How to Play Party Games on a TV with Everyone's Phones

If you are in the same room, the best way to play most party games is with one big shared screen and everyone's phone as a controller. PartyCade's TV mode does that for every game, with no app to install. This guide explains how to set it up and how it handles secrets.

Starting a game on a TV

Open the TV page (partycade.lol/tv) on the TV or on a laptop connected to it, and pick a game. The big screen shows a room code and a QR code. Everyone else joins from their phone, either by scanning the QR code with the camera or by typing the code into the Join room box on the home page.

You can also switch TV mode on inside an existing room. The host presses Enable TV mode in the lobby and confirms a prompt that explains what will happen, then opens the screen link on the big screen.

What the screen and the phones each do

The screen shows the board, the drawings, the answers and the results, and it can go full screen. Phones show only the controls: the dice, your hand of cards, the box where you write an answer, and the vote buttons. This is why TV mode works so well for games with secrets, because nobody has to look at anyone else's phone.

The group chat is hidden during games, since you are in the same room and can talk. Private chats, such as the Mafia's night chat, and guess boxes in Doodle Deck stay on the phones.

Who controls the game

The TV is its own guest player, called TV. It never takes a turn, cannot vote, and does not count towards the minimum number of players. The first real player to join is the VIP, who is simply the room's host: they start the game, change settings and press the host's buttons, such as Next, from their phone.

Because the TV signs in separately, the person hosting can use the TV and still play from their phone with their own account.

How secrets stay secret

Words, roles, hands, key cards and secret cards are only ever sent to the phone of the player who should see them. In Who Am I?, every card stays face down on the big screen until it has been solved. In Mafia, nothing on the screen hints at anyone's role.

Tips for a good TV night

Use a laptop or a browser on a smart TV and press F (or the full screen button) for a clean view. Pick games where the big screen adds something: Doodle Deck and Doodle Telephone for drawings, Punchline Duel for reading answers aloud, and Party Tycoon for a board everyone can see. Keep Wi-Fi in mind: the phones and the TV both need a connection.