{"data":{"markdownRemark":{"id":"899b8f0c-92a9-559f-9f43-24320852a6d8","html":"

Picture this: you’re at a pre-drink with some friends, some friends of friends, and that one friend of a friend who you sort of have a crush on. People are casually drinking and having a good time, but the vibe is kind of dying. Someone suggests you all play a drinking game and everyone agrees… but what game?

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Beer pong is fun, but there are too many of you. Flip cup is exciting, but it doesn’t give you a chance to really get to know each other. Your friend learned a new game while studying abroad, but no one really wants to learn the complicated rules. Games like King’s Cup are great if you have a deck of cards, but the game quickly loses steam. Nothing is a perfect fit for the night.

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From the very limited research that I’ve done, there are 3 qualities of a good drinking game:

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  1. The rules are simple
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  2. It brings people together
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  3. It is enjoyable
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But what about the 3 qualities of a great drinking game:

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  1. The rules are simple - and the game is easily accessible
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  2. It brings people together - regardless of who they are and their state at the party
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  3. It is enjoyable - throughout the whole game, and it’s replayable
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The closest thing to a great drinking game I’ve played is a mobile app called “Picolo” (iOS/Android). Picolo is simple, can be played with just a single phone and any number of people, and is usually pretty fun. It checks the boxes for a good drinking game but falls short when evaluated against my great game list.

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Firstly, the game has some brain-dead prompts that aren’t fun, leading to skipping of cards and a loss of momentum, for example:

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Second, the game lacks understanding about who the players are and their relationships. This can lead to some awkward, mood-killing situations, for example:

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So here’s my app pitch:

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Harmony

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Harmony is a personalized drinking game made for human beings.

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Player Rules

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What if your game knew the players. What if it knew that Adam wasn’t drinking, Britney and Charlie were a couple, Daniel will do almost anything, and Ethan has a crush on Fiona. With the option to configure player rules (player statuses and player relationships), Harmony is able to respect people’s choices while simultaneously play matchmaker. It’s a real crowd-pleaser.

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Curated Prompts

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There are lots of prompt-based drinking games. Harmony would feature the best prompts from these games, and more importantly, not have any of the shitty ones.

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Custom Prompts

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Collections of prompts, sometimes referred to as cards, can be added or removed based on the vibe of the night. Each prompt has a “spiciness” rating from 1 to 5, where 1 is something you could play with your new coworkers and 5 is… intense. Before the game, players can set a range of what levels they want to play with. Additionally, new prompts will be consistently added to keep the game fresh.

","fields":{"slug":"drinking-game-app-idea","tagSlugs":["/tag/harmony/"]},"frontmatter":{"date":"2019-08-21T16:16:12.799Z","description":"Being a 20-ish-year-old who hasn't matured enough to appreciate casual drinking while conversing with friends, I frequently end up playing some kind of drinking game at events. Most of them are alright, some of them are okay, but none of them are exactly what I want. That's why I'm going to (try to) make one.","tags":["harmony"],"title":"drinking game app idea"}}},"pageContext":{"isCreatedByStatefulCreatePages":false,"slug":"drinking-game-app-idea"}}