Case study · Party game app
Crack
Open.
A pass-the-phone party game that gets the whole room talking. Pick a deck, start chill, and let it turn up the heat as you play.
The idea
No more
small talk.
Every group has that moment: the conversation stalls and everyone reaches for their phones. We wanted to flip that, and make the phone the thing that gets people talking instead of the thing that stops them.
Crack Open is a question game for friends, couples and families. One phone, passed around the room, with 700+ questions across 10 decks, from easy icebreakers to hot takes.
The challenge
Keep everyone in the game
One phone, many players
The game had to be obvious at a glance, so whoever’s holding the phone always knows what to do next.
Fun, not awkward
Questions needed to get deeper without anyone feeling put on the spot, and every crowd is different.
Something to come back to
A party game lives or dies on replay value, so it had to feel fresh on the tenth game night, not just the first.
What we designed
Small rules, big laughs
Escalate
Four heat levels: Chill, Playful, Spicy, and Escalate, which turns the heat up as the game goes on.
Point the finger
The asker picks who answers first, and everyone gets one pass per game. Simple rules that create the best moments.
A deck for every crowd
10 decks for date nights, girls’ and boys’ nights, road trips, Gen Z to Boomers, plus custom decks for your own inside jokes.
The look
Warm, loud
& friendly.
Chunky outlines, sunny colours and a cast of card characters (the cool one, the cheeky one, the shocked one) give every screen a personality. A big serif keeps questions easy to read from across the room, and a dark theme keeps Date Night cosy.
Crack Open’s palette
Characters
Cards with faces react to the game: “Getting hot…”, “No way!”, “Me?!”
Type
What’s the pettiest thing you’ve ever done?
Where it’s at
A playable build on iOS and Android, and the first of many.
Crack Open taught us how to take a game from a scribble to something you can hold, and that’s exactly the process we now bring to client projects.
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Let's crack it open.
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