JOKESTICK

Your mates, as a Christmas video game.

Bring the in-jokes out.

One present for the whole lot: everyone a character, every legend a level. Drop it in the group chat the night before the Christmas drinks. From £30.

Make onePlay a sample
A Jokestick game: four blocky characters in a front room, name tags over their heads, and Kev saying "I'm not moving. That's my chair."
A real scene from a sample game. Yours stars your lot.

TRY IT

JOY

Who in your lot turns up in the same Christmas jumper every year?

Nothing you type here leaves your browser. See a whole game

One present for the whole lot.

Nobody wants another round of presents. Give the group one instead: everyone a character, every legend a level, and last year's night out finally gets a plot. Drop it in the chat the night before, or play it round the table in the pub.

Every game comes with the Mayor's Address.

Joy, our Mayor, has a word with your lot, by name, then hands over the game. Every edition gets one. This one's for the Joneses, the family we made up for Christmas Eve at Auntie Val's.

Captioned, so it works on mute. Sound up for Joy.

The Director's Cut gets a Hollywood trailer.

The Director's Cut comes with a Hollywood trailer: a movie-trailer voice reading your lot out like a cast list. This one's for the Joneses, a family we made up. Yours goes in the group chat the night before the drinks.

Captioned, so it works on mute. Sound up for the voice.

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 group chat. Yours will be worse.

Make one for your lot

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.

Every character sounds exactly like themselves. You tell Joy the stories; we write the wind-ups, the comebacks and the catchphrases. You don't have to be funny. You just have to remember.

A sample game: Bev says "Keith, those sausages are charcoal." Keith replies: "That's how we like them. Well done."
Real screens from Every Group Has One, a sample game with a made-up group.

Christmas night out levels.

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.

  1. LEVEL 1

    The dance at last year's do

    A rhythm game, graded S to D. They get a D. They think it's an S.

  2. LEVEL 2

    The story from last Christmas

    Keep everyone awake while it gets told. Again. In full.

  3. LEVEL 3

    Who left the Christmas chat on read?

    Whack them every time they pop up. They're "definitely coming".

Big Phil Turns 50 is a made-up family. Yours is the real thing. Two minutes, sound up, any phone. Or put your own lot in one.

How it works

  1. Tell Joy the stories

    On your own phone, in your own time: stop and come back whenever. Talk or type. Nobody else finds out.

  2. We build the game

    We write the script from your stories: the wind-ups, the comebacks, the catchphrases. Every story becomes a level, built for your lot and nobody else.

  3. Joy goes first

    The Mayor's Address: Joy tells your lot she's heard all about them, by name. Drop it in the chat a day or two before. Let them stew. The Director's Cut adds a Hollywood trailer.

  4. Then the game

    Drop the link with no explanation, or open it at the table. Any phone, no app. Watch their faces.

  5. Take the credit

    Somebody has to have made it. That's you. Enjoy that for the rest of the year.

Pick your edition

Same box, different sizes. Pick by how many of you there are.

One price, everything in. No account, no app. One of us plays every chapter and reads every line before it reaches you, and if we got a fact wrong, we fix it.

Make your game.

A few questions, then pay, and you're straight in to Joy. Your link comes by email too.

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.

Joy, winking.

Optional. It tells us how long we've got.

Which edition?

We'll only use your email for your game. How we look after it.

Questions

Does it have to be Christmassy?

As much as you like. Joy asks what the group is like at Christmas; snow, tinsel and the jumper are all there if you want them.

How many of us can be in it?

Up to four in Quick Play, eight in the Full Game and fourteen in the Director's Cut.

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. Most people give her about twenty minutes all told. 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.

What if I can't remember the stories?

That's Joy's job. Most people start with "he's always late" and stop there. Joy asks how late, what the excuse was and what the group chat said, and that's where the jokes are. You can stop and come back whenever you like.

Will anyone find out before I send it?

Not from us. Only you talk to Joy, on your own private link. Nobody sees anything until you send it.

Can I see it first?

Yes. It comes to you first and you choose when to send it. Got a fact wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.

Do I need to send photos?

No. You describe everyone and we build them from that: the hair, the glasses, the coat they never take off. We don't take photos at all.

What won't you put in a game?

Anything that would hurt rather than make them laugh. No health, sex, crime, money troubles or secrets told in confidence, no exes, and nobody under 18 is the butt of a joke. If we leave something out, we'll tell you and offer a gentler version.

What happens to my stories?

They're used to make your game. Your chat with Joy is deleted 30 days after we deliver it. The privacy notice has the detail.

How long can they play it?

The link works for a year, and you get a copy of the game to keep for good. It plays on a laptop or an Android phone with no internet; on an iPhone, put it on the home screen.

Big Phil Turns 50, a sample game

Make one