How to host a Mind Raider game night

The host of a Mind Raider party has more influence than it looks. You choose the group size, the length of the game, the questions, and, most importantly, the mood. A well-run night ends with people arguing happily about why their best friend picked "Marry rich". A badly run one ends with three people checking their phones for something else.

This is the checklist we'd hand a first-time host.

Before anyone arrives

Get everyone on the app early

Every player needs Mind Raider on their own Android phone. Send the Play Store link in your group chat a day ahead, and ask people to open the app once and play a quick practice round against the bots. It takes a couple of minutes and means nobody spends the first half hour of your evening downloading and creating a username.

Check the basics

• Wi-Fi password somewhere visible. The game is online, and patchy mobile data is the most common cause of a stalled round.
• Chargers. One or two spare cables near the sofa save a lot of "I'm on 4%".
• Sound. The round music and stings are part of the fun in a room. If several phones playing at once is too much, players can turn music off in Profile > Settings > Sound and keep the effects.

Choosing the party size

A party holds 2 to 6 players. The size changes the game more than you'd expect:

• 2 players: pure head to head. One read per round, maximum 40 points. Great for couples and best friends who think they know each other.
• 3 to 4 players: the sweet spot for close friends. Few enough that the reveals stay personal, enough that you can't simply mirror one person.
• 5 players: the standard party and the best default. Four reads per round keeps everyone busy for the full 30 seconds.
• 6 players: chaotic in the best way, and it earns the Full House badge. Best when people already know each other reasonably well; with strangers, the guessing becomes close to random.

More than six people? Run two parties side by side, then swap players between games. It also gives everyone a reason to compare scores across tables.

Choosing the number of rounds

Rounds last up to 30 seconds and end early once everyone locks in, so even long games move quickly.

• 4 rounds: a warm-up or a "one more before we leave" game.
• 6 rounds: the standard. Long enough for a comeback, short enough that nobody gets restless.
• 8 rounds: for a group that is clearly hooked. Reads get sharper as the game goes on, because every reveal tells you more about how people think.

A good shape for an evening: one 4-round warm-up, then a few 6-round games, then an 8-round "final".

Explaining the game in 30 seconds

Don't read rules aloud. Say this, then start:

"Everyone gets the same question with four answers. Pick yours, then guess what each of us picked. You get 40 points for every person you read right. That's it."

People learn faster from the first reveal than from any explanation. If someone is completely new, send them our full how-to-play guide beforehand, or let them sit out one practice round on your phone.

Pick the questions on purpose

The Classic set mixes 200 questions about legends, tech, money, ethics, relationships and lifestyle. It works for almost any group. But the host's secret weapon is a custom pack: every player gets one free pack of up to 50 questions.

Pack ideas that work well at a party:

• The group pack: questions only your friends would understand. "Who is most likely to cancel last minute?" with four names as the answers. "Best night out we ever had?" with four real nights.
• The birthday pack: all about the guest of honour. Everyone guesses what the birthday person picked, and the birthday person gets to be smug.
• The work pack: office debates that are safe to have in front of colleagues. "Best day for a meeting?", "Cameras on or off?".
• The family pack: holiday traditions, family legends, who really started the argument in 2019.

Parties that use a custom pack are invite-only (code or link), so strangers from Quick Match never see your in-jokes. For writing tips, see how to write party questions that start arguments.

House rules worth adding

The app handles the rules that matter, but a few table rules make the night better:

1. Phones face down after locking in. Nothing kills the fun like someone glancing at a neighbour's screen.
2. No lobbying during the round. Talking is fine. Announcing "I definitely picked B" is not.
3. Explain one pick per reveal. After each reveal, the person nobody read correctly has to explain their answer. This is where the best conversations of the night come from.
4. Loser chooses the next round count. It gives the person at the bottom something to look forward to.

Keep it fun for everyone

Mind Raider's questions are designed to be debatable, and some (relationships, ethics, money) can touch nerves. A few habits keep it light:

• Laugh at the reveal, not at the person. "I can't believe you picked that" is fine. Picking on someone's answer for the rest of the night is not.
• Read your room. If your group includes new partners, colleagues or relatives with strong opinions, a custom pack of lighter questions may be a better choice than Classic.
• Mix new people in. If one player knows nobody, put them in a party with the friends who are best at explaining their picks. They'll catch up within two games.

Formats for longer nights

The tournament

Play three 6-round games and add up each player's totals on paper. The person with the highest combined score is champion. It rewards consistent reading over one lucky game.

The rotating host

Each game, a different player hosts with their own custom pack. You learn as much from the questions people write as from the answers they pick.

Couples versus couples

Run 2-player games for each couple, then compare final scores across couples. Expect at least one couple to discover they know each other less well than they claimed.

Host checklist

• Everyone installed the app and played one practice round
• Wi-Fi password and chargers ready
• Party size and round count chosen
• Classic or a custom pack prepared
• House rules agreed in one sentence
• Invite link sent to the group chat when everyone's ready

Then tap CREATE PARTY and let the reveals do the rest.