Help
How Join Me Games works, answered the way people ask.
Questions
- How do we start playing?
- One person taps Host a Room on the home page and gets a seven-character code. Everyone else opens the site on their own phone, types the code into Join a Room, and they are in. The host picks a game and presses Play; every phone starts the same round together.
- Do we have to download an app or make an account?
- No. Everything runs on the website, and everyone plays as a guest with one tap. Signing in with Google or Apple is optional; it lets you pick your name and color and keeps them the same on every device, and it is needed for a Party Pass, and to host a game that is still in beta (everyone in that host’s room then plays it). Your real name is never shown to anyone. You can add the site to your home screen if you want it to open like an app.
- What is the game code, and how do I share it?
- The code is the name of your room. Read it out, or tap Share in the lobby bar to send the link; anyone who opens the link lands straight in your room. Codes last as long as anyone is in the room.
- How many people can play?
- One to a whole party. Every game plays solo or with bots, and a room has no set limit. Most games are best with two to eight; Codewords wants four or more, because it is two teams.
- Can we play if we are not in the same place?
- Yes. A room does not care where the phones are: friends in different cities join with the same code and play the same round at the same moment. On a video call the host can share the TV page so everyone sees every board while they talk.
- Do we need a TV?
- No. Each phone shows the other players’ boards in miniature. If there is a screen in the room, open the TV page on it and it shows every board large and follows the group from game to game; it is for watching, not for playing.
- Can the host change games without everyone rejoining?
- Yes. Between rounds the host opens any game and the whole room comes along. Nobody re-enters the code, and someone who arrives late joins the room that is already going.
- What happens if someone’s connection drops?
- The game keeps going for everyone else, and the phone that dropped tries to reconnect on its own. If it cannot, that player rejoins with the same code and picks up at the next round. If the host drops, the room may pause, but it tries to keep the game going for everyone who is still connected.
- What are bots?
- Computer players that fill empty seats so a game is never short-handed. The host adds them in the lobby, up to three in a room. They play every game, and they are how you play solo.
- Is it free? Where do the ads appear?
- Playing is free. Ads appear on the pages around the games and briefly before a round starts, never on a player’s phone during play; the TV page shows one beside the boards. A Party Pass removes them for you and for everyone in a room you host, reserves a room code of your own, and lets you type a name that is yours alone.
- What is a reserved room code?
- A word of your own, like LION or JONESFAMILY, that only you can host and only people with your four-digit PIN can join. It comes with a Party Pass, so your regular group always has the same address. You can change it once a month, and a word you let go stays yours to take back for a week.
- How do I delete my account?
- Email the address on the contact page from the account you signed in with, and it is removed along with everything stored for it. Guests need nothing: a guest is dropped on its own after 24 hours.
Something else?
A bug, an idea, a billing question: write to the person who makes this. Include the game and your room code if you had one.