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Party game · Android TV and Google TV

Back to the Screen on TV

Back to the Screen is a party game for Android TV and Google TV. One person turns their back to the screen, a word appears for everyone else, and the room has to get them to say it without ever saying it themselves. For 4 or more players, with no phones and no wifi.

  • 4+ players
  • No phones
  • 3 rounds free

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How a round goes

  1. One person turns their back to the screen
  2. The room shouts clues
  3. Got it! The next word is already up

The person guessing holds the remote and sits with their back to the television. The word stays hidden until they press OK, so there is time to turn around. Pressing OK shows it to everyone else and starts the clock.

The room shouts clues, never the word itself. Anything else goes: act it, sing it, spell around it.

When they say it, press OK for the next word, or any arrow to pass. Nothing else on the remote does anything while the clock runs, so the guesser cannot press the wrong thing.

When the clock runs out the remote goes round to the next person. Played with no teams, every round is its own score. Played with two teams, red and blue take turns, the scores add up and the higher total wins.

At a glance

Players
4+
Phones
No phones
Free to try
3 rounds free
In the box
725 words in the decks a Worldwide television lists first, 1,345 words in all
Runs on
Android TV and Google TV, Android 6 and up

A few of the words

Everyday things a room can describe at speed. Three from the free rounds:

  • Penguin
  • Birthday cake
  • Toothbrush

The decks

There are four decks, from everyday words to film. A television set to Worldwide puts the English and Hollywood decks first, 725 words between them, and the Hindi and Bollywood decks follow, 1,345 words in all. A television set to India lists them all in their own order. The film decks get a longer clock than the everyday one.

No phones, nothing to pair

The television is the whole game: no room code, no phones to hand round. It keeps going if the wifi drops in the middle of a party, because the words are on the television.

Free to try

The first 3 rounds are free to try, in English and with no teams, with no card and no account. After that, a monthly, yearly or once-for-life plan unlocks the rest: two teams, the other decks, and every other game on the shelf.

Questions

How many people can play Back to the Screen?

4 or more players: one guessing, and enough people shouting to make it a racket.

Can we play in teams?

Yes. Two teams, red and blue, take turns and the scores add up. The free rounds are the no-teams version; two teams is included with any plan.

Do I need a phone, wifi or a second screen?

No. It needs no phones, and nothing else, once it is on the television.

Put it on the television

Back to the Screen is one of eighteen games in Read the Room, on Google Play for Android TV and Google TV.

Get it on Google Play

More games for the same television

All the games →