Phones Out Games

I built Phones Out Games for playing together without making everyone download an app. One person starts a party, then everyone else joins with a link, a QR code or a four-letter code. No accounts or installs.

Each player uses their own phone. A TV, laptop or tablet can show the shared game screen, but you can play without one. Pick a game, finish a round, then choose something else from the same lobby.

The games range from drawing and bluffing to cards and arcade challenges. Snip Snip Boom has you cutting wires and deciding when to bank your points. In Scrawl, one person draws while the others guess. Impostor gives everyone a word except the person trying to bluff their way through. Arcade Gauntlet puts the group through five short games and adds up the placements.

The app uses React and TypeScript, with Convex handling the shared game state. A big part of the work is separating what each player sees: your cards and secret role belong on your phone, while the shared screen can show the round, timer and results. The games use the same joining flow and lobby, so adding another game doesn't mean building another multiplayer app from scratch.

It's free to play at phonesout.games.