"Party games on phones" means two completely different nights, and most lists mash them together. There's the one-phone night, where a single handset does a job for the whole circle. And there's the phone-in-every-hand night, where the game can tell each player something the others can't see. That second one is where it gets interesting.
One phone can be the prompt machine, the referee or the thing on your forehead. Three shapes that work:
Once everyone's on their own phone, the game can keep secrets: who the impostor is, what you answered, which word you got. That unlocks the whole hidden-role and anonymous-answer genre, the stuff a single shared screen can never do. Ours both work this way, and neither needs the internet: one person has the app, the rest join by QR code over the host's wi-fi or a plain hotspot.
MortifiedFree to try 2–15 playersQR to joinNo internet needed A scenario about someone in the room lands on every phone. Everyone answers anonymously. The reveal names names, and the room does the rest. See the game → 
CamoIn testing 3–12 playersQR to joinFamily friendly Everyone gets the secret word except the Chameleon, bluffing blind, and the Salamander, confidently wrong. One-word clues. Catch them both. See the game → The other famous name in this space is Jackbox, which also puts a controller in every hand but needs a shared TV and the internet. We wrote an honest comparison.
Out now on Google Play
Every phone is its own screen.
One person has the app, the rest join by QR code from their own handset. No part of it needs the internet: the host's wi-fi or a plain hotspot carries the lot.
See how it playsFree to try. One £3.99 unlocks the full game, every pack.
Forehead guessing games, quizmaster formats where one phone asks the questions, and prompt dealers that feed a game like charades. One phone works as a tool for the circle; it just can't keep a secret from anyone.
Hidden-role and anonymous-answer games need a screen per player. Mortified and Camo both work this way: one person has the app and everyone else joins from their phone browser by scanning a QR code. No installs for the room, no accounts.
Not all of them. Mortified and Camo run over the host's wi-fi or a phone hotspot with no internet at all. If the house broadband dies, the game doesn't.
Not with ours. One copy of Mortified covers the whole room, up to 15 people; everyone else joins free from a browser. One fair price, and only one person pays it.
Back to the full games night guide whenever you want the whole toolbox.
Charade!
The acting game, fed.
4–10 playersOne phone
Your charade
The last biscuit in the tin, defended
Deal a card, hand this phone to your victim, and they act it out in silence. Whoever guesses gets dealt next.
The Duel
Two of you. One kettle.
2 players60 seconds
Your duel
Alternate naming crisp flavours. First to blank makes the tea.
The stakes are traditional and non-negotiable. Best of three for the biscuits as well.
The Letter Round
Name things. Fast.
2–8 playersNo kit
Crisp flavours
Round the circle: things in the category starting with the letter. Hesitate, repeat or blank and you're out.
Who Goes First?
Settle it like adults.
Any numberZero arguments
Phone flat in the middle of the table.
Spin. The arrow picks. Losers are welcome to argue with physics.
The Hunt
Ten finds. Full pomp at the judging.
Pairs or solo20 minutes of peace
Your list
Deal a list, send the teams out, and tap each find as it lands on the judging table. The judge's decision is final and openly accepting bribes.
The Cracker
A joke and a forfeit in every one.
Whole table🎄 Seasonal special
Why did the snowman refuse the carrot? He already nose everything.
