How I Built Three Small Party Games for a Spring Dinner

Description and use

Three lightweight Node.js party games – a multiplayer dance memory game, a single‑screen rock‑paper‑scissors display, and an open lottery – were built for a spring dinner. They run locally, use phones as controllers, and can be reused at any event.

Problem

Create simple, event-friendly games that can be run on a laptop and projected to a large screen, using participants’ phones as controllers or as a single-screen display.

Outcome

The three games run reliably on a local network, support multiple participants, and provide engaging visual feedback. They are easy to deploy, modify, and extend for future events.

Workflow

• 1. Clone the desired repository from GitHub.
• 2. Run npm install to install dependencies.
• 3. Start the server with npm start (default ports 3000/3001).
• 4. Open the host URL (/host) on the projector screen and the player URL (/) on each participant’s phone.
• 5. Use the host controls to start rounds, adjust difficulty, or reset the game.
• 6. For the rock‑paper‑scissors and lottery displays, press Space or click to start a round and watch the animated result.
• 7. Optionally build an Electron desktop version for a standalone Windows build.

Evidence

Each repository has its own README and can be started independently with Node.js 18 or later.

Source

The multiplayer game stores everything in one process. A server restart clears the room, and there is no authentication, HTTPS, rate limiting, or input validation.

Source

The lottery display has a slightly different invariant: a number that has already been drawn must not be available again.

Source