Hot Potato

🕹️ How to play

1. How to start a hot potato round: Pick the number of players and tap Light it. There's no need to type names first: players default to P1, P2 and so on, clockwise around the table. Name it mode with a Normal fuse is the default. Switch to Just pass for little kids. Names, rounds (5, 8 or 12), category difficulty and the forfeit level are under More settings.
2. How to pass the bomb: A category card appears, such as Things that fly. Whoever holds the phone names one thing that fits, taps "Said it, pass!" and hands the phone to the right. The screen shows whose hands the bomb is in, so whoever catches it knows it's their turn. The ticking and shaking speed up as the fuse burns, but no countdown ever appears on screen.
3. What happens when it blows: The screen shows who it went off on, how long that bomb lasted and how many passes it took, then deals a forfeit card you can swap once. If someone had passed but forgot to tap, pick the real loser in the Not them? strip. Next round books the result and the loser starts the next one. After the last round you get the standings, with the coolest player and the unluckiest of the night.

📖 Rules & variants

Hot potato timer rules: each round's fuse is random within a range and stays in memory only, so neither the page nor the save can reveal it. In Name it mode the three lengths are 10–25 s, 15–40 s and 25–60 s. In Just pass mode they're 5–12 s, 8–20 s and 12–30 s, because a pass takes only a second. The ticking speeds up with time already burned and never with time left, so nobody can hear when it will blow.

Naming and challenges: in Name it mode the holder must say something that fits the category and hasn't been said this round. The players are the referees and the app never judges words. If the table shouts "doesn't count", tap Bounce back to return the bomb to the previous player while the fuse keeps burning. Each pass can be bounced once. Taps less than 0.6 s apart count as one, so a nervous double tap can't skip a player.

Scoring: every round has exactly one loser, who gets one mark and starts the next round. Games run 5, 8 (default) or 12 rounds, and you can show results early between rounds. Standings go from fewest booms to most, with shared places for ties. Fewest booms wears the crown, most booms is the unluckiest tonight, and if everyone ties it's a shared loss. You also see the longest fuse and the total number of passes.

Edge cases: if the bomb blows before the first holder passes, the first holder loses. If it blows right after a bounce back, whoever holds it after the bounce loses. Switching apps or locking the phone freezes the fuse at once, and you must tap Resume to continue. Reloading mid-round voids that round without booking it. The boom screen, the between-rounds board and the final results all survive a reload.

Variations and house rules: little kids can play Just pass and skip the words. In Name it games, one person can keep track of words already used. At karaoke, allow song titles only. You can also pass counterclockwise, or let the loser pick the direction for the next round. Forfeits default to family-friendly. Go bolder unlocks sillier ones after confirming everyone is an adult, but they still involve no alcohol and no touching.

❓ FAQ