The Name Game is a fun interactive party game where teams compete against each other, guessing the names of famous characters and celebrities to score the most points for their team. Players can use their phones, tablets or any other device with a web browser and go to www.joinup.tv to enter the game. (We recommend that private browsing is disabled to avoid disconnection issues). Once there, they can enter the 4 digit room code to access the game. Once they have entered the room code, they can enter a player name and press go to join the game. The first player to enter the room code is the “Host” and this player will have certain administrative responsibilities during the game.

Once in the game, players have the option of switching to the blue team or the red team by pressing the buttons on their device. It’s best to make sure that the red team is on one side of the room and the blue team is on the other. Players can see which team they are on by the background color on their device. Once all players are in and the teams are agreed, the host can begin the game by pressing “start”.

Players will now have to enter the names of 5 famous characters or celebrities into the boxes on their device. After each name is typed in, they will press the “enter” button to submit the name until all 5 names are completed. If the name has already been entered by another player, they will be prompted to enter in an alternate name. The game will automatically start when all the players have entered 5 names. The players who have not completed 5 names are shown as unhighlighted on the TV screen. The host has the ability to remove any player from the game at this point through the settings menu on their device.

Once the game has started, players will see some brief rules to help new players know how to play the game. The rules can be skipped or restarted by the host through the admin pop up bar. After the rules section, the first player will be called up to stand in front of their team. Players will then press the “go” button when they are ready. Once the “go” button is pressed, a 30 second timer will begin on the TV and a random name from all the names that the players entered will appear. The player will begin to describe or act out the name, depending on the rules of the round. Once the correct name has been guessed by their team, they can then press the “next” button to obtain a point for their team. This will continue with new names appearing until the 30 second timer is up. Players are only allowed to pass once per turn and pressing the “pass” button after this will have no effect. Players will be trying their hardest to have their team guess as many of the names as possible within the 30 seconds.

There are 3 rounds in total with the rules varying in difficulty as the game progresses. If any of the rules are breached on a particular name during game play, the games’ host can deduct the name from the team score using the “adjust” feature that pops up at the end of each turn. The Host has one minute in which to do this and this can only be done immediately after each turn. If any player leaves the game during game play for whatever reason, the host has the ability to skip their turn so that game play can continue. This can be done indefinitely until the end of the game.

At the end of the 3 rounds, the team with the most points is declared the winner. The host then has the option to “play again” which will keep all the existing players and restart the game. New players may still join using the existing room code. The host can also choose the “new game” option which will create an entirely new game with a new room code for players to enter and choose their new player names.