How to organize a remote minigame night

Before the evening

Agree on a time and invite your friends with a short message: the room link is enough. It is better to create the room shortly before starting, so everyone finds a fresh code. Remember the invitation link looks like minig.app/room/CODE.

To talk, use what you already have: a video call or a voice chat on the side. Mini G takes care of the games; the conversation audio is up to you, and it makes the evening livelier, especially with Impostor and Fill the Gap.

The host's role

Whoever creates the room becomes the host. They choose the game (the others can vote), set its rules, start the match, can pause it and can remove a disruptive participant. A host may also choose to just run the match without playing, for instance when the group is large.

If the host loses the connection during a match, the match goes on pause and, if they do not return within a short interval, the room closes. If instead the host leaves for good, the role passes to the first connected player left.

An order of games that works

A balanced evening alternates pace and rest. One possible plan:

• Light opening: Classic Quiz at medium difficulty, or Aim Arena to warm up the reflexes.
• Creative group games: Draw and Guess or Broken Telephone, once everyone is in the mood.
• The centerpiece: Impostor or Fill the Gap, which work best when the group is relaxed and talking a lot.
• A concentration challenge to calm things down: Flash Memory, Color Match or Eagle Eye.
• A quick closer: Bomb Relay, because elimination matches end fast and leave time for one more round.

What can go wrong and how to fix it

If someone disconnects, they can come back from the same browser tab: during a match the server keeps the seat for a short interval. If they cannot get back in, they can always re-enter the room with the code or the invitation link.

An idle room closes after about 2 hours of inactivity. If the evening pauses for a long time, remember to come back or create a new room.

If a game uses audio (Invisible Hunt) or needs a good look at the screen (Eagle Eye, Color Match), check volume and brightness first: they are the most common causes of surprises.

A checklist before you start

Five minutes of preparation avoid most problems:

• everyone has an up-to-date browser and a stable connection (Wi-Fi is better than mobile data, if possible);
• players on a phone have a charged screen and the volume on;
• everyone knows the 4-letter code or has the invitation link at hand;
• you have agreed on the content language for the games with texts (quiz, words, Impostor, Fill the Gap);
• the host knows which games to offer and in what order, and how many participants there are, to avoid games that need more people than are present.

A sample evening of about ninety minutes

Timings depend on the settings the host chooses, so this is only a rough outline for four or five people:

• First 10 minutes: get together, enter the room, check the audio and the names.
• About 15 minutes: Classic Quiz with 10 questions and 15 seconds to answer, to find the rhythm.
• About 20 minutes: Draw and Guess with one turn each, or Broken Telephone.
• About 20 minutes: Impostor or Fill the Gap, once the group has loosened up.
• About 10 minutes: a concentration game such as Flash Memory or Color Match.
• Last 10 minutes: Bomb Relay and goodbyes, with a look at the room ranking.

Tips for the host with a mixed group

If some people in the group have more experience than others, the settings help even things out:

• In Classic Quiz pick easy or medium difficulty and 20 or 30 seconds to answer: there is no speed bonus, so a longer time penalizes nobody.
• In Aim Arena use fixed-size targets and 60 seconds, so the match lasts long enough for everyone to have a chance to catch up.
• In Broken Telephone lengthen the drawing time: the host can go from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on how much the group likes drawing.
• Use the pause when someone needs a short break, instead of carrying on without them.

How to end the evening

At the end of the evening, look at the room ranking and decide whether to continue with a rematch. Anyone who wants to keep the Broken Telephone stories can use the browser's print function and choose «Save as PDF».