Countdown
A cooperative card game about silence, trust, and timing. Inspired by The Mind.
The game
One hundred cards, numbered 1 to 100. Deal them out. Play them in descending order — without talking, without signaling, without any communication at all. Just you, your teammates, and the shared tension of knowing someone has to go next.
Each round, everyone votes on how many cards to deal. Play proceeds silently. If someone plays a card out of order, the team loses a life. Lose all five lives and the game is over. Play all 100 cards and you win together.
It’s a game about reading the room. The rules take thirty seconds to learn. The feeling takes a few rounds to understand.
How to play
- Create a room on any device. Share the four-letter room code with your friends.
- Join from any browser. No app install required for web play. No accounts. Just enter the code.
- Vote on card count. Each round, everyone picks how many cards they want dealt. The group gets the minimum — a built-in safety valve.
- Play your cards. When you feel the moment, tap a card. If it’s the highest card anyone is holding, it plays. If not, the team loses a life.
- Win or learn. Survive all 100 cards, or don’t. Either way, hit Play Again — the room stays open.
What makes it different
- Real-time multiplayer. No waiting for turns. The game runs on WebSockets with instant state sync. Play a card and everyone sees it immediately.
- Reconnection built in. If someone’s phone drops WiFi, they rejoin automatically. No lost progress, no broken rounds.
- Spectator mode. Put a spare device on the table as a shared display showing the discard pile, lives, and round number. Enter the code
PILE_VIEWERto activate it. - Sound and haptics. Card plays, life loss, victory — the game gives tactile feedback. Mute toggle for quiet settings.
- Dark theme. Late-night games without the glare.
- No accounts, no tracking. Create a room, share a code, play. Nothing else required.
Play it
Countdown is available on the web and coming soon to the App Store.