QR games on the table: how exactly does it work?

Games via a QR code sound like something that comes with a project attached: equipment, installation, briefing the staff. In practice, it's a card on the table and nothing more. This explanation walks through the whole chain, so you know exactly what you're saying yes to.

Step by step

1. Each table gets its own QR code. It's unique per table, so the system knows which table someone is sitting at.
2. A guest scans it with their own phone's camera. Nothing needs to be installed; it opens in the browser.
3. They enter a nickname. No account, no email address, no password.
4. They choose how they want to play: alone, together with their own table, or against another table in the venue.
5. They pick a game and start. A round lasts two to five minutes.

That's it. There's no moment at which your staff need to do anything.

What you need to arrange yourself

One-off: printing or having the QR codes printed and placing them on the table. After that, you choose in the client portal which games you want switched on. If you switch a game off, it disappears from all tables immediately.

There's no equipment, no installation and no training. The only physical action is placing a card on the table.

What if the wifi is poor?

This is the question that comes up most often, and rightly so: many venues have a basement, a terrace or a back room with poor coverage. Guests play on their own mobile connection, so your wifi isn't needed. The games are deliberately built to be lightweight, specifically for places where coverage isn't great.

So do guests sit on their phone all evening?

That depends entirely on the length and format. A round of two to five minutes fills the gap between ordering and serving and then stops. And two of the three play formats are specifically built so people aren't sitting apart: together on one phone, or a whole table against another table. That produces noise and laughter, not silence.

What happens with data

Guests don't have an account and only enter a nickname. No names, email addresses or phone numbers of your guests are stored. What is stored, and why, is set out in the privacy statement.

The three play formats, and when to use which

Playing alone

One guest, one phone. Suited to the gap between ordering and serving, and for the guest sitting alone. Puzzles, memory games and reaction tests fall under this category.

Together on one phone

The whole table joins in, taking turns on the same device. This is the format where the objection about phones applies least: there's one phone on the table and everyone watches together. Works well for families and groups.

Against another table

Two or more tables compete against each other, with a live-updating scoreboard. This is the format that creates noise in the venue, and one that venues choose when they want atmosphere on a quiet evening.

You decide yourself which games are active, and therefore which formats your guests get to see.

What you see from it

• How many games have been played, per day, week, month and year.
• Which games are played the most and how long is spent per game.
• How many different guests have participated.
• How many reviews and order requests have come out of it.

This way you can see within two weeks whether it appeals to your guests, instead of having to guess.

The questions everyone asks before getting started

Do my tables need to look different?

No. The QR code can go on a standing card, on a sticker, or be printed into a menu or coaster. You decide how it looks; you set the size and layout in the client portal.

What if a guest scans the QR code of another table?

Then they'll play from that table. That's rarely a problem, and with table-versus-table it's actually the intention. If you're worried about confusion, you can switch off that game format.

Does it work on older phones?

Everything runs in the browser and nothing is installed, so the requirement is a phone with a modern browser. In practice that means almost every device from the last six years.

Can I see which table is playing what?

You can see the number of games, the games themselves, and the playing time. You can't see who is playing: guests don't have an account and only fill in a nickname.

What happens if the system goes down?

Then a guest sees a short maintenance message saying they can try again in a few minutes. Nothing breaks at your table, on your menu, or at your till, since those are separate from it.

What it costs

The price depends on the number of tables and can be cancelled monthly. The overview is on the pricing page; all games are listed on their own page.