Backyard Games brings street games to your phone: Beautiful Statues, Four Corners, Tag, Hide and Seek, and Virus.
The phone doesn't replace the game: it acts as a referee. It keeps time, draws roles, records who's caught and who's won—so no one has to rely on anyone else's memory or honesty, and you can just run.
HOW IT WORKS
One phone creates the game and displays a 4-digit code. The others enter it to join. No account, no registration, no advertising: choose a nickname and play.
THE GAMES
• Beautiful Statues — Move forward when the phone says GO, stay still when it says STOP. Anyone who moves during the STOP is out: the phone detects this with its motion sensor.
• Four Corners — There are one fewer corners than players. At the start, run to a corner and tap it on your phone: anyone left out gets a penalty.
• Tag — Whoever is behind counts twenty seconds, then chases. When they catch someone, they touch their name and it's time to call it a catch. The one who was behind for the shortest time wins.
• Hide and Seek — Played in an entire park, using GPS. The seeker counts to 30, then searches: they can only declare "found" when they're actually within a few meters, and the one who has been found must confirm it on their phone.
• Virus — Zombies and scientists, secret roles. When you encounter someone, you touch hands and both press: whoever presses first dictates their team. The team with the largest number of players wins.
WHAT YOU NEED
A phone per player and a willingness to run. Belle Statuine, Quattro Cantoni, Tag, and Virus work via Bluetooth, without an internet connection, within a radius of a few dozen meters. Hide and Seek uses GPS and requires a data connection.
PRIVACY
No account or personal data: just the nickname you choose, which stays on your phone. Hide and Seek games only use your location during gameplay, and the data is deleted a few hours later.
Designed for minimal use: open it, choose the game, put your phone away, and run.
Old-fashioned games: the phone is the referee, you run outside