Show HN: Gamejoy – hosted Zoom games for remote teams(gamejoyhq.com)
gamejoyhq.com
Show HN: Gamejoy – hosted Zoom games for remote teams
https://www.gamejoyhq.com/
59 comments
I think you have zero-ed in on the right problem.
In our remote team we have tried a number of these team-building games / airbnb experiences, but tbh:
1. I did not feel like I knew my teammates better after the experience, and 2. it wasn't that fun
The most fun I had was actually playing Among Us with the team. But even that game has a couple of issues that makes it no 100% suited for team building.
My guess is you'll probably have to continue experimenting with games. I'm not sure if all in-person games will translate well to zoom, but some will do better than others. You def want people to be engaged, work together and change teams often.
It's also always great to hear that your games are helping someone – e.g. actors that are out of work.
Good luck! I'll be keeping an eye on your website and I'm already thinking of recommending it as an option for the next time we do a team building activity.
In our remote team we have tried a number of these team-building games / airbnb experiences, but tbh:
1. I did not feel like I knew my teammates better after the experience, and 2. it wasn't that fun
The most fun I had was actually playing Among Us with the team. But even that game has a couple of issues that makes it no 100% suited for team building.
My guess is you'll probably have to continue experimenting with games. I'm not sure if all in-person games will translate well to zoom, but some will do better than others. You def want people to be engaged, work together and change teams often.
It's also always great to hear that your games are helping someone – e.g. actors that are out of work.
Good luck! I'll be keeping an eye on your website and I'm already thinking of recommending it as an option for the next time we do a team building activity.
Thanks for kind words sentinel. Totally agreed about the two pain points you described with existing remote activities:
1. Not getting to know your teammates better 2. Not being fun
This is what really led us to want to do something different with Gamejoy. To this end, we try to train our hosts and pick games that not only encourage participants to have fun but also get to know each other better—through interactive and maybe slightly embarrassing questions. :-)
And, agree about needing to continue to experiment with games. We have a couple of ideas in the pipeline but we want to make sure they bring that combination of fun + team building that we want.
1. Not getting to know your teammates better 2. Not being fun
This is what really led us to want to do something different with Gamejoy. To this end, we try to train our hosts and pick games that not only encourage participants to have fun but also get to know each other better—through interactive and maybe slightly embarrassing questions. :-)
And, agree about needing to continue to experiment with games. We have a couple of ideas in the pipeline but we want to make sure they bring that combination of fun + team building that we want.
How did Among Us go? My co-worker and I are considering hosting a few games for our team.
I really enjoyed it, but imo it wasn't a total success. The problem with Among Us is that one of its mechanics is lying or deceiving. When playing with friends this may not really be a problem – it's all fun and games.
But, in a work environment, I think some people would be careful about "showing they are good at lying". Therefore, when it's their turn to be the imposter, they will self-sabotage so they don't even try to manipulate or lie. I suppose all this depends on how political or close-knit the team you are in is, so YMMV. I can see this working great in a startup, but maybe not so much in a larger company, where a certain amount of politics permeates interactions.
I think this takes a toll on how fun the game can be in the end. Which is why, I don't think I'll recommend Among Us again, because I think some people just don't want to show a "dirtier" side of themselves especially in front of others.
Side note – I do love Among Us and I am playing it with friends whenever I can. I do think it has some great team-building ideas in it, probably unintentionally, as I don't think it was created as a workplace team building game. If there could be a similar game, that would keep the team building, but with less of the deceiving, that could be a real winner for the team-building activity in the age of remote work.
But, in a work environment, I think some people would be careful about "showing they are good at lying". Therefore, when it's their turn to be the imposter, they will self-sabotage so they don't even try to manipulate or lie. I suppose all this depends on how political or close-knit the team you are in is, so YMMV. I can see this working great in a startup, but maybe not so much in a larger company, where a certain amount of politics permeates interactions.
I think this takes a toll on how fun the game can be in the end. Which is why, I don't think I'll recommend Among Us again, because I think some people just don't want to show a "dirtier" side of themselves especially in front of others.
Side note – I do love Among Us and I am playing it with friends whenever I can. I do think it has some great team-building ideas in it, probably unintentionally, as I don't think it was created as a workplace team building game. If there could be a similar game, that would keep the team building, but with less of the deceiving, that could be a real winner for the team-building activity in the age of remote work.
You have to be careful about the other side too, if people did take the game seriously that can cause fractures in the group that would have repercussions elsewhere. "How can I trust you to get the work done that you said would get done when I know you are so good at lying?" I've seen good friendships end over traitor mechanic games, and I don't want to imagine what it would look like to see a work team destroyed by one.
Exactly – I think this is what my concern is as well.
I think the best analogy for this is when AOC played Among Us and was the impostor. Was she going to turn her political mind to 100% and win the game, and in front of the world show "how it's done by a pro"? I don't think so. Similarly, I think a manager or someone jockeying for a position would be reluctant to play to win, especially as impostor.
I think the best analogy for this is when AOC played Among Us and was the impostor. Was she going to turn her political mind to 100% and win the game, and in front of the world show "how it's done by a pro"? I don't think so. Similarly, I think a manager or someone jockeying for a position would be reluctant to play to win, especially as impostor.
try avalon. it's much more social and way easier to learn, plus everyone gets to play until the end. avalon is both logical-deduction-gamey and mafia-style-social. among us just feels like a video game.
Are you referring to this one: https://avalon.fun/ ?
There are also tricks to use any of the board games in a video chat as well (well Avalon is more of a card game, but you get the gist). The publisher of Avalon also has a sci-fi setting with a bunch of similar traitor mechanic games in Resistance, Coup, One Night Ultimate Resistance, etc.
A thing to point out as mentioned way above, the issue with any traitor mechanic game is that while they can be great fun, involve a lot of exploration of social dynamics, they are also not really good at team building because they require at least some of you to lie/cheat/back-stab.
As a designated owner/bringer of several traitor mechanic board games, in the before times, I/we had a general rule that traitor mechanic were "first thing in the game night" games, and should if possible generally be followed by a true coop game (things like Hanabi or Pandemic) or a silly judge game (such as Apples-to-Apples or Action Cats), in order to avoid certain types of after-game drama, cleanse the palates a bit, and do a bit of a cooldown/after-care.
Unfortunately, traitor mechanic games are generally very easy to do remotely in a video chat while a lot of the pure coop games are "us versus the board" that are tougher to do remotely. Some of them have great videogame adaptations, but in videogame form lose some of the intimacy you'd want from a good video chat, and also often give all the information to every player at all times which only encourages the types of coop players that like to run the entire game and play everyone's turn as min-maxed as possible.
A thing to point out as mentioned way above, the issue with any traitor mechanic game is that while they can be great fun, involve a lot of exploration of social dynamics, they are also not really good at team building because they require at least some of you to lie/cheat/back-stab.
As a designated owner/bringer of several traitor mechanic board games, in the before times, I/we had a general rule that traitor mechanic were "first thing in the game night" games, and should if possible generally be followed by a true coop game (things like Hanabi or Pandemic) or a silly judge game (such as Apples-to-Apples or Action Cats), in order to avoid certain types of after-game drama, cleanse the palates a bit, and do a bit of a cooldown/after-care.
Unfortunately, traitor mechanic games are generally very easy to do remotely in a video chat while a lot of the pure coop games are "us versus the board" that are tougher to do remotely. Some of them have great videogame adaptations, but in videogame form lose some of the intimacy you'd want from a good video chat, and also often give all the information to every player at all times which only encourages the types of coop players that like to run the entire game and play everyone's turn as min-maxed as possible.
This looks really neat and I'd love to connect and talk about partnering somehow.
I'm working on a related project[1] aimed at the same problem but with a slightly different take. We don't do game hosting and our software is more of a "build your own zoom games" platform with a slideshow/presentation UI. But I think a lot of companies probably want a dedicated host and would be happy to pay for it (I'd be interested to know what that breakdown looks like).
In terms of what games you're working on, I think you're on the right track with games that help create real connections and deeper relationships. It looks like remote work will be permanently elevated (not to current numbers, but estimates look like >300% above pre-pandemic levels[2]). Bottom line is I think the team bonding and remote closeness problem is here to stay.
[1] Slides With Friends — https://slideswith.com
[2] Predictions 2021 — https://go.forrester.com/blogs/employee-experience-in-2021/
I'm working on a related project[1] aimed at the same problem but with a slightly different take. We don't do game hosting and our software is more of a "build your own zoom games" platform with a slideshow/presentation UI. But I think a lot of companies probably want a dedicated host and would be happy to pay for it (I'd be interested to know what that breakdown looks like).
In terms of what games you're working on, I think you're on the right track with games that help create real connections and deeper relationships. It looks like remote work will be permanently elevated (not to current numbers, but estimates look like >300% above pre-pandemic levels[2]). Bottom line is I think the team bonding and remote closeness problem is here to stay.
[1] Slides With Friends — https://slideswith.com
[2] Predictions 2021 — https://go.forrester.com/blogs/employee-experience-in-2021/
Founder here again!
Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the candid feedback. It’s been super helpful. We’ve already made a few changes including adding a lower price point with a “no prizes” option and other copy updates. We’re also hard at work to add more compelling social proof.
Thank you HN community!
Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the candid feedback. It’s been super helpful. We’ve already made a few changes including adding a lower price point with a “no prizes” option and other copy updates. We’re also hard at work to add more compelling social proof.
Thank you HN community!
Interesting idea, though I am wondering how you are going to scale since games involve live hosts? Rather you could use this as a platform to connect "live hosts" (who make up and publish their games) with companies wanting to connect.
You could provide platform, services, payment gateway etc.
You could provide platform, services, payment gateway etc.
abhinuvpitale, love your suggestion about scaling to a platform to connect "live hosts". One of our hosts is actually an out-of-work actress affected by the pandemic and a big goal of mission is to help more artists affected like this. So, your suggestion really takes this to the next level!
This is not a bad idea, but of course you don't necessarily want to become an alternative to AirBnB experiences either. There are a number of team building activities there as well, but I don't think they have the game element to them that you have here – this could be your differentiation.
Video or Demo showing how it works would be great !
Man, you would have made an absolute killing 9 months ago. I hope there's still space in the market and people aren't too burned out/tired of virtual meets. Best of luck!
$350 for one session?
Just buy one jackbox games for like $30 (has multiple games). One person screen shares the game, and you have a ball.
Just buy one jackbox games for like $30 (has multiple games). One person screen shares the game, and you have a ball.
That's fair feedback about the price and this is not for everyone. We're hoping people will experience value in prizes, a trained host, team-building aspects like ice breakers, and a high-quality game experience.
You might want to make it more obvious on the landing page that this price includes a live host. I thought this was a free, automated thing at first and was blown away when I saw the cost.
To be honest I thought the same thing. Pricing was also a little hidden.
I have been looking for something like this - as patio11 would say, you should always charge more than you think but I’ll be honest, my workplace could not really justify this price for an hour.
I have been looking for something like this - as patio11 would say, you should always charge more than you think but I’ll be honest, my workplace could not really justify this price for an hour.
In non-pandemic times, it would not be unusual for a company to blow more than that on a laserquest outing or an escape room or something. Seems in the right ballpark for a teambuilding budget.
Curious, what do you think would be a more reasonable price that would "justify this price for an hour"?
I'm not the person you are replying to, but just wanted to add another data point, even if it's probably not what you want to hear - I think $50-$125 is more realistic.
FWIW, I also just polled my manager about this (without revealing my thoughts above), and he said $100 absolute max. For reference, this is at a megacorp (technically they could of course afford more, but budgets for anything related to employee happiness are squeezed tight).
FWIW, I also just polled my manager about this (without revealing my thoughts above), and he said $100 absolute max. For reference, this is at a megacorp (technically they could of course afford more, but budgets for anything related to employee happiness are squeezed tight).
Thanks GordonS. Really appreciate the data point. Interesting, the few managers we talked to as part of our user research indicated a much higher acceptable price point for employee engagement initiatives and the cost savings during the pandemic. Looks like we need to do more pricing research here.
The business I’m in may not be representative of the clients you’re looking for (we’re 15 strong), but we would be interested at around the £100 mark.
ircshotty, thank you for the additional data point. Part of the reason for the higher price is that we provide prizes to the winning team. Perhaps we need to consider a lower price point without prizes. Would that help?
Or, maybe we need make the inclusion of prizes clearer in how the price is positioned.
Or, maybe we need make the inclusion of prizes clearer in how the price is positioned.
That last bit sounds like the winner.
Make it toggle-able, and you're fucking champion.
Make it toggle-able, and you're fucking champion.
Thanks so much the feedback. We've made the prizes toggle-able so now the price point is a bit lower.
Thanks for the feedback. We made some changes that will hopefully make this more obvious.
How do you scale this with a live host? They're literally booked for an entire hour (or more)? Can these games not be designed to stand on their own without additional humans pulling levers?
We're seeing a live host as a main part of our value proposition. The host not only helps ensure an optimal game experience but also supports the team to get to know each better with fun questions and ice-breakers.
Long-term, we're hoping this could be also be a way to employ artists impacted by the pandemic as well.
Long-term, we're hoping this could be also be a way to employ artists impacted by the pandemic as well.
Many of the companies you are targeting probably already have HR generalists who do such events online now because of the new reality . Perhaps you should consider a pricing package where you provide the games and training for the host and make it self service for the hosts to run these events for their companies. It would be more scalable and doesn't erode any value.
That's a really great point about the role of HR generalists and your suggestion about moving to a more self-service model. We'll definitely consider this. Thanks for the feedback!
Maybe sell shovels: by which I mean offer a course to train HR people to deliver a raft of games?
This doesn't work well in practice, in my experience, due to all the low-latency audio and video streaming requirements (most Jackbox games utilize a timer), locked down corporate machine deployments, and streaming platform delays. Huge mess.
I've played Jackbox games monthly with my family via Zoom. I have a gigabit fiber connection, and they have slower cable connections. The Jackbox timer can be configured to a longer amount, but we've never had an issue with this. Most timer issues have been due to someone being distracted by something else, not the game itself.
Generally, if a group can use any form of videoconferencing, they can use Jackbox. It's no different from one person sharing a presentation. I've only encountered one game that required realtime interaction, and we know to avoid it.
It's pretty easy to get around corporate machine lockdown by using a personal machine to host. Participants are just using the web browser.
Generally, if a group can use any form of videoconferencing, they can use Jackbox. It's no different from one person sharing a presentation. I've only encountered one game that required realtime interaction, and we know to avoid it.
It's pretty easy to get around corporate machine lockdown by using a personal machine to host. Participants are just using the web browser.
Sorry, but for $350.00, you need way stronger testimonials/evidence of the host being worth it.
A grainy picture taken in someone's bathroom with the caption "She's hilarious and unpredictable, so get ready for laughs!", and a couple one-liners from names that could be completely fake, does not tell me that this is going to be worth the money.
A grainy picture taken in someone's bathroom with the caption "She's hilarious and unpredictable, so get ready for laughs!", and a couple one-liners from names that could be completely fake, does not tell me that this is going to be worth the money.
I'll disagree.
This isn't for individuals, it's for corporations with left over event budgets.
Although you could also just have everyone jump into an online game for free
This isn't for individuals, it's for corporations with left over event budgets.
Although you could also just have everyone jump into an online game for free
Great feedback. We could definitely work on improving the testimonials and social proof on the website. Honestly, we weren't expecting such a strong response on HN so didn't much as much thought/effort into this as we should. We'll work on improving this ASAP.
I mean this only constructively, but why share if you're not ready for or expecting a strong response? You only get one chance to make a first impression. If this is simply a concept or beta product, you should indicate that. If you're looking for customers, put your best foot forward. Best of luck.
That's fair. Would definitely not consider this a concept as we have many paid, satisfied customers but we're always iterating on our website/product based on feedback and this is definitely an area of improvement. But point taken about "making a first impression".
How do you balance making a good first impression with getting feedback on an early-ish version of your product?
How do you balance making a good first impression with getting feedback on an early-ish version of your product?
Your communications via your landing page & website tell your consumers if you're looking to scrape a buck, or passionately work hard to solve a problem or desire.
This is pretty cool. I've worked at companies that would probably go for it. Though these companies also usually have someone in-house that is happy to MC or host Jackbox tv or another option so maybe more info and testimonials to talk up the value of your host.
It reminds me of https://startplaying.games/ which matches DMs/GMs with people that want to play dungeons and dragons and other TTRPG games online. Pricing is per person per session. Some of the DMs might be able to hit that $350 price point but it'd be for a 3+ hour session and their value add is very very obvious with number of games/hours they've DMd and reviews from players at their tables.
There's also a bar trivia company in Denver that's been hosting bar trivia over zoom - I think pricing is per team with some fun prizes. They support many more people than what you are offering too though. I have participated in a bar pre-covid and on Zoom and both experiences were fun.
It reminds me of https://startplaying.games/ which matches DMs/GMs with people that want to play dungeons and dragons and other TTRPG games online. Pricing is per person per session. Some of the DMs might be able to hit that $350 price point but it'd be for a 3+ hour session and their value add is very very obvious with number of games/hours they've DMd and reviews from players at their tables.
There's also a bar trivia company in Denver that's been hosting bar trivia over zoom - I think pricing is per team with some fun prizes. They support many more people than what you are offering too though. I have participated in a bar pre-covid and on Zoom and both experiences were fun.
Thank you for all the feedback and points of comparison. Based on all the feedback here, we lowered our initial price point by making prizes optional.
The way https://startplaying.games/ shows feedback is a great reference for how we could handle host reviews.
The way https://startplaying.games/ shows feedback is a great reference for how we could handle host reviews.
Had a similar idea myself and registered the domain remoteteams.fun, but never got around to building. Congrats, this looks great and I think there's alot of appetite for this sort of service. FWIW, the pricing and live host align exactly with what I was considering building.
Might be worth hiring a designer to give a face lift to the sight, website feels a bit spartan at the moment. I agree that strong testimonials could go a long way, maybe include a clip of people having a good time in a game? How many repeat customers do you have, maybe offer a first time discount?
Might be worth hiring a designer to give a face lift to the sight, website feels a bit spartan at the moment. I agree that strong testimonials could go a long way, maybe include a clip of people having a good time in a game? How many repeat customers do you have, maybe offer a first time discount?
Thanks for the feedback! And, FWIW, remoteteams.fun is a pretty great domain name. Appreciate your point about hiring a designer and adding more social proof. A video of people having a good time would be great but we haven't been able to get a one yet for confidentiality reasons. I think it's definitely something we should prioritize.
We're still in the early stages but are seeing decent repeat business with other teams at an organization wanting to run a similar game. We do try to encourage social sharing by providing winning pictures and prizes.
We're still in the early stages but are seeing decent repeat business with other teams at an organization wanting to run a similar game. We do try to encourage social sharing by providing winning pictures and prizes.
I have been invited to one of these “team” zoom games with my fellow devs and other teams.
While everyone seemed to enjoy the game, I felt bored and that I was wasting my time. I didn’t want to break their fun by quitting the game so I had to play for a whole hour.
It was a bitter and ridiculous experience and not joyful at all.
While everyone seemed to enjoy the game, I felt bored and that I was wasting my time. I didn’t want to break their fun by quitting the game so I had to play for a whole hour.
It was a bitter and ridiculous experience and not joyful at all.
bromuro, what game did you play?Do you know service you used? While you cannot please everyone, curious to learn more details so we have a wider appeal.
Reminds me of AirConsole. The price and game selection is waaay worse though.
Is there support for Google Meet? Some employers refuse to use Zoom.
Great question. Unfortunately, we need to use Zoom at the moment because we require the breakout room functionality. We are looking into how to support other platforms but don’t have an ETA yet.
Thank you for the feedback! We’ve tested out Google Meet and happy to announce we can now fully support games on Google Meet.
Sweet!
This is a solid idea.
Backstory: the teams at my company got really tired of the usual remote "Happy Hour" activities and thought it would be fun to do something a little different — a little more fun! I decided to run a session of “Family Feud” for my team and everyone had a great time. Before I knew it, multiple teams throughout the company were reaching out to me to run a session!
After thinking about this experience and talking with numerous managers, I found it was getting harder to keep things fresh as many teams continue to work remotely and thought there was an opportunity to do something more scalable and high quality. Hence, Gamejoy was born!
Right now, we're focusing on games that combine fun + universal appeal/ease + the opportunity to get to know your teammates better (i.e. games with built-in icebreakers). We're starting with a few games and hoping to launch more (i.e. Poker is a common request) shortly.
Would love any thoughts or feedback. Thanks!