At the time I wrote this "ideas" document I hadn't made many games. I've spent the last 4 months making infrustucture. But, there's a ton of ideas. I'm sure you have more but just throw some ideas out and get yourself imagining stuff...
First off, the 3 games I've made so far, PowPow, BoomBoom, JumpJump are basically classic games with more players. But, with a system like HappyFunTimes where you can have 10, 20, 50, 100 players other things come to mind.
For example playing JumpJump with 25 players is barely managable. Too many people are on the screen. But what about team games? 5 people per team? What about social games? Ask people to go around the room and click things on each other's phones or find stuff.
So some random ideas I'd like to explore if I have time. Maybe they'll trigger some ideas for you
Play 5 or 6 of the simplest games below as teams. For example the sorting game, the Jump/Duck game game, the Hot Potato game, the Team Race game, Team Race 2.
Players a lined up across the screen by team. Things go across the screen high or low. Each player has to either duck under the thing or jump over it as it passes their character. They don't change position. It's team game so one point for each player that succesfully dodges gets a point? Or maybe only a point of all players on the team dodge. In that case the first player should get swapped to the last otherwise players at the end may never see action
Variation: Sometimes you have to catch the thing instead of dodge it? Maybe it turns into a coin/start for a few players
Just press the buttons fast
Variation:
2 buttons, it's like track and field.
Do the rate on the phone, just send the rate to the game
Shake the phone for speed
Turn a virtual crank
Each player must press their button in order. This is basically bucket brigade with a different view
I think this is basically a variation of another game below.
Players are divided into teams. When the item lands on their player they have N seconds to pass it on or it explodes. Progress by having more than one item.
Variations:
Use orientation. You need to tilt the phone? Problem, browsers rotate :(
Flick the bomb off your screen.
Show the random names of teammates on left/right/top. Flick to pass to a certain teammate
Divide the room into teams (does it tell you which team you're on)? Phone shows something like
+---------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
+---------------+
| |
| Press and |
| Hold Here |
| Do Not |
| Let Go! |
| |
+---------------+
On the top area it shows an item "Give" or a matching silhouette and "Get". You have to find the person with the matching item. When you see them the giver touches "Give" and the getter touches "Get". The item is exchanged. If both players do not press their buttons within 1 second of each other the player who pressed their button alone loses a point. On a successful exchange both players get a point. Play lasts for 2 mins? Too complicated?
Each team member's phone shows a symbol. The symbol needed for that team is shown on the TV. That team member who has the matching symbol needs to press their button. If the wrong team member presses their button the team has to start over First team wins to complete the sequence wins.
Three variations
Only the currently needed symbol for each team is shown on the big screen
Only the current and next symbol for each team is show on the big screen.
This gives the next player a chance to get ready
All symbols are show for each team in a line (or as many as will fit).
So a quick team can really go fast.
Simple example: show a hurdle race. Each hurdle has a symbol above it. Each person on a team has 1 symbol on their phone. For that team to advance the person with the matching symbol has to press their button to jump the hurdle.
Another, maybe better way is objects come down the screen to team colored buckets. When a player on that team presses their button the bucket shows that player's symbol. If object above the bucket matches it goes in the bucket. If the object above does not match then (explosion and previous item from machine gets put back on list?) or explosion and points go down or bucket breaks ....
Complications:
Each player on each team needs a unique symbol. If one someone on a team quits that symbol needs to be removed. If a player joins in the middle they need to be added.
Given a lot of player per team most team members have nothing to do.
Solution, more teams. Max 5 up to 4 teams, then teams of 6, 7, 8
One button. Players are at edge of screen. Shoot line across screen and then travel down line to where it touches other edge of screen. If any other player touches their line they die.
Make a team laser pointer game, e.g. where they have to shoot objects or solve puzzles.
Computer calls 4-8 people up "It's your turn". Displays a diagram "[1 2 3 4]" on the big screen and tells each player which number to stand on on their phone. Players are instructed to plugin headphones and put them on, make sure their phone won't turn off and press a button when they can hear the sound.
Computer then plays dance music on the TV and gives each player individual dance instructions in their headphones for a coreographied dance.
The faster you shake the faster it goes.
Have glow or other interaction when players touch, 2, 3, 4 etc.
Each player controls one platform they can place and rotate with their phone. Balls bounce off them, Or rain producing sounds. Think elektroplancton.
Players have to pass things from player to player either on the big screen or on their own. Divide into teams. Red (A, B, C, D) vs Blue (A, B, C, D). A and B have to press at the same time? Then B and C, then C and D. But must let off? Controls could be just L<->R. Or just one button. Hold for Left, release for Right. But, discourage just mashing the button some how.
Make up phone configuration in gamer. Tell users to arrange their phones.
Put a number on each phone and a diagram
+----+
| | +----+
| 1 +----+ |
| | | 3 |
+----+ 2 | |
| +----+
+----+
Then, players push a character from on phone to the next or flick a ball. Teams that make the most laps win or points win
Play some Kind of pass the ball game where the server passes things around the circle and players have to forward them. Maybe like pong ? Maybe with orientation ? Maybe catch with basket then throw?
If players stand I circle could let players target each other because can guess where they are in relation to each other
Could limit to groups of ~12, split groups?
Maybe a colored background for each team/group.
Collect every pair of cards? There are 2 of each card. Walk around the room and exchange cards. Maybe the shared screens shows who's in lead or number of cards to go or soethng.
Need to know if I can do it.
Maybe you have to bump phones, then it says "paired with
How can I make it social. I'd prefer if you can't cheat so you'd pick the card on your screen you want to match. And it would tell you? Or maybe the other person would have to answer but if they lie there's some penalty or something?
Asing accelerometers and synced clock maybe we can tell when two people fist bump? Heck, maybe if 3 or more people have the same time stamp we can assume all of them bumped?
Players have to fist bump everyone?
Players must turn around (use compass / device orientation). Of course players can just turn their phones. Maybe they have to hold them level (put dot on the screen with a circle, keep circle in the dot as they are instructed to turn left, turn right, jump, etc...
Maybe it's a group dance.
Various track and field / hyper bishi bashi games.
iOS Safari can't do pictures yet
Example for groups of 3 players they might see
+---+ +---+ +---+ Picture of 3 phones side by side.
| | | | | | with some image that fits just those
| <-| |-O-| |-> | 3 phones.
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
+---+ +---+ +---+
You have to walk around the room and find your matching partners. Maybe make it easier by matching background colors. First find all the red players, then figure how to align the phones to see the image.
Not sure what you'd do at that point. Type the message that's across N displays. Or maybe trace some line across all 3? Hard to do unless you set the phones down.
Variation of above idea. If you know 2 phones are partners then you could slide your finger from one to the other to drag a character across screens. The game would know the 2 controllers belong together and based on time (syncedclock) and where fingers are dragged could tell if you dragged from the correct N phones.
Tilting left / right moves basket across screen. Pressing button puts your basket high for a moment. Try to catch more falling things than other players? Think Kaboom.
Player's draw on their phone, add drawing to level? Maybe Crayon Physics like? Heck, just stop erasing the canvas with the simple example. Problem.
Maybe like micro machines or moto roader where the camera keeps up with the lead and others get put in place.
Like grand prix, tiny cars on a track the fits on the screen.
Rapunzel was a basic programming tutorial where you'd be told the wind and height above ground of Rapunzel's window and you'd have to type in the angle and power of the bow to shoot an arrow into her window.
That's been updated by a zillion people into showing little cannons trying to hit each other and having easier input. Well, a ton-o-players playing it. Could use orientation to aim cannon.
Johann Sabastian Joust is a game played with move controllers where you try not to move the controller too much or you're out. Other players try to make you move to fast knocking you out while at the same time trying not to get taken out themselves.
HTML5 allows access to the accelerometers of the phone so it should be possible ot make a similar game with HFT.
Apparently they aren't happy about clones.
Players have different roles.
Send question Q + 4 answers, display on phone and on game. On game show counts In 10 seconds show correct answer and winner on game and on phone? Make sure answers after game has moved on do not affect results. Add score for players.
Each player is assigned a piece of a shape, they have to rotate their device to get the shape to line up (ie, jigsaw puzzle). Anytime a new player is added the urrent shape is subdivided.
Players plug in headphones and put them in just one ear. The game sends commands/advice/direction to the controller which instructs each player secretly using the speech API. This way they can look at the game (the TV) and still get individual and private instruction on what to do.
Not sure the speech API is available on phones but you could use audio files "Walk forward", "turn left", "jump", "wave", "tap the person on your right" or longer "You're the spy. Try to find the player with the red screen and press it"
Just put stuff on the screen, people grab it as fast as they can (same controls as simple?) or maybe a grid of buttons? Characters that rotate and jump? Highest score wins. Bombs fail.
Everyone uses their phone to flick their ball up the screen trying to get more points or knock over more pins.
Players in the middle must dog things. Players knocked out throw things in to knock other players out.
Your phone lists what you need to find and what you have to give. People go around the room trying to find the next thing in their fetch quest.
Use LED tapes across room to visually display portals. Jump in portal on 1 computer, see light go across tape. Arrive at other computer.
Give them N seconds to do their thing. Then show graph/percent of people who finished. Figure out way for crowd to route for each other trying to get 100%.
Each player gets a letter (or a number). Make teams by color. Players press left or right to swap position. First team to get their team in order wins. Fun? More than Once?
Inspired by Alistar Aitcheson's games, each player is assigned a symbol. Sock, Ball, Chicken, Bat, The symbols appear on the screen in different ways. Players must press their button when they see their symbol but not press it when there symbol is not visible.
Find the player with the matching background. Click button on your screen that matches one on theirs. Each screen shows 4 buttons. Only one matches. When you press the correct one you get a point. Press the wrong one lose a point. After pressing your background and images change so you have to find others? Not sure how to do that last part since others are looking for your background. Maybe two people are always looking for each other? Since there are 4 symbols is there a way to make all 4 of those people have to find each other?
Except figure out a way good players can power up and help bad players. Maybe they can start shooting. Maybe have teams so there's an insentive to help teammates (don't want to lose to other team).
Some kind of game where it shows a video or something and then someone screams "ABUNAI!!!" If you have to press your button or the right button within 1 seconds or you fail. Show precent of people that succeeded. Teams might make it competative.
Players are divided into teams. Each team has a castle. UI is slingshot. Tilt phone to aim Draw string to set power, Release to fire. Projectiles of one team all come from same castle.
Could make this asymetric where some players control shields or the movement of the base. or get different weapons.
Could you make a game where when the phone flashes and makes a noise the player is supposed to lift their hands and shout. Computer would conduct players in a chant some people saying "Ooga" others saying "Chaka" etc....
Ideally you wouldn't have to look at the phone. Look into sounds that rumble the phone.