,
                   const CommonPrefs* cp, XWStreamCtxt* out )
diff --git a/xwords4/common/game.h b/xwords4/common/game.h
index 69ce2f15c..369fe80f0 100644
--- a/xwords4/common/game.h
+++ b/xwords4/common/game.h
@@ -81,6 +81,12 @@ XP_Bool game_makeFromStream( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, XWStreamCtxt* stream,
                              XW_UtilCtxt* util, DrawCtx* draw,
                              CommonPrefs* cp, const TransportProcs* procs );
 
+XP_Bool game_makeFromInvite( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, const NetLaunchInfo* nli,
+                             XWGame* game, CurGameInfo* gi,
+                             DictionaryCtxt* dict, const PlayerDicts* dicts,
+                             XW_UtilCtxt* util, DrawCtx* draw,
+                             CommonPrefs* cp, const TransportProcs* procs );
+
 void game_saveNewGame( MPFORMAL XWEnv xwe, const CurGameInfo* gi, XW_UtilCtxt* util,
                        const CommonPrefs* cp, XWStreamCtxt* out );
 
diff --git a/xwords4/common/nli.c b/xwords4/common/nli.c
index 18c23a835..c2809060d 100644
--- a/xwords4/common/nli.c
+++ b/xwords4/common/nli.c
@@ -95,6 +95,12 @@ nli_setInviteID( NetLaunchInfo* nli, const XP_UCHAR* inviteID )
     XP_STRCAT( nli->inviteID, inviteID );
 }
 
+void
+nli_setGameName( NetLaunchInfo* nli, const XP_UCHAR* gameName )
+{
+    XP_SNPRINTF( nli->gameName, sizeof(nli->gameName), "%s", gameName );
+}
+
 void
 nli_setMQTTDevID( NetLaunchInfo* nli, const MQTTDevID* mqttDevID )
 {
diff --git a/xwords4/common/nli.h b/xwords4/common/nli.h
index 4171d9e9f..227c34dd4 100644
--- a/xwords4/common/nli.h
+++ b/xwords4/common/nli.h
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 
 void
 nli_init( NetLaunchInfo* nli, const CurGameInfo* gi, const CommsAddrRec* addr,
-          XP_U16 nPlayers, XP_U16 forceChannel );
+          XP_U16 nPlayersH, XP_U16 forceChannel );
 
 
 XP_Bool nli_makeFromStream( NetLaunchInfo* nli, XWStreamCtxt* stream );
diff --git a/xwords4/wasm/main.c b/xwords4/wasm/main.c
index bd82d9a62..01ebca36a 100644
--- a/xwords4/wasm/main.c
+++ b/xwords4/wasm/main.c
@@ -166,8 +166,40 @@ startGame( Globals* globals )
     LOG_RETURN_VOID();
 }
 
+static bool
+gameFromInvite( Globals* globals, const NetLaunchInfo* invite )
+{
+    bool success = false;
+    if ( ! call_confirm( "Invitation received; replace current game?" ) ) {
+    } else if ( invite->lang != 1 ) {
+        call_alert( "Invitations are only supported for play in English right now." );
+    } else {
+        if ( !!globals->util ) {
+            game_dispose( &globals->game, NULL );
+            wasm_util_destroy( globals->util );
+            globals->util = NULL;
+        }
+        XP_LOGFF( "done with cleanup" ); /* not reaching this */
+
+        gi_disposePlayerInfo( MPPARM(globals->mpool) &globals->gi );
+        XP_MEMSET( &globals->gi, 0, sizeof(globals->gi) );
+
+        globals->util = wasm_util_make( globals->mpool, &globals->gi,
+                                        globals->dutil, globals );
+
+        success = game_makeFromInvite( MPPARM(globals->mpool) NULL, invite,
+                                       &globals->game, &globals->gi,
+                                       globals->dict, NULL,
+                                       globals->util, globals->draw,
+                                       &globals->cp, &globals->procs );
+
+    }
+    return success;
+}
+
 static void
-makeAndDraw( Globals* globals, bool forceNew, bool p0robot, bool p1robot )
+makeAndDraw( Globals* globals, const NetLaunchInfo* invite,
+             bool forceNew, bool p0robot, bool p1robot )
 {
     if ( !!globals->util ) {
         game_dispose( &globals->game, NULL );
@@ -193,7 +225,11 @@ makeAndDraw( Globals* globals, bool forceNew, bool p0robot, bool p1robot )
                                     globals->dutil, globals );
 
     XP_Bool loaded = XP_FALSE;
-    if ( ! forceNew ) {
+    XP_ASSERT( !forceNew || !invite ); /* won't both be set */
+
+    if ( !!invite ) {
+        loaded = gameFromInvite( globals, invite );
+    } else if ( ! forceNew ) {
         /* Let's see if there's a saved game */
         XWStreamCtxt* stream = mem_stream_make_raw( MPPARM(globals->mpool)
                                                     globals->vtMgr );
@@ -224,50 +260,9 @@ makeAndDraw( Globals* globals, bool forceNew, bool p0robot, bool p1robot )
 void
 main_gameFromInvite( Globals* globals, const NetLaunchInfo* invite )
 {
-    LOG_FUNC();
-    if ( ! call_confirm( "Invitation received; replace current game?" ) ) {
-    } else if ( invite->lang != 1 ) {
-        call_alert( "Invitation received, but only English supported now" );
-    } else {
-        if ( !!globals->util ) {
-            XP_LOGFF( "calling game_dispose" );
-            game_dispose( &globals->game, NULL );
-            XP_LOGFF( "calling wasm_util_destroy" );
-            wasm_util_destroy( globals->util );
-            globals->util = NULL;
-        }
-        XP_LOGFF( "done with cleanup" ); /* not reaching this */
-        
-        XP_MEMSET( &globals->gi, 0, sizeof(globals->gi) );
-
-        gi_setNPlayers( &globals->gi, invite->nPlayersT, invite->nPlayersH );
-        // ensureLocalPlayerNames( params, &gi );
-
-        globals->gi.boardSize = 15;
-        globals->gi.gameID = invite->gameID;
-        globals->gi.dictLang = invite->lang;
-        globals->gi.forceChannel = invite->forceChannel;
-        globals->gi.inDuplicateMode = invite->inDuplicateMode;
-        globals->gi.serverRole = SERVER_ISCLIENT; /* recipient of invitation is client */
-        replaceStringIfDifferent( globals->mpool, &globals->gi.dictName,
-                                  invite->dict );
-
-        globals->util = wasm_util_make( globals->mpool, &globals->gi,
-                                        globals->dutil, globals );
-        
-        game_makeNewGame( MPPARM(globals->mpool) NULL,
-                          &globals->game, &globals->gi,
-                          globals->util, globals->draw,
-                          &globals->cp, &globals->procs );
-
-        CommsAddrRec returnAddr;
-        nli_makeAddrRec( invite, &returnAddr );
-        addr_setType( &returnAddr, COMMS_CONN_MQTT ); /* nuke everything else */
-        comms_augmentHostAddr( globals->game.comms, NULL, &returnAddr );
-
+    if ( gameFromInvite( globals, invite ) ) {
         startGame( globals );
     }
-    LOG_RETURN_VOID();
 }
 
 void
@@ -467,8 +462,78 @@ button( const char* msg )
     }
 }
 
+static bool
+loadInvite( Globals* globals, NetLaunchInfo* nlip,
+            int argc, const char** argv )
+{
+    LOG_FUNC();
+    CurGameInfo gi = {0};
+    CommsAddrRec addr = {0};
+    MQTTDevID mqttDevID = 0;
+    XP_U16 nPlayersH = 0;
+    XP_U16 forceChannel = 0;
+    const XP_UCHAR* gameName = NULL;
+    const XP_UCHAR* inviteID = NULL;
+
+    for ( int ii = 0; ii < argc; ++ii ) {
+        const char* argp = argv[ii];
+        char* param = strchr(argp, '=');
+        if ( !param ) {         /* no '='? */
+            continue;
+        }
+        char arg[8];
+        int argLen = param - argp;
+        XP_MEMCPY( arg, argp, argLen );
+        arg[argLen] = '\0';
+        ++param;                /* skip the '=' */
+
+        if ( 0 == strcmp( "lang", arg ) ) {
+            gi.dictLang = atoi(param);
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "np", arg ) ) {
+            gi.nPlayers = atoi(param);
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "nh", arg ) ) {
+            nPlayersH = atoi(param);
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "gid", arg ) ) {
+            gi.gameID = atoi(param);
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "fc", arg ) ) {
+            gi.forceChannel = atoi(param);
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "nm", arg ) ) {
+            gameName = param;
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "id", arg ) ) {
+            inviteID = param;
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "wl", arg ) ) {
+            replaceStringIfDifferent( globals->mpool, &gi.dictName, param );
+        } else if ( 0 == strcmp( "r2id", arg ) ) {
+            if ( strToMQTTCDevID( param, &addr.u.mqtt.devID ) ) {
+                addr_addType( &addr, COMMS_CONN_MQTT );
+            } else {
+                XP_LOGFF( "bad devid %s", param );
+            }
+        } else {
+            XP_LOGFF( "dropping arg %s, param %s", arg, param );
+        }
+    }
+
+    bool success = 0 < nPlayersH &&
+        addr_hasType( &addr, COMMS_CONN_MQTT );
+
+    if ( success ) {
+        nli_init( nlip, &gi, &addr, nPlayersH, forceChannel );
+        if ( !!gameName ) {
+            nli_setGameName( nlip, gameName );
+        }
+        if ( !!inviteID ) {
+            nli_setInviteID( nlip, inviteID );
+        }
+        LOGNLI( nlip );
+    }
+    gi_disposePlayerInfo( MPPARM(globals->mpool) &gi );
+    LOG_RETURNF( "%d", success );
+    return success;
+}
+
 static void
-initNoReturn()
+initNoReturn( int argc, const char** argv )
 {
     time_t now = getCurMS();
     srandom( now );
@@ -477,6 +542,12 @@ initNoReturn()
     Globals* globals = calloc(1, sizeof(*globals));
     sGlobals = globals;
 
+    NetLaunchInfo nli = {0};
+    NetLaunchInfo* nlip = NULL;
+    if ( loadInvite( globals, &nli, argc, argv ) ) {
+        nlip = &nli;
+    }
+
     SDL_Init( SDL_INIT_EVENTS );
     TTF_Init();
 
@@ -489,7 +560,7 @@ initNoReturn()
 
     initDeviceGlobals( globals );
 
-    makeAndDraw( globals, false, false, true );
+    makeAndDraw( globals, nlip, false, false, true );
 
     emscripten_set_main_loop_arg( looper, globals, -1, 1 );
 }
@@ -499,7 +570,7 @@ newgame(bool p0, bool p1)
 {
     XP_LOGFF( "(args: %d,%d)", p0, p1 );
     XP_ASSERT( !!sGlobals );
-    makeAndDraw( sGlobals, true, p0, p1 );
+    makeAndDraw( sGlobals, NULL, true, p0, p1 );
 }
 
 void
@@ -511,12 +582,9 @@ gotMQTTMsg( void* closure, int len, const uint8_t* msg )
 }
 
 int
-main( int argc, char** argv )
+main( int argc, const char** argv )
 {
     XP_LOGFF( "(argc=%d)", argc );
-    for ( int ii = 0; ii < argc; ++ii ) {
-        XP_LOGFF( "arg[%d]: %s", ii, argv[ii] );
-    }
-    initNoReturn();
+    initNoReturn( argc, argv );
     return 0;
 }
diff --git a/xwords4/wasm/shell_minimal.html b/xwords4/wasm/shell_minimal.html
index 69d72cbb3..725123fe4 100644
--- a/xwords4/wasm/shell_minimal.html
+++ b/xwords4/wasm/shell_minimal.html
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   <head>
     <meta charset="utf-8">
     <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
-    <title>Emscripten-Generated Code</title>
+    <title>CrossWords webapp prototype</title>
     <style>
       .emscripten { padding-right: 0; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block; }
       textarea.emscripten { font-family: monospace; width: 80%; }
@@ -97,12 +97,9 @@
     <script type='text/javascript'>
       var statusElement = document.getElementById('status');
       var progressElement = document.getElementById('progress');
-        var spinnerElement = document.getElementById('spinner');
+      var spinnerElement = document.getElementById('spinner');
 
-        var arguments = []
-        for (let pair of window.location.search.substr(1).trim().split('&')) {
-            arguments = arguments.concat( pair.split('=') )
-        }
+      let arguments = window.location.search.replaceAll('?', '').trim().split('&');
 
       var Module = {
         preRun: [],