Three-Round Showdown: how to play
Objective
Help your team earn the most points across three rounds: describe the answers, give one word, then act them out. Reuse the same cards each round. Every correct answer scores one point for the active clue-giver’s team. The highest total after all three rounds wins; tied teams share the win.
Only the host needs an account. Other players join with a room code. No registration needed.
How to play
Pass the phone
The game selects the next person from the active team’s shuffled queue. The host can select another teammate before this fresh turn starts. Keep the phone facing away from everyone else, then tap Reveal my card to begin.
Round 1. Describe it
Use words and sounds without saying the answer or any part of it. People guess aloud using your agreed team-only or open rule. Tap Got it for a correct answer; the clue-giver’s team receives one point.
Round 2. One word
Reuse the same answers with exactly one spoken word per card. You may repeat that word. Do not add gestures or sounds.
Round 3. Act it out
Reuse the same answers with gestures only. Do not use words, sounds, or point to letters. Seated acting works too.
Skip or switch teams
Skip without losing points. Skipped cards wait for a later turn. A turn ends at the buzzer, when ended manually, or after every available card has been skipped. Teams take turns in their displayed cyclic order. Remaining cards shuffle between turns, and the last unfinished card is not first again when another card remains. A lone remaining card is still used.
Check the score together
After a timed turn, the clue-giver can credit the one final active card if it was guessed before the buzzer. This closes when the host advances. Everyone sees only that turn’s correctly guessed cards until the next clue-giver reveals a card. The host can undo the latest correct answer before advancing, including after a skip or the final card of a round; undo restores its point and card and pauses play.
Take a break or recover a phone
The host can pause a ready or live turn. The card hides and the timer pauses with its remaining time. While paused, the host can assign a player's turn to another joined phone. Resume returns to the named handoff screen before revealing.
Devices and setup
- A signed-in, verified host creates a room. Guests can join with a name and room code.
- Make mixed-age teams. The host can add or remove teams before starting. Move players off the final team before removing it. Assign every named clue-giver to a joined phone.
- Choose 12, 18, 24, or 30 cards and a turn length, or use untimed turns. The 300-prompt pool has ten family-friendly categories; most use a neutral illustration.
- Before playing, choose team-only or open guessing. The app does not police who speaks. Every answer marked correct awards one point to the active clue-giver’s team, regardless of who guessed it. There is no separate point-allocation mode.
- Optional family cards replace the same number of ready-to-play cards. Use familiar people, objects, or actions everyone knows. Custom cards use text with a neutral illustration.
- Try the Snowman practice example before starting. Practice has no points or timer and is separate from the live deck.
How many players?
- Minimum
- At least 2 teams with one named clue-giver each. Team-only guessing works best with a clue-giver and a guesser on each team.
- Recommended group
- 4–12 people in mixed-age teams. Choose team-only guessing or let everyone guess aloud.
- Larger groups
- 2–60 teams within a room limit of 60 named players. Every configured team needs a named player to start. Larger groups mean longer waits and scrolling scoreboards; large-event performance has not been verified.
Ways to play
Personal phones
Join the room and choose a team. Only the active clue-giver's assigned phone reveals a secret card. Everyone else guesses aloud and sees the timer and scores.
Shared phones
Add each person sharing a phone as a named player. Each team has a shuffled queue, and everyone gets a turn before automatic repeats. The host can choose the next clue-giver before a fresh turn starts. Choosing someone who already played is labeled an extra turn and keeps everyone else in place. Personal and shared phones can mix in one game.
Audience screen
Open the optional audience view on a TV or tablet. It shows teams, turns, the timer, scores, and a recap of only correctly guessed answers between turns. Active, skipped, and unfinished answers stay private.
Scoring and who wins
The team with the most points after all three rounds wins. Teams tied for the highest score share the win.
Play again keeps your roster, team names, settings, and saved family cards, with scores reset. Previous results remain in game history.
Built-in cards use host-account history across games and devices. Unseen eligible prompts are chosen first, then the least recently selected prompts when the unused pool runs out. Custom cards may repeat by choice. A selected deck stays identical through all three rounds; this history does not reshuffle the round’s answers. Older games played before this update are not reconstructed into the history.