One room, any game: the new party lobby

Game night used to mean re-scanning a QR code every time you wanted to switch games. Not anymore.

The host device now opens with one pairing screen. Whoever’s phone connects first becomes the gamestarter and picks what everyone plays — from a phone, not the TV. Everyone else’s phone stays connected the whole night: switching games, restarting a round, or bringing in a latecomer no longer means anyone re-pairs.

A few other things that came with it:

• Spectate or play — join late, or more people show up than a game supports? Spectators get a live view and a “slot open, join now” button the moment one frees up.
• Reconnect grace — someone’s phone dies or the WiFi hiccups, their spot (name, score, ready state) is held for 60 seconds.
• Local high scores — every game keeps its own top-10 board on the host device.

Pong Panic is the first game built for this — genuinely multiplayer now, up to 4 players dodging one shared ball. More games are moving over next.