Roomful

Party games for a Zoom or FaceTime call

The host shares Roomful's game screen in the call, and everyone joins from their own phone with a link. Players see the question and the reveal together on the call, answer in private on their phones, and nobody installs anything.

Host on this screen

Opens the room set up for Party Mix. Phones join with the code it shows.

Start Party Mix

Join from a phone

How it works on a call

  1. The host opens roomful.hatcherylake.com/host on a laptop and shares that browser tab or window in the call, with its sound on.
  2. In the lobby, the host opens Playing over a video call? and presses Copy the join link, then pastes it into the call's chat or a group text.
  3. Each player opens the link on their phone, picks an animal and can add their name. The shared screen shows everyone as they join.
  4. The host presses Start. Questions and reveals play on the shared screen; answers and votes happen on the phones.

Each player needs two screens: something to watch the call on (a laptop, tablet or TV) and their phone to play with. People in the same house can share one screen for the call and each use their own phone.

Sharing the screen with sound

  • Zoom: Share Screen, pick the browser window, and turn on Share sound so everyone hears the game.
  • Google Meet: present a tab and choose the Roomful tab, which sends its sound too in Chrome.
  • FaceTime: share your Mac's screen from the call.

Which games work best on a call

  • Most Likely To and Never Have I Ever: made for families and old friends in different houses, and the reveal gets everyone talking.
  • Quick Wit and Fake Out: everyone writes in private, so nobody can tell whose answer is whose until the reveal.
  • Trivia and Quick Draw: each phone shows the question or the signal itself, so nobody waits on the screen share to answer first.
  • Charades: the actor's phone shows the word, they act it on camera, and everyone else shouts guesses.
  • Two Truths and a Lie: the call grills each player before voting, which works as well on camera as on a couch.
  • Doodle Duel and Sketchy: everyone draws with a finger on their phone, and the drawings go up on the shared screen.

Not sure which to pick? Party Mix deals a different game every round. For a Thanksgiving or Christmas call, choose the Holidays deck in the lobby.

An example call

Seven cousins in four houses join a call on Thanksgiving. One shares the Roomful screen, pastes the join link in the chat, and everyone adds their name on their phone. Most Likely To asks "Who is most likely to burn the turkey?", and the shared screen shows each cousin's vote with their name, so the reveal turns into a story about last year.

Questions

Does everyone need Zoom, or can we use another call?

Any video call that can share a screen works, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or FaceTime from a Mac. Roomful itself only needs a web browser.

Can a player use the same phone for the call and the game?

They can, but they won't see the shared screen while they play. It's much better to watch the call on a laptop, tablet or TV and play on the phone.

Is there a delay?

The shared screen reaches players a moment late, as any screen share does. In Trivia and Quick Draw each phone shows the round itself, so nobody's answer waits on the call.

Does anyone need to install anything?

No. The big screen and every phone just open roomful.hatcherylake.com in a browser.

How many people can play?

From 2 to 12 phones. It's best with 4 to 8 people in one room.

Is it free?

Yes. No account and no app to buy. For a table with no TV, the Printable Party Pack is a $5 download.

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