How to play

What you need

A device each

A phone, tablet or laptop with a web browser for every player. Each one shows the whole house, and you move around it freely. No app, nothing to download. Best on a bigger screen: a laptop, computer or tablet shows more of the house at once. A phone works too: turn it sideways.

Sound

The house knocks, rings and whispers, and some sounds play on only one person's phone. Sound on for everyone.

One shared screen (optional)

Mirror or cast one player's phone to a TV or laptop so the room can watch together — everyone still plays on their own device.

60–90 minutes

Most groups take an hour to an hour and a half. Your progress is saved if you need to stop.

Just you, or up to 6 players

Play in the same room, or together on a video call if you're apart.

Before we begin

1. Turn your sound on. Volume up. On an iPhone, turn Silent Mode off or web pages play no sound: Settings, Sounds & Haptics, Silent Mode off. (Quick way: on older iPhones flick the switch on the side so no orange shows; on newer ones hold the button on the side above the volume until it says Silent Mode Off.) If you use Bluetooth headphones or a speaker, check that's where the sound is going. The lobby plays a knock so you can check before you start.
2. Stay on the game screen. Keep the game tab open and in front for the whole game, and don't let your phone lock. The game asks your browser to keep the screen awake; if it can't, set Auto-Lock to Never until you're out.
3. Charge your phone. An hour and a half of a bright screen and sound uses battery. Plug in, or start full.
4. Set the scene. It's a ghost story. Lights down, curtains closed, sound up or headphones on, and no interruptions if you can help it. The more you put in, the more you get out.
5. Turn your phone sideways. The game asks for landscape on a phone so you get the full picture. If you would rather stay upright, tap "Play upright anyway" on the card: portrait still works: the picture is taller than the screen is wide, so swipe it sideways to look around the room.
6. Talk to each other. Some papers, keys and locks are dealt out to different players, so you'll need to compare notes and pass things across. Everything you're holding lives in your Pocket — Things, Papers and Notes — and there's a ⇄ button there to hand something to someone else. A door one of you opens is open for the whole group.
7. Know whether scares are on. The host chooses whether jump scares are on when they open the game, and the lobby tells everyone. With them off, the atmosphere and story stay; nothing jumps at you.
8. Leave a light on if you need to. If it gets too much partway through, anyone can tap “Leave a light on” at the top of their screen. The jump scares stop for you alone from then on: nobody else is told, their game carries on as it was, and your story, clues and atmosphere stay.
9. Flashes and lightning. A storm is coming closer all night, and lightning briefly brightens the room: a quick double flicker, never more than three flashes in a second. If flashing light affects you, turn on Reduce Motion on your device (the lightning becomes a slow, gentle glow), or play with jump scares off or leave a light on, which turns the flashes off completely.
10. Look away at your own risk. The house notices when you're not watching. We won't say more.
11. Hints cost time. Stuck? The Hint button gives up to three nudges per puzzle, each a little plainer than the last. Each nudge adds 2 minutes to your time on the leaderboard (only if your host chooses to appear there). Each Easter egg you find earns a free hint, spent before any paid one, and free hints cost no time.
12. Say you're ready. In the lobby, play the knock, confirm you heard it, then press I'm ready. The host sees who's ready and can start whenever the group is.

Starting the game

The person who bought the game signs in at Your games and chooses to host a game night or play alone. A game night shows a five-letter game code: everyone else goes to playthestillroom.com/join, types the game code and their name and email, and ticks that they're 16 or over. We email them a code to type on the same page (no password). The pass holds up to 6 people, the host included, and the same group can replay it any time in the 30 days.

If someone has to leave partway through, the game carries on and shares their clues out to whoever is still playing.

Your Pocket

Everything you pick up goes in your Pocket: tap Pocket under the picture, or at the top of the screen. Inside, Things are the objects you carry, Papers are the letters and pages you have found, and Notes are messages meant for you alone. To use a thing, tap it in your Pocket, then tap where you want to use it. The house puts things in your Pocket too, so keep an eye on it.