Party room Timeline: the complete guide to turns, tokens and hosting
Timeline in a party room is the classic game on a big screen. The host shows the board on a TV or laptop and 2 to 8 players place songs from their own phones, one player at a time.
Free to try. Whoever starts the game logs in with an email code, no password. Players who join a party room need no account and no app.
The screen is the stage. It plays each song through its speakers and shows every timeline, so the room can follow who is ahead. Phones are only controllers: they show your own timeline and a button to place the card.
Players take turns. Whoever is up hears the fragment, chooses a spot and confirms. Then the steal window opens, which is where this mode gets lively.
How a round plays out
Every round follows the same order, and the year is never sent to a phone before the reveal.
Listen on the big screen
The song plays through the host screen. The active player sees their timeline on their phone.
Place the card
The active player taps a slot between their songs and confirms with the place button.
Steal window
With tokens on, other players with a token can pay 1 to suggest another free spot. The active player taps done to close the window.
Reveal
The screen shows title, artist and year. The first suggestion that fits wins the card, and nobody right means the card is discarded.
Settings the host can change
Before starting, the host chooses whether tokens are on and how many cards win the game, anywhere from 3 to 30. With tokens off it is a pure timeline race. Auto moves on by itself after every round; switch it off to press Next yourself, and the host can pause the game at any time.
With tokens on, everybody starts with 2 and holds at most 5. A steal or a skip costs 1, and naming title and artist earns 1 once the host confirms it.
Who can join
Up to 8 players take part, plus up to 8 spectators who only watch. Players need no account: they scan the QR code or open the join page on a phone, tablet or laptop and type the 4 letter PIN, then pick a name of up to 16 characters.
Step by step
- 1
Open the host page on the big screen
Go to hitify.app/host on a TV, laptop or tablet and sign in with an email code.
- 2
Pick a deck and Timeline
Choose the deck, switch tokens on or off and set the target number of cards.
- 3
Let everyone join
Players scan the QR code or type the 4 letter code and choose a name.
- 4
Start and play in turns
Listen, place, steal if you dare, and watch the reveal on the screen.
The timeline in one look
A timeline is a row of songs in release order. You hear a new song, never its year, and decide where it fits between the songs already on the row. Get it right and the row grows.
Tips for a better game
Give steals a moment
Let the active player wait for the table to decide before tapping done. The steal window is the best part.
Spend tokens late
Tokens are worth most when the leader is one card from winning.
Keep the speakers loud
The song plays on the host screen only, so put it where the whole room can hear it.
Why it works at a party
No cards needed
Everything happens on screen, so there is nothing to print, shuffle or lose under the sofa.
Works in the browser
No app to install, not even for a party room. Open the page and play.
Three ways to play
One phone for a small group, or a party room with a big screen for a bigger crowd.
Prefer real cards?
Make your own card game: paste a playlist, print the PDF at home or order the printed cards.
Frequently asked questions
Does everyone need to be in the same room?
The screen has to be seen and heard by the players. That can be one living room, or a video call where the host shares the screen.
What is the maximum number of players?
Timeline takes 2 to 8 players. For a bigger group, use Year Rush or Timeline for everyone at once, which have no player limit.
Can I turn off the steal tokens?
Yes. The host chooses before the game starts. Without tokens each player simply places their own card and the first to the target wins.
What does it cost to play?
Popular public decks are free to play. If you turn your own playlist into a deck, the first 100 cards of that deck are free.
Do players need an account or an app?
No app is needed. Whoever starts the game logs in with an email code, no password. Players who join a party room scan a QR code or type the 4 letter room code, then pick a name.
Ready for the first song?
Pick a deck, choose how you want to play and have the first round running within a minute.
Hitify is not affiliated with Hitster or Jumbo. Hitster is a registered trademark of Koninklijke Jumbo B.V.