How to use the game timer
- 1Choose "Game timer" at the top.
- 2Tap a preset: 30 seconds, or 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 minutes. For anything else, type your own minutes and seconds.
- 3Tap "Start". The digits are huge, so players can read them from across the room. "Pause" stops the clock and "Reset" starts the round over.
- 4Near the end, the timer beeps for the last 3 seconds and rings at zero. Phones also vibrate when the browser supports it. Switch "Sound" off when you need quiet.
- 5Tap "Full screen" to fill a laptop or a TV with the countdown.
While it runs, the timer keeps your screen awake when the browser allows it, so the phone doesn't lock in the middle of a round.
A 1 minute timer and other quick presets
30 seconds
Lightning rounds. Name five things in a category, defend your answer in a debate or finish a sketch before the beep.
1 minute
The classic one-minute challenge. Stack cups into a pyramid, keep a balloon in the air or list as many animals as you can.
2 or 3 minutes
Group discussion before a vote, a speed drawing round or a quick cleanup race before dinner.
5 minutes
Warm-ups, brainstorms, a short break or a tidy-up in class. Long enough to get something done, short enough to keep the energy up.
10 minutes
Quiet reading, a longer team challenge or a full round of questions in a mystery game.
Count down to New Year's Eve, a birthday or any day
Switch to "Countdown to a date" for something further away. Give it a title, pick the day and the time, choose a time zone and set the colors. The countdown shows days, hours, minutes and seconds.
Pick the time zone where the event happens, so friends in other places count down to the right moment.
Tap "Get link" for a link anyone can open from a group chat or an email. Anyone with the link sees the title and the countdown, so keep the title to things you'd share with the whole group. You also get an embed code to put the countdown on a website, a class page or a blog.
- New Year's Eve: a countdown to midnight for the last hours of the party.
- A birthday: send the link to the birthday person a week ahead.
- The last day of school: put it on the class page and watch the days drop.
- A trip: share the link with everyone who's coming.
- A wedding: add it to the wedding website with the embed code.
Timer games for parties and game night
A timer turns almost anything into a game. These work with groups of all ages.
One-minute challenges
Set up a few quick tasks: stack ten cups, keep a feather in the air by blowing on it, unwrap a candy while wearing oven mitts. Each player gets 1 minute per challenge. Finish before the ring to score a point.
Talk for a minute
Draw a topic from a hat, like socks, Mondays or the moon. The speaker talks for 1 minute without stopping or saying "um". Slip up, and the next player takes over the topic.
Speed lists
Set 30 seconds. One player names as many things in a category as they can, like fruits or things that are round, while someone counts. Highest count wins.
Sketch race
Paper, pens and 1 minute on the clock. One player draws, the team guesses. Prefer the phone? Draw & Guess has the words built in.
Discussion before the vote
In Imposter, give the group 2 or 3 minutes to talk before the vote. When the timer rings, everyone points at once.
Defend your pick
With Would You Rather, each side gets 30 seconds to argue for its answer before the group votes again.
Tips for teachers and hosts
- Use "Full screen" on a laptop or a TV so the whole room sees the time, and fewer people ask how long is left.
- Keep the phone face up on the table during games. The beeps in the last 3 seconds build suspense.
- Tap "Pause" when a round gets interrupted, so nobody loses time to a knock at the door.
- For a class, turn "Sound" off during quiet work and let the digits do the talking.
- Set rounds a little shorter than you think. A round that ends early leaves people wanting another one.
- Use the 5 minute preset as a cleanup warning at the end of a party or a class. When it rings, everything goes back in the box.
Games and tools that go with the timer
For points between rounds, keep the Scoreboard open in another tab. It saves the scores if the page reloads. Planning a party for December 31? Our New Year's Eve games fill the hours before midnight while your countdown ticks away.
Every game and tool here is free and works in the browser, with no sign-up and no app.
Questions
How do I set a 1 minute timer?
Choose "Game timer", tap the 1 minute preset and tap "Start". The timer beeps for the last 3 seconds and rings at zero.
Does the timer make a sound when time is up?
Yes. It beeps for the last 3 seconds and rings at zero, and phones vibrate when the browser supports it. Turn "Sound" off for a silent countdown.
Will my phone screen stay on?
While the timer runs, it keeps the screen awake when your browser allows it. If yours doesn't, set a longer auto-lock time on your phone for the game.
Can I show the timer on a TV?
Yes. Open the page on a laptop or another device connected to the TV and tap "Full screen".
How do I make a countdown to New Year's?
Choose "Countdown to a date", type a title, set January 1 at 12:00 AM, then pick your time zone and colors. Tap "Get link" to share it.
Can I put a countdown on my website?
Yes. "Get link" gives you a share link and an embed code. Paste the embed code into your website and the countdown shows on the page.
Is the countdown timer free?
Yes. It's free, with no sign-up and no app to install.