Forty years in the making. Now it's a game.
Bring the in-jokes out.
A funny 40th birthday gift: a retro video game starring the one turning forty and the mates who've been there for most of it, built from your stories. Plays on any phone. From £30.
TRY IT
NEW RECRUIT!
SPECIAL
JOY
Who's turning forty, and what have they been doing since their twenties?
That's one thing about them. The real game is made from dozens of them, and their whole lot are in it. Kit them out, send them to the group chat, or make the whole game.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser. See a whole game
Over the hill? Make it a level.
By forty, everyone has a few stories the group tells without being asked. The holiday in their twenties, the hobby they took up last year and won't stop explaining, the noise they make getting off the sofa. Put them in one game: the birthday one as the hero, the mates as the cast, all of them winding each other up. Then drop the link in the group WhatsApp on the morning of the big day.
Every game comes with the Mayor's Address.
Joy has a word with your lot, by name, before the game lands. The Director's Cut adds a Hollywood trailer. Watch the samples.
Then the video drops in the group chat. No explanation.
Joy reading them out by name. Two days later, the game. Then the chat doesn't stop for an hour, and nobody can work out how you knew.
A made-up birthday chat. Yours will be worse.
What actually happened. 😂
The founders' school mates, the night their reunion game landed in the group chat. Our first game, so yes, they're friends of ours. Word for word.
Ah this is killing me 🤠
😂😂😂😂😂
This would be a big hit on the Master System 2
Crying here, that is great
It's quality
Definitely has great playability
Trev that is class
Gets better and better
Was crying
The laughs are in the talking.
Everyone sounds exactly like themselves. You tell Joy the stories; we write the wind-ups and the comebacks. See it in a sample.
The levels a 40th tends to need.
In your game they're your people, doing the exact thing they always do and saying the exact thing they always say. Each story becomes a level.
- LEVEL 1
The "I've still got it" dance
A rhythm game in their kitchen, graded S to D. They get a D. They need a sit down after.
- LEVEL 2
The new hobby
Keep everyone awake while they explain the kit. Again. In full.
- LEVEL 3
Who's still in bed?
Whack them every time they pop up. "Can we make it a seven o'clock start?"
These come from our sample games, about made-up groups. Yours is the real thing. Play one, a group of mates on their Christmas do: two minutes, sound up, any phone. Or put your own lot in it.
How it works
- Tell Joy the stories, on your own phone, in your own time.
- We build the game and play it through, ready in 48 hours.
- Drop the link in the group WhatsApp. Then watch the chat.
Pick your edition
- Quick Play£303–4 chapters, up to 4 people
- Full Game£556–8 chapters, up to 8 people
- Director's Cut£9910–14 chapters, up to 14 people
Every edition comes with the Mayor's Address, a character card for everyone and your message at the end; the Director's Cut adds the Hollywood trailer. What's in each box.
Make your game.
A few questions, then pay. Your private link to Joy comes by email: start when you like, stop whenever, finish in your own time.
The person being teased should laugh hardest. No health, money troubles or secrets told in confidence. Anyone in a game can have it taken down.
Questions
What do you get someone turning 40 who has everything?
Something nobody else could buy them. They have the gadgets. They don't have a video game where their mates are the characters, dragging up the stories from their twenties. It costs about what a decent bottle does, and it lasts a lot longer.
Will it all be jokes about getting old?
Only as many as you want. Forty jokes write themselves (the back, the reading glasses, the yawn at nine), but the best games are about the person, not the number: the thing they've always done, and the mates who never let them forget it.
Can their partner and family be in it too?
Yes. Partners, brothers, sisters and old school mates all get a character: up to four in Quick Play, eight in the Full Game and fourteen in the Director's Cut. Children can appear and play, but nobody under 18 is the butt of a joke.
How far ahead should I order for a 40th?
Give yourself a few days before the date: your chat with Joy, in one go or a bit at a time, then up to 48 hours for us to build it. It comes to you first, so it's ready to drop in the chat on the morning.
Do they need to download anything?
No. It's a link. It opens in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. Best played sideways, with the sound up.
How long does it take?
As long as you like. Tell Joy the stories in one go or a few at a time over a week: she keeps your place on any phone or laptop. There's no sitting to get through: start when you like, stop whenever, and finish in your own time. Once you press Send, it's ready within 48 hours. One of us plays it through before it reaches you. Cutting it fine? Tell us the date and we'll say straight if we can make it, before you pay.
Can I change my mind?
Yes. Until you press Send at the end of the interview with Joy, you can cancel for a full refund, however much you've told her.