How to play Puffer Party

Puffer Party is an online multiplayer category game. The goal is to be the last player with at least one heart.

Start a game

1. Enter a guest nickname and select an unlocked buddy.
2. For casual play, pick a table size and join public matchmaking. For friends, create a private room and share its code.
3. In a private lobby, ready up. The host starts when at least two connected players are ready.
4. When you hold the puffer, submit an unused answer to the category. A valid answer passes it to the next surviving player.

What the timers mean

The fuse starts at 10–30 seconds. An answer passes the current fuse, with a minimum turn allowance for the next holder. The default allowance is eight seconds. It does not reset to a full fresh fuse after each answer. If time runs out while you hold the puffer, you lose a heart.

The category clock is separate and normally lasts 60 seconds. Running out of accepted answers also changes the category. A pop does not automatically change the category.

Hearts and scoring

Default games start with two hearts, have a five-heart cap, and award a bonus heart at each 600-point milestone. The configured rarity of an accepted answer determines its points. It is not a live measure of public knowledge. Repeated answers in one category are rejected.

Private-room settings

Hosts can configure 2–16 seats, 1–10 starting hearts up to the chosen cap, a cap up to ten, 50–5,000 points per bonus heart, 3–15 seconds per minimum turn, and 30–120 seconds per category. Settings can be changed between games. Private practice BOTs must be enabled by the host.

Practice and ranking

Public casual tables may get labelled BOTs after a short wait. BOTs are practice opponents and do not count toward Elo or rated wins. Only qualifying human-only rounds can award rating. A quiet public queue may instead run labelled BOT practice, which does not affect Elo. The leaderboard requires at least three qualifying rated games.

Results, replay and unlocks

The result panel shows placements, points, answers and earned progress. You can rate the round, copy its result link, and play again. Guest progression belongs to this edition. Buddy unlocks follow streak milestones at 5, 14, 30 and 45 UTC days; see your profile for current progress and the recovery key.

Reconnecting and switching devices

The server continues running when your connection drops. The client attempts to reconnect while your seat lease is valid. Another tab using the same guest replaces the earlier connection. Keep a recovery key private; it is a credential rather than a sharing code.

Get help

Use Missing answer? for question-bank problems. Use Report a bug for a broken interaction or connection issue. Do not put passwords or recovery keys into feedback. Play Puffer Party now.