How to Run a Family Game Tournament With Nothing but a Phone
Published
You do not need a console, a box of controllers or a cupboard of board games to have a proper family competition. One phone or tablet, a sheet of paper and a few short browser games will do. Here is a format that works for mixed ages, takes about half an hour, and can be set up in the time it takes to find a pen.
Why short browser games suit a group
A tournament needs games that everyone can understand at once, that finish quickly, and that produce a clear number at the end. Small browser games tick all three. There is nothing to install, nobody waits long for a turn, and a six-year-old and a grandparent can play the same event.
Pass-the-phone play has another advantage. Everyone watches each turn, which is half the fun.
What you need
One device with a browser. A tablet is ideal because more people can see it.
Paper and a pen for the scoreboard. Write the players' names down the side and the events across the top.
A referee for each turn, to read out the score. The person who has just played is not to be trusted with this.
The events
Pick five. These are chosen so that no single skill wins everything.
Event one is speed. In Reflex Test, each player has three attempts and their fastest time counts. An attempt that goes early is simply wasted.
Event two is coordination. Everyone plays one round of Whack a Mole. It lasts thirty seconds, and the highest score wins.
Event three is nerve. Each player takes one Penalty Shootout of five kicks. If there is a tie, the tied players go again.
Event four is brains. Play one round of Math Sprint, thirty seconds of quick sums. For a calmer alternative, use Fruit Memory Match, where the fewest moves wins.
Event five is steadiness. Everyone builds one tower in Tower Stack, and the tallest wins.
Scoring
Do not add up the raw game scores, because the events use different scales. Award points for position. With four players, first place in an event earns four points, second earns three, third two and fourth one. Ties share the points.
After five events, the highest total wins. Because every event carries the same weight, someone who is steady across the board can beat someone who wins two events and comes last in the rest. That keeps it close to the end.
Making it fair for different ages
A straight contest between a ten-year-old and a four-year-old is no fun for either. A few adjustments help.
Give younger players a head start. Add a fixed bonus to their score in each event, agreed before you begin.
Play in pairs. Team an adult with a small child, and let them take turns or play together, one thumb each.
Let younger players have a practice round that does not count.
Swap an event. If the sums in Math Sprint are too hard for someone, let them play Fruit Memory Match in its place and compare positions as normal.
Adults may find they need no handicap at all. Children are often quicker at the reaction events.
Rules worth agreeing first
Decide the order of play and keep to it. Going last is an advantage in some events, so rotate who starts.
No coaching during a turn, unless you have agreed that small children may have help.
One go means one go. The plea for a restart after a bad beginning is the most common cause of tournament disputes.
The referee's reading of the score is final.
Variations
For a quick decider, play best of three in Tic Tac Toe against the computer, counting wins and draws.
For a longer evening, add a creative round. Everyone designs a bear in Dress Up Bear and the family votes for the best. Nobody may vote for their own.
For two players, run it as a best of five, one event each.
For a regular fixture, keep the score sheets. A running league table on the fridge does wonders for attendance.
A final thought
The games are only the excuse. What people remember is the groan when a penalty is saved and the cheer when the youngest player wins the reflex round. Keep it short, keep it light, and stop while everyone still wants another event. Then they will ask to do it again.