A music icebreaker for webinars and virtual events
The start of an online event is awkward. A short music round gives everyone something to do with their hands and something to say afterwards.
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.
In a webinar, attendees often cannot speak or switch on a camera, which makes ordinary icebreakers fall flat. A music quiz works because the answers go through the phone. Everyone takes part at the same time, nobody has to unmute, and the reveal on the shared screen gives the host a first thing to react to.
Keep it short. Three or four songs in Year Rush take a few minutes, and a deck from a decade your audience grew up with does the rest. Run it as a warm-up before the content starts or as a break in a long programme, and check with your event platform that you may share a screen with sound.
How to set it up here
- 1
Decide when it runs
Before the content, after a break or as a closing round. Keep it to a few songs.
- 2
Open the room and the share
Start hitify.app/host, create the room and share the browser window with sound in your event tool.
- 3
Give a one line instruction
Say hitify.app/j/ plus the 4 letter code, or show the QR code, and tell people to pick a name.
- 4
Play three or four songs
Read out the leaderboard, then move on to your first topic.
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.
What you need
A tool that shares screen and sound
Check this in a rehearsal, because some event tools handle audio differently.
Attendees with a phone
Most have one within reach.
Three minutes
Including the time to join.
Tips for a better game
Rehearse the sound
Test with a colleague that the song is audible for attendees before the event.
Have a fallback
If sound sharing fails, skip the game and carry on with the programme.
Choose neutral decks
A general deck is safer than a niche one for a mixed audience.
What streamers and communities should know
Viewers need nothing but a browser
No account, no download and no sign-up for players. They open a link or scan a QR code, type a name and play from a phone or a laptop.
The host screen is a normal web page
You show it with window capture, display capture or a screen share. There is no plugin, overlay or chat bot, and none is needed.
The app sets no player limit
The whole chat can join one room. Year Rush suits big crowds best, because everyone answers at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
How do attendees without a phone take part?
The player page is an ordinary web page, so a second browser window on a computer works too. If someone cannot take part at all, they can still follow the reveals on the shared screen.
Does it collect attendee data?
Players only enter a display name. Rooms and names are not stored after the game. Hosts should still follow their own privacy rules for their event.
Can I play the songs on my stream? What about music rights?
Hitify plays 30 second previews from music services in the browser tab of the host, so whatever your computer sound sends to your stream goes out with it. Hitify gives you no licence to broadcast music and cannot know what your platform allows. Twitch, YouTube, Kick, Discord, Zoom and others each have their own music rules and may mute, flag or limit streams and recordings. Check the rules of your platform before you go live. This is not legal advice.
Do viewers need an account or an app?
No. Viewers open the join link or scan the QR code in a browser on a phone or laptop, type a name and play. Nothing to install. Only the person who hosts signs in, with an email code and no password.
Ready to run a round for your chat?
Open the host screen, pick a deck and show the room code. You can have the first song playing within a few minutes.
Hitify is not affiliated with Hitster or Jumbo. Hitster is a registered trademark of Koninklijke Jumbo B.V. Twitch, Kick, YouTube, Discord, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Reddit, OBS and other platform names belong to their owners and appear here only to describe where you can play. Hitify is independent of them, with no partnership and no endorsement.