How to play
Couch Party is a set of party games for one big screen and a room full of phones. There is nothing to install and no accounts to make. One screen hosts, everyone else joins with a phone, and you are playing in under a minute.
What you need
- One big screen: a smart TV with a web browser, or a laptop plugged into a TV. A laptop on its own works too.
- A phone for each player, on Wi-Fi or mobile data. Up to eight people can play.
- Everyone in the same room, so they can all see the big screen. (It also works over a video call if the host shares their screen.)
Getting started
- On the big screen, open couchparty.co.uk and choose Host on this screen. A four-letter room code and a QR code appear.
- On each phone, scan the QR code with the camera, or open the site and type the room code.
- Type a nickname and tap Join. You get a random animal as your avatar.
- The first person to join is the VIP 👑. Their phone shows the list of games, and they pick what to play. The TV does the rest.
Good to know
- Sound comes from the TV. Browsers stay silent until someone clicks the page, so click “Click for sound” in the corner of the TV once.
- Lost connection? If your phone locks or drops off Wi-Fi it rejoins on its own. If you close the page, the home page shows a “Back to room” link.
- Latecomers can join at any time. If a game is already running they are in for the next one.
- The VIP can end a game early, and can remove a player from the lobby.
- Scores add up across games, so you can crown an overall winner at the end of the night.
- Add it to your home screen from the home page to open it like an app.
The games
🔤 Word Rush 1 to 8 players
Everyone races to find the same secret five-letter word. Type a guess and each letter lights up: green means the right letter in the right place, amber means the letter is in the word but somewhere else, and dark means it is not in the word at all. You get six tries per round and there are three rounds. The fewer guesses you need and the faster you solve it, the more points you score. The TV shows how everyone is doing without giving away their letters.
🧠 Brain Buzz 1 to 8 players
Ten quickfire questions covering general knowledge, world flags and capital cities. Four answers appear on your phone and you have 15 seconds to tap one. A right answer is worth 500 points, plus up to 500 more for speed, so a fast correct answer beats a slow one. After each question the TV shows the right answer and how many players chose each option.
🎨 Squiggle 2 to 8 players
Players take turns to draw. The drawer gets a secret word and sketches it on their phone with a finger, and the drawing appears live on the TV. Everyone else types guesses on their own phone. The sooner you guess, the more you score, and the drawer earns points for every player who gets it. A hint letter appears at half time. Spelling that is one letter out gets a “so close” nudge.
🚦 Green Light 1 to 8 players
A test of nerve and reactions over five rounds. Everyone watches the TV. The signal stays red for a random few seconds, then turns green: tap your phone as fast as you can. Tap before it turns green and you are out for that round. The fastest finger takes the most points, and the TV shows everyone’s reaction time in milliseconds.
🤥 Fib Finder 2 to 8 players
A strange but true fact appears with one word missing. Everyone secretly writes a made-up answer that sounds believable. Then all the fibs are shown alongside the real answer, and you have to pick the truth. You score 1000 points for finding it and 500 for every player who falls for your fib. Five rounds. You cannot vote for your own fib, and typing the real answer by accident is not allowed.
📈 Higher or Lower 1 to 8 players
You see one thing and its number: the size of a country, the height of a mountain or landmark, the length of a river, the width of a planet or the year something happened. Then a second thing appears with its number hidden. Is it higher or lower? You have ten seconds. The answer becomes the next thing to beat, so the chain keeps going. Ten rounds, with speed points for quick answers.
🧩 Emoji Decode 1 to 8 players
The TV shows a little string of emoji that stands for a saying, a food, a place or an everyday thing. Type what you think it means. You can guess as many times as you like in 30 seconds, and the quicker you crack it the more you score. The first letter is revealed at half time. Eight puzzles per game.
🕵️ Odd One Out 1 to 8 players
Four things appear and one of them does not belong: three string instruments and a brass one, three capital cities and one that is not, three prime numbers and a square. Tap the impostor before the 12-second timer runs out. The reveal explains why. Ten rounds, with more points for faster answers.