Host a game
How to play

One TV. Everyone's phone. That's it.

The TV shows the game. Each player uses their own phone as a controller: no app, no account, nothing to download.

Skip the reading: play right now

Setting up a game

You need one screen everyone can see (a TV, laptop, or projector with a web browser) and a phone for each player.

1

Open it on the big screen

Go to hangtime.games/host on the TV or laptop and pick a game. A four-letter room code appears.

2

Everyone joins on their phone

Players go to hangtime.games/play, type the room code and a name. That's it.

3

Press Start

Pick your settings on the TV and press Start. Then play, argue, and hit Play again.

Tip: a smart TV's built-in browser works, but casting or plugging in a laptop is usually smoother. Click anywhere on the TV page once to turn on sound.

Free games and the Launch Pack

Three games are free for everyone, forever. The Launch Pack unlocks the rest. Only the host buys it, once. Players never pay and never need an account.

Free

$0, always

  • Trivia Board
  • Doodler
  • Hang Five
  • Trivia Board Solo Play
  • Full rooms, unlimited games
Launch Pack

$5 once · $10 after launch

  • Who's Lying?
  • Best Answer Wins
  • Rummy
  • Bowl Game
  • Founding Members also get 50% off every future pack

After you buy

Playing remotely

Hangtime is made for game night in one room. As a bonus, most games also have remote mode: the whole game shows on every phone, so you can play over a video call.

Game rules

Trivia Board

Free1–8 players~20 minIn person

Jeopardy-style. Pick 3 to 6 categories, including live ones written fresh from each day's news.

  • The player in control picks a clue on their phone. Clues are statements; answers are questions ("What is Paris?").
  • Everyone races to buzz in. Right answer: you win the clue's value and pick next. Wrong: you lose it, and someone else can steal.
  • One clue hides a Daily Double: only the picker plays it, and bets first.
  • Highest score when the board is empty wins. Boards skip clues your group has already seen.

Doodler

Free2–10 players~15 minRemote too

Draw on your phone; the drawing appears on the TV as you go.

  • On your turn, pick an easy, medium or hard word and draw it. No letters or numbers!
  • Everyone else types guesses. The first correct guess ends the turn.
  • Each turn starts worth 100. Hints reveal letters at 40%, 60% and 80% of the time, and each hint drops the prize: 100 → 75 → 50 → 25.
  • The first correct guesser gets the prize, and so does the artist. Draw fast and clear!
  • After each turn, everyone can tap ♥ to love the drawing: +10 to the artist each, even if nobody guessed it.
  • In the last 10 seconds the clock turns red. Get it in!

Hang Five

Free1–10 players~15 minRemote too

A race to crack the same five-letter word. Everyone guesses on their own phone.

  • You get six guesses. After each one the tiles change color: green is the right letter in the right spot, yellow is in the word but somewhere else, gray isn't in the word.
  • The TV shows everyone's colors, never their letters, so you can see who's close without anyone copying.
  • Scoring: 100 for solving it, +20 for every guess you didn't need, up to +100 for speed, and +50 for the Early Bird who solves it first. Not solving costs nothing.
  • The round ends when everyone's done or the clock runs out (90 seconds to 3 minutes, the host picks). Then the word is revealed with everyone's guesses.
  • Play 3, 5 or 7 rounds. Words are common everyday words and never repeat in your room.
  • Playing alone? Open Hang Five on your phone and pick Just me, or Me vs Birdy to race our bird. Hosts can also add Birdy to any game as an extra rival.

Who's Lying?

3–10 players~20 minRemote too

A whodunnit for liars. Each case has an evidence board of 16 things on the TV.

  • Everyone's phone shows which item is the secret, except one player: the Liar. Hold your role card to peek at it.
  • Take turns giving a one-word clue. Know the secret? Prove it without giving it away. The Liar has to bluff.
  • Talk it out, then vote. A tie lets the Liar slip away.
  • Caught Liars get one guess at the secret to steal the case.
  • Scoring: the Liar escapes, +3 for them. Caught but guesses right, +2 for them. Caught and wrong, +2 for everyone who voted for them and +1 for the other players.

Bowl Game

4–16 players~30 minRemote too

The party classic, also known as Fishbowl or Salad Bowl. Two teams, three rounds, one bowl of slips.

  • Fill the bowl: everyone secretly writes 3 to 5 names or things on their phone (tap Idea? if you're stuck).
  • Teams take turns. One player per turn is the clue-giver: their phone shows one slip at a time. Tap Got it when your team says it, or Pass to send it to the bottom of the bowl.
  • Round 1, Describe it: say anything except the word itself. Round 2, One word: just one word per slip. Round 3, Act it out: no talking, charades rules.
  • All three rounds use the same slips. A round ends when the bowl is empty, and every slip goes back in for the next one.
  • Every slip your team guesses is a point. If the bowl empties mid-turn, you keep the time you had left for the next round.
  • The other team's phones show the slip too, so they can keep you honest.

Best Answer Wins

3–10 players~20 minRemote too

Fill in the blank with the funniest card in your hand.

  • Each round, a prompt with a blank appears. Pick the answer card that makes it funniest. Two blanks? Pick two, in order.
  • You get 3 blank cards per game to write your own answer.
  • Rotating judge: one player sits out and picks the winner. Everyone votes: all players vote, but not for themselves.
  • Answers stay anonymous until the reveal. First to the target score wins. Family mode by default; After Dark is for adults only.

Rummy

2–6 players~30 minRemote too

Your hand stays secret on your phone; the table lives on the TV. Choose Indian 13-card or American Rummy in the lobby.

  • On your turn, draw from the deck or the open pile, then discard one card.
  • Indian 13-card: arrange your 13 cards into sequences and sets, including at least one pure sequence and one more sequence, then declare. Lowest total points after all deals wins.
  • American: lay down sets and runs, add to other players' melds, and be first to go out.
  • Live hints and one-tap Auto-arrange help, and Declare only lights up when your hand is valid. Full rules are in the game under "How to play".

Help

My phone disconnected.
Just reopen the page. Your phone remembers your seat and puts you back in the game.
There's no sound on the TV.
Browsers only allow sound after a click. Click or tap anywhere on the TV page once. If sound is ever blocked, a small "Click anywhere for sound" button pops up at the bottom of the screen.
There's no sound on my phone.
Tap the screen once. On an iPhone, also check the silent switch on the side and your volume.
I bought the Launch Pack but a game still says it's locked.
Make sure you're signed in on that screen: open My Account there and sign in with your email. Still stuck? Email hello@hangtime.games.
Can I show a game started on a phone on a TV?
Yes. On the TV, open hangtime.games/host and type the room code under "Already started a game on a phone?".
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