Party-game console · Windows · Free

Your laptop is the console. Every phone is a controller.

HotTake turns game night into a scan-and-play party. Friends point their camera at a QR code and they're in — no app, no account, no cloud server. 32 games for up to 8 players, built in.

Download for Windows Browse the games

games built in: 32; games built in
players at once: 1–8; players at once
apps to install: 0; apps to install

The shelf

32 games, preloaded. Brawls, bluffs, races and co-op.

See every game

How it works

Three steps from sofa to scoreboard.

01 · Start
Open HotTake on the laptop
It goes fullscreen on the lobby and shows a QR code and a four-letter room code. Plug it into the TV if you have one.
02 · Join
Everyone scans the code
Phones on the same Wi-Fi open the controller in their browser. No app store, no sign-up. The first phone in is the leader.
03 · Play
Pick a game and go
The leader picks from 32 games, or starts a tournament. Phones become d-pads, joysticks and buttons, and change for every game.

Why it works at parties

Built so nobody waits for the next round.

No app. No account.

The controller is a web page the laptop serves to your phone. Scan, tap your name, play. Works on any modern phone browser.

Input that keeps up

Button presses travel over a WebRTC data channel (UDP), so one lost packet never holds up the next. WebSocket fallback is automatic.

Pads and keyboards welcome

Plug in USB or Bluetooth gamepads, or add keyboard players on the laptop. Mix them with phones in the same game.

Tournament mode

Play 3 to 12 random games in a row. Points per round, a live leaderboard, and a podium with confetti in the winner's colour.

Friends far away? Send a link.

Switch on online play and remote friends join through hottake.pranshubasak.site while they watch your screen on a call.

Make your own game

A game is a folder with a manifest and an index.html. Use canvas, Phaser, Three.js or WASM. A 3 kB SDK hands you every player's input; HotTake does the rooms, phones and results. Download the starter template from the developer menu, then share your game as a zip.

import { Party } from "/sdk/screen-sdk.js";

const party = await Party.connect();
party.ready();
party.on("join", (p) => addPlayer(p));

function tick() {
  for (const p of players) {
    const i = party.input(p.id);
    if (i.pressed.Jump) jump(p);
  }
}

Made by one person

Hi, I'm Pranshu Basak.

I built HotTake because every party game I liked needed everyone to buy something, install something or sign up for something. HotTake needs a laptop and the phones already in your pockets. The Rust host, the phone controller, the SDK and most of the 32 games are mine; the rest are open-source ports, credited on every page.

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Game night, sorted

Grab the laptop. Pass the snacks.

Free for Windows 10 and 11. A 12.5 MB installer, nothing to set up on the phones.

Download HotTake

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