How to play
Charades for two teams and one phone. Everything below is also how Couch Club keeps score, so there’s nothing to remember.
What you need
At least four people in two teams of two or more, and one phone, tablet or laptop with Couch Club open. Each team can have up to 12 players.
Setting up
Name the teams and their players, then choose 1, 2 or 3 turns per team (3 is the default), 30, 60 or 90 seconds per turn (60 is the default) and one or more prompt packs. Each turn reserves 8 prompts, so a match needs 8 × 2 × turns different prompts; if your packs are too small, Couch Club asks for another pack or fewer turns. Once the match starts, these settings can’t change.
A turn, step by step
- Pass the phone. The screen names the actor and their team, and shows only a curtain. Everyone else looks away.
- Get ready. The actor confirms it’s them, reads the rules reminder and presses Start the clock. A three-second countdown follows.
- Act. A prompt appears. The actor acts it out in silence while their team guesses out loud.
- Score. When the team says it and the room agrees, the actor taps Correct for one point, and the next prompt appears. Stuck? Tap Pass to skip it.
- Buzzer. The turn ends when the time runs out or after 8 prompts, whichever comes first. Then the group checks the turn and the phone goes to the other team.
Rules for the actor
- No talking, whispering, mouthing words or making the sounds of the words.
- No spelling letters in the air and no pointing at the word written anywhere.
- Sounds that aren’t words are up to your group; many groups allow clapping and none other.
- Don’t show the screen to your team.
Passing
Each turn has two passes. A passed prompt is used up: it doesn’t come back later in the match and scores nothing. When both passes are gone, the Pass button stops working until the next turn, so a hard prompt has to be acted out or left to the buzzer.
The clock
The clock starts after the countdown and runs to a fixed finishing time. There is no pause: if the screen locks, the phone rings or someone switches apps, the prompt hides straight away and the time keeps going. Coming back shows how much is left, and the actor taps to see the prompt again. Reloading the page or pressing Back never deals new prompts or restarts the clock. If the device clock is changed backwards during a turn, Couch Club ends the turn with the points it had rather than giving extra time.
A prompt that is still on screen at the buzzer scores nothing and is used up. End turn early stops a turn when you need to (the dog needs walking); the turn keeps its points.
Uneven teams
Both teams always get the same number of turns, the same seconds and the same 8-prompt limit. Inside a team, players take turns acting in the order you typed them. In a smaller team this means somebody acts twice before everyone in a bigger team has had a go, and in a big team not everyone may act. The setup screen lists who acts how often before you start. Turns are equal per team, not per person.
Checking a turn
After each turn you see every prompt that was shown, how it ended and when. If someone tapped the wrong button, fix it there: Give the point for a prompt that was guessed but passed or left to the buzzer, or Take point back for a mistaken Correct. Corrections are listed separately and the original taps are kept. A correction never brings back a prompt, adds time or returns a pass: a pass you used is still used. When everyone agrees, accept the turn; after that it can’t change.
Winning and ties
After the last turn, the team with more points wins. Points are 1 per correct prompt; there are no bonus or minus points. A tie stays a tie. For a decider, play a rematch: the same teams, packs and settings with a new deck, so both teams get the same number of turns again.
Playing fair
Scores are kept on this device on the honour system. Couch Club can’t see what happens in the room, so the group is the judge, and there is no online leaderboard.