Who makes PartyGames, and why

The project in brief

PartyGames brings fifteen party games together in a single app: hidden-role games such as Impostor, word classics such as Name, Place, Thing, acting and drawing games, questions to get the table talking, and head-to-heads for two such as Tic-Tac-Toe. The full list is in the games catalogue.

There are two ways to play: on a single phone passed around the table, even without a connection, or in a temporary online room that everyone joins from their own phone with a code or a QR scan. The app is available on Android and also opens in the browser at playpartygames.app/play; the interface and content are available in Italian, English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.

Why it exists

Many of the games people play at a dinner or a party need nothing at all: someone thinks of a word, the others guess. The problem is usually everything else. Who keeps time? Who picks the word without peeking? Who still remembers the scores after the third round? And how do you hand out a secret role without preparing slips of paper?

PartyGames exists to take care of exactly that part: the phone acts as referee, timer and scorekeeper, shows secrets only to the people who should see them and explains the rules when they are needed. Everything else, the talking, bluffing, acting and laughing, stays with the people around the table. That is why the phrase we use to guide every decision is a simple one: made for the table, not for the screen.

When an idea would make a game look more impressive on screen but force people to look at their phones instead of at each other, we usually drop it.

How we work on the games and the content

• Short, clear rules. Every game has a “How to play” rulebook that opens from the setup screen and from the room lobby. The pages on this site describe the same rules, with extra examples and tips.
• Words for everyone. The word lists, categories and questions are chosen so that you can play with children at the table too.
• Each language looked after separately. The game content exists in six languages, and the game pages and guides on this site are written and reviewed for each language, with examples that suit the reader, rather than translated word for word.
• Small, frequent updates. The games evolve according to how people actually play them: a timer that is too short, a rule that causes arguments, a word nobody knows.

The guides gather what we have learnt from watching people play: how to host a games night, which games to choose with children or with two players, and how to explain the rules in a few minutes.

The choices that won’t change

• No account. You type a name and play: we don’t ask for an email address, a password or a phone number. Names and avatars are stored on the device and reach other players only when you join a room.
• Temporary rooms. Online rooms last for the length of the game and then disappear.
• Care for younger players. The first time the app is opened it asks for a date of birth: under 13, online play is switched off and can only be enabled by a parent with a PIN.
• Free, with no subscriptions. All the games are free. There is an optional Premium purchase that you pay for once.

Details of what data is processed and why are in the privacy policy; the conditions of use are in the terms of service.

Get in touch

Found a rule that is described badly, a wrong word or a game that freezes? Want to suggest a category or a new game? Write to [email protected]: we read every message, and many of the changes made so far started with someone getting in touch. More information is on the support page.