Chat game
A chat game is a small shared game right inside a messenger – such as a question everyone answers in secret before the answers are revealed.
What is a chat game?
A chat game is a small join-in activity placed right in the conversation of a messenger – in a chat with a friend or in a group. Instead of just sending messages back and forth, everyone answers the same question, says yes or no to suggestions or counts down together to an event. Such games liven up conversations, help groups make decisions and draw in people who otherwise tend to read along quietly.
Answer in secret, reveal together
Many chat games are built on a simple idea: each person answers on their own first, without seeing anyone else's answer. Only then are the answers revealed. That way nobody influences the others, and even shy participants are more likely to say what they really think. When voting on suggestions, the result can show what everyone likes without revealing who voted for what.
What to keep in mind
What you answer in a chat game will be seen by the others who took part once it is revealed – in a group, that may be many people. So do not put anything in that is not meant for that circle, such as addresses or passwords. Also check how the service stores the answers: to keep answers hidden until they are revealed, some services keep them on the server until then.
On Friendstime
On Friendstime, chat games are called “Moments”. You start them in the web messenger with the ✨ symbol and in the Android app with the paperclip in the chat – with friends or in a group you are a member of. There are ten kinds. In “You first, then me”, everyone answers a question in secret. In “Match”, each person says yes or no to 2 to 12 suggestions; it shows what everyone likes, but not who voted for what. In “You or me?” or “Who is most likely …?”, everyone secretly taps a person. In Rock Paper Scissors everyone chooses in secret, in “Two Truths and a Lie” the others guess which of three statements is false, and in “How well do you know me?” they answer up to five questions about you. The results are revealed once everyone has taken part, or earlier by the person who started the moment once there are enough answers; only those who took part see the results. In Tic-Tac-Toe two people take turns, and in the emoji riddle you have five tries to guess a term made of emojis. In the “happiness jar”, everyone drops notes of up to 500 characters that, until the chosen day, only the person who wrote them can see. The “countdown” counts down to an event and is pinned at the top of the chat. New Moments are end-to-end encrypted (ML-KEM-768 with AES-256-GCM) if everyone in the chat has set up encryption; otherwise Friendstime asks first whether the moment should be sent without it. The server holds back the encrypted answers until the reveal and can see who takes part and when.
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone see my answer before it is revealed?
The other participants cannot: until the reveal, only you see your own answer. On Friendstime the server holds the answers back until then – for new Moments only in encrypted form, once everyone in the chat has set up encryption.
Can I start a chat game with anyone?
On Friendstime, you can in chats with friends and in groups you are a member of. It is not possible with people you have blocked or who have blocked you.
How is it different from a poll?
In a poll, everyone picks from fixed answers. In a chat game like “You first, then me”, each person writes their own answer, and everything stays hidden until it is revealed. A happiness jar or a countdown is not a vote at all, but something you collect or look forward to together.
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