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SUCKERPUNCHLINE

A plan for adults and big groups

Game night, no prep

The easiest game night: no cards to buy, no rules to read out, no one stuck explaining. Put Sucker Punchline on the TV, everyone plays on their phone, and the room votes for the funniest answer. Here is a plan that works for 3 people or 30.

  • Nothing to buy
  • Rules in one minute
  • 3 to 8 fighters plus a crowd

Updated

Start game night

On a phone, START makes this phone the game screen: it shows the game and does not play.

START A GAME

This screen shows the game: put it on the TV or share it on a call. Everyone plays on their own phone. Free, no accounts.

To play too, open

suckerpunchline.tv

on a laptop, TV or tablet and press START there.

No TV or laptop? Start here, then mirror this phone to a TV (AirPlay or Chromecast) or stand it up where everyone can see it.

or join

3 to 8 players plus a crowd of up to 200. Alone or with one friend? AI fighters fill the ring.

Before people arrive (5 minutes)

  • Get the game on the TV. A laptop on HDMI is the most reliable; AirPlay, Chromecast and the TV's own browser work too. Test the sound. How to put it on your TV.
  • Put the Wi-Fi password somewhere visible. Everyone joins on their phone, and guests on slow mobile data type slower.
  • Decide who runs the show. The first phone to join is the Show Runner, with the START button and the settings. It should be the host.

The run of show

Warm-up game (8 to 13 minutes)

Press START on the TV, everyone scans the QR code. The ring announcer explains the rules in the first game, so you do not have to. Two rounds of head-to-head bouts, then the Main Event.

Rematch

PLAY AGAIN keeps everyone in the room and deals prompts the room has not seen, so the second game starts in seconds and nobody needs the rules again.

Switch it up

A good game night mixes things. After two games, go to a board game, a drawing game, or food, and come back for a championship match later. The room code stays open for 15 minutes after everyone leaves; after that, press START for a new room.

Big groups

The ring holds 8 fighters. Everyone else joins the crowd (up to 200 people), votes in every bout and throws punches in the Main Event. The whole crowd counts as one extra voter, so it can swing a close fight but cannot drown out the fighters.

Crowd too big for the couch? Put the fighters up front near the TV, where they can read the screen, and let the crowd vote from the back of the room.

Small groups

Only two of you, or one early guest? The Show Runner adds AI fighters (up to 5) in the lobby. They answer from a pool of pre-written lines and step aside when a real person joins.

House rules that keep it fun

  • No explaining your joke after the vote. It lost. Let it go.
  • Punch up, not at people in the room. The Show Runner can hide an answer if someone forgets.
  • Slow typists or tipsy thumbs? Set the timers to 1.5x in the lobby.
  • Winner picks the next game, the snacks, or who does the dishes.

Questions

Is it good for adults?

Yes. The default rating, Balanced, adds work, dating and roommate prompts to the family set. Those prompts never swear; your friends might. For a group where everyone is 18 or older, the Show Runner can pick After Dark: about two thirds of each round come from an adults-only set, and the TV and phones switch to a late-night look. The swear filter is on by default except in After Dark, the slur filter is on by default in every rating, and the Show Runner can switch either one.

Can people who are not there join?

Yes: share the TV screen on a video call and remote friends play from their phones. How.

What if someone has no smartphone?

Any device with a web browser works, like a tablet or a laptop. Or they team up with someone and share a phone.