How to play

Everything you need for game night

Starting a game

1. One person opens picbait.com, types a nickname, picks a game mode and presses Host a game.
2. They'll get a five-character room code. Everyone else opens picbait.com, chooses Join a game and types the code. The host can also share an invite link or a QR code to scan.
3. When everyone's in the lobby, the host presses Start Game. Nobody new can join once a game has started.

You can play in the same room, or apart over a video or voice call. Each player needs their own device.

Front Page

The original PicBait game. There's one round for each player, so everyone gets a turn in charge.

1. The Editor writes the prompt. Each round one player is the Editor. They write a headline for everyone else to find a picture of, like "An animal that owes you money" or "What your cat gets up to when you leave for work". Stuck? Tap one of the suggestions.
2. Everyone hunts for a picture. The other players look for the funniest picture that fits. On a computer, copy an image from Google Images (right-click, Copy image) and press Ctrl+V on the PicBait page. On a phone, save a picture and upload it, or use one already on your device.
3. The envelopes are opened. Once everyone has sent a picture in, they're revealed one at a time. Nobody knows who sent what.
4. Everyone votes. Each player votes for their favourite. You can't vote for your own picture. The Editor votes too.
5. Points and glory. Every vote is a point. After the last round, the player with the most points wins the game and gets their own front page.

Caption Competition

Front Page, flipped around: this time it's the words that count.

1. The Photographer picks a picture. Each round one player finds a picture, online or from their own device.
2. Everyone writes a caption. The other players write the funniest caption they can for it.
3. Vote for the funniest. The captions are shown without names, and everyone votes for their favourite. No voting for yourself. Most votes wins.

The Rumour Mill

The telephone game, played with pictures. It needs at least 3 players.

1. Start a rumour. Everyone writes something random that you could find a picture of, like "My nan discovering crypto".
2. Picture it, describe it. Each rumour is passed on in secret. If you're sent words, find a picture that matches. If you're sent a picture, describe what's in it. It swaps between words and pictures every turn, and you only ever see the step just before yours.
3. Watch it unravel. At the end, every rumour is revealed from start to finish so you can see where it went wrong. Then everyone votes for the Story of the Year.

Tips

• The funniest picture isn't always the most obvious one. Go literal, go weird, or go for a picture of one of your mates if everyone knows them.
• Keep it friendly. Please don't send pictures that are illegal, hateful or that you wouldn't want your friends to see. The host can remove anyone from a game.
• If your connection drops or you refresh the page, PicBait will try to put you back in your seat. Come back quickly, in the same tab.
• A room closes by itself after a while with nobody playing, so it doesn't sit open for ever.

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