I know these guys. Definitely give their games a try! They are actively developing and making it better every week. It's especially fun in person. My favorite game is the dodgeball game.
Thank you all for the messages, will be going through them in the coming hours! Was a bit surprised to see this bounce on the front page, but I guess it came from the second chance pool :)
I’ve spent several hours over the holidays searching for something my family can play and coming up empty.
The game that most often works is Song Pop Party on Apple TV, but non-apple phones have a second rate experience and keep disconnecting.
Ideally we’d have a trivia game as I also want to engage some older folks, but the leasing trivia game on Apple TV is way too US specific and hard for our family to enjoy.
There used to be a game show on local TV in the late nineties called “Noot vir Noot” (note by note) that had a whole bunch of games based on music that was familiar to the local market. I’ve been chasing something like that for years and not come close.
I guess the point of my rambling is that I LOVE the phones-as-controllers approach to party games, but many seem to focus on Nintendo-esque experiences, rather than quiz game like experiences.
I am aware of the Jackbox games but haven’t looked at the recent releases. They were hit and miss with the family in the past, with many of the non-english first language folks often not getting it.
Thanks! I actually loved the song quiz that was available via the first version of Amazon Echo that worked using voice commands. No idea if that's available any more though.
If you like more quiz like games, I can recommend Kahoot & Gametje for you, which work with a similar phones-as-controllers approach :)
There's a saying that no idea is unique, that when you think of an idea, someone else would have thought of the same. I _literally_ have the same idea and am working on a PoC, except mine is completely LAN-based. I'm so happy to see your app!
Haha, so true! But even if the general idea is the same, there's always a million smaller choices to make it more unique :) I can def. see that a completely LAN-based approach would have its own audience that want to play fully offline games
Fantastic idea!! I've been working off and on with local 4-8 player games, but I had only been using the Javascript gamepad API. I like how you're using smart phones, this seems like a good way to go about it!
It would be nice to be able to mix game pads and smart phones -- when gaming with kids, none of my kids have smart phones yet, so it would be nice to be able to let them use Switch controllers if we have those on hand, or use phones if we don't.
Regardless, I'm interested in this, and would be interested in contributing a game or two. This seems excellent!
You are able to mix gamepads and smart phones! Though there is a limit that you can only connect a maximum of 4 gamepads to a single session due to limitations with the JS gamepad API.
Would you be interested in also beta-testing our upcoming 3rd party game development SDK? If so, please ping me on our Discord (link at the end of the gamingcouch.com web page) so I can take your contact details for the beta-testing list :)
This is something I've been thinking of as well. There's actually a demo implementation with few games that support fully remote gaming but the problem I've been running into is some memory limitations on iOS devices causing crashes. On Android everything seems to work a-ok. I think the iOS problem can be solved, just will take some time
I've tested it to work on newer LG TV's but at the moment since the games have not yet been super optimized, it will most likely be somewhat laggy if the TV doesn't have enough computing power. Something to work on for the future since I agree that it would be great to just have the app on a smart tv for super easy accessibility
Check out Moonlight/Sunshine. I have several tvs around the house and my primary desktop is in the utility room with no monitor or keyboard. Essentially any TV can be any PC, without cables.
You might be in that sweet spot where people use laptops as their personal computing device rather than an office PC or smartphone. I personally only have a desktop PC in a different room so there's no way I'd be able to plug it in using HDMI. The alternative would be using something like parsec or moonlight to stream my PC screen over the LAN.
I wish I saw this two hours ago! I just got back from family Christmas with Jackbox games and I would’ve loved to as try this out too. Definitely going to try this soon.
definitely going to try it with some friends. But it's true that at first I was checking which games I could connect to, or how it worked without reading anything, and thought it was to connect to some multiplayer games of steam, and gaming couch acted as a layer to use phones as joystick only.
Yes, few options on the table but nothing set in stone yet. I want to keep the it accessible to as many people as possible, which is why I've been thinking of a 'free'-tier with some advertisements. Though I realize it can't be like Hulu with an aggravating amount of ads as that in itself will be too annoying.
For people who'd like to support the project, get rid of the few ads and possibly also some other extra-features such as in-game avatar wearables or similar, there could be a subscription option as well.
Interested to hear what the options you were thinking of were? Nothing is yet implemented on that regard so this is a good time to influence the outcome :D
Agreed... also fwiw I don't think that langauge-dependent games are as much of a barrier as it used to be. I've built a game recently that I easily localized first with real-time AI translations and then later with more static language translations.
Anyway I think this would be an amazing thing to let other people contribute to as this is an entire industry of hypercasual games which could easily be ported to this minus the annoying ads
I think the issue with language-dependant games is not just knowing the correct translation - as OP points out, it's more about being funny or clever on the spot, which usually requires a certain level of understanding of the nuances of the language.
I know these guys. Definitely give their games a try! They are actively developing and making it better every week. It's especially fun in person. My favorite game is the dodgeball game.
If you prefer more quiz/slower paced games akin to Jackbox. You can check out my project which was also on HackerNews recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45887709
Thank you all for the messages, will be going through them in the coming hours! Was a bit surprised to see this bounce on the front page, but I guess it came from the second chance pool :)
I love this initiative!
I’ve spent several hours over the holidays searching for something my family can play and coming up empty.
The game that most often works is Song Pop Party on Apple TV, but non-apple phones have a second rate experience and keep disconnecting.
Ideally we’d have a trivia game as I also want to engage some older folks, but the leasing trivia game on Apple TV is way too US specific and hard for our family to enjoy.
There used to be a game show on local TV in the late nineties called “Noot vir Noot” (note by note) that had a whole bunch of games based on music that was familiar to the local market. I’ve been chasing something like that for years and not come close.
I guess the point of my rambling is that I LOVE the phones-as-controllers approach to party games, but many seem to focus on Nintendo-esque experiences, rather than quiz game like experiences.
I am aware of the Jackbox games but haven’t looked at the recent releases. They were hit and miss with the family in the past, with many of the non-english first language folks often not getting it.
Thanks! I actually loved the song quiz that was available via the first version of Amazon Echo that worked using voice commands. No idea if that's available any more though.
If you like more quiz like games, I can recommend Kahoot & Gametje for you, which work with a similar phones-as-controllers approach :)
There's a saying that no idea is unique, that when you think of an idea, someone else would have thought of the same. I _literally_ have the same idea and am working on a PoC, except mine is completely LAN-based. I'm so happy to see your app!
Haha, so true! But even if the general idea is the same, there's always a million smaller choices to make it more unique :) I can def. see that a completely LAN-based approach would have its own audience that want to play fully offline games
This is sick. I've always wanted to see a modern take on pokemon stadium minigames.
Totally agree with your thoughts on jackbox, they're fun but not gaming. Def saving this for later.
Fantastic idea!! I've been working off and on with local 4-8 player games, but I had only been using the Javascript gamepad API. I like how you're using smart phones, this seems like a good way to go about it!
It would be nice to be able to mix game pads and smart phones -- when gaming with kids, none of my kids have smart phones yet, so it would be nice to be able to let them use Switch controllers if we have those on hand, or use phones if we don't.
Regardless, I'm interested in this, and would be interested in contributing a game or two. This seems excellent!
You are able to mix gamepads and smart phones! Though there is a limit that you can only connect a maximum of 4 gamepads to a single session due to limitations with the JS gamepad API.
Would you be interested in also beta-testing our upcoming 3rd party game development SDK? If so, please ping me on our Discord (link at the end of the gamingcouch.com web page) so I can take your contact details for the beta-testing list :)
This looks super fun, will try with the family when they get out of bed :-)
Amazing product. Thinking of more possibilities like this.
Would love full remote play somehow so I can use it for team games with my remote team!
This is something I've been thinking of as well. There's actually a demo implementation with few games that support fully remote gaming but the problem I've been running into is some memory limitations on iOS devices causing crashes. On Android everything seems to work a-ok. I think the iOS problem can be solved, just will take some time
There are remote team video games like (mine) https://epicwin.team .
Slightly different approach, each plays in their browser/phone and there is no “main display”. And my games are cooperative.
I’m releasing a new game BossBattle soon so keep your eyes peeled.
This is interesting, thanks for sharing! Need to try it out
Do you think it would work on smart tvs with browsers?
If Im having people over I would never start a PC and ask them to hunker down, turning on the tv though…
You can give https://gametje.com a try. I created an Android TV app for it (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gametje). Also works in browsers/remote calls etc. It is slower paced play from smart phones more akin to Jackbox Games (not action games).
(Also free to play with a Guest account)
I've tested it to work on newer LG TV's but at the moment since the games have not yet been super optimized, it will most likely be somewhat laggy if the TV doesn't have enough computing power. Something to work on for the future since I agree that it would be great to just have the app on a smart tv for super easy accessibility
Check out Moonlight/Sunshine. I have several tvs around the house and my primary desktop is in the utility room with no monitor or keyboard. Essentially any TV can be any PC, without cables.
plug your computer in via hdmi? Or am I too old?
You might be in that sweet spot where people use laptops as their personal computing device rather than an office PC or smartphone. I personally only have a desktop PC in a different room so there's no way I'd be able to plug it in using HDMI. The alternative would be using something like parsec or moonlight to stream my PC screen over the LAN.
I wish I saw this two hours ago! I just got back from family Christmas with Jackbox games and I would’ve loved to as try this out too. Definitely going to try this soon.
Nice! Definitely showing this to the family over Xmas, great timing haha
definitely going to try it with some friends. But it's true that at first I was checking which games I could connect to, or how it worked without reading anything, and thought it was to connect to some multiplayer games of steam, and gaming couch acted as a layer to use phones as joystick only.
Do you have plans to monetize this? I can think of a few options but they all feel pretty gross...
Yes, few options on the table but nothing set in stone yet. I want to keep the it accessible to as many people as possible, which is why I've been thinking of a 'free'-tier with some advertisements. Though I realize it can't be like Hulu with an aggravating amount of ads as that in itself will be too annoying.
For people who'd like to support the project, get rid of the few ads and possibly also some other extra-features such as in-game avatar wearables or similar, there could be a subscription option as well.
Interested to hear what the options you were thinking of were? Nothing is yet implemented on that regard so this is a good time to influence the outcome :D
> Yes, Gaming Couch is currently free to play!
Emphasis mine. Sounds like they're not ruling it out.
I mean, a one time fee, maybe even per mini-game, doesn't seem gross?
It doesn't seem gross, but that would introduce friction, which it seems like OP is against.
If that's considered bad then there really is no good way to make money from software in 2025.
Looks pretty cool. Is it open source? I'd love to have community contributed games
This would be so cool… community contributed games with ratings and themes. So much potential for a platform like this. Great work!
Agreed... also fwiw I don't think that langauge-dependent games are as much of a barrier as it used to be. I've built a game recently that I easily localized first with real-time AI translations and then later with more static language translations.
Anyway I think this would be an amazing thing to let other people contribute to as this is an entire industry of hypercasual games which could easily be ported to this minus the annoying ads
I think the issue with language-dependant games is not just knowing the correct translation - as OP points out, it's more about being funny or clever on the spot, which usually requires a certain level of understanding of the nuances of the language.
Very cool, would cool if it's open ecosystem to develop games for, it's on my 2026 bucket list
Excellent work. I've played Jackbox party games before and they're a lot of fun!
Looks so smooth and no fuss, thanks for building this
Very cool! Thanks for sharing. I would be making stuff like this if I didn't work for a legal team with a consumer electronics company attached to it.
this is so cool
Crazy Build
JD Vance would fucking love this!
Golf clap good human.