Getting Started
Quick Start Guide
Open the game on a TV
One person opens Take a Joke in a browser on a laptop, tablet, or any device connected to the TV. Tap Start a Game, pick your mode, and the TV will show a room code and QR code.
Everyone joins on their phone
Players scan the QR code or open apprevolt.tv in their mobile browser and type in the 5-character room code. Enter a nickname, pick an avatar, and join — no app download or account required.
Host starts the game
Once at least 3 players have joined, the host (the first person to join) taps Start Game on their phone. An intro plays on the TV explaining the rules — tap Skip if you've seen it before.
Play rounds until someone wins
Each round a prompt appears on the TV. Players pick or write an answer on their phones. The judge reveals answers on the TV and picks a winner — or everyone votes. First player to reach the target score wins!
What you need: One shared screen — an Apple TV, Android TV or Fire TV with the Take a Joke app, or a laptop or computer connected to a TV (or just one everyone can see) — and one phone per player. Players need no download and no account.
Player Roles
Who Does What
Host
The first player to join the room is the host. They are the only one who can start the game and start a new game after the current one ends. The host is also always a regular player.
Judge / Reader
One player is the judge each round. They control the answer reveal on the TV and either pick the winning answer (Judge Decides mode) or cast the tie-breaking vote (Player Vote mode). The judge role rotates to the next player every round — everyone gets a turn.
Players
Everyone else submits an answer card (or types their own answer in Write Your Own mode) each round. In Player Vote mode, even the judge/reader submits an answer.
Judge rotation: After each round the judge role passes to the next player in the order they joined. Every player will eventually be the judge — make it fun for everyone!
Round by Round
How a Round Works
Prompt appears on the TV
A fill-in-the-blank prompt is shown on the big screen for everyone to read. Some prompts have two blanks and require two answer cards.
Players submit answers on their phones
In Classic Cards mode: tap the funniest card from your hand of 12. In Write Your Own mode: type anything you want. Once everyone has submitted, the game moves to judging — you can't change your answer after submitting.
Judge reveals answers on the TV
The judge uses their phone to reveal answers one at a time on the TV — they tap Reveal Next Answer, then Set Up Next Reveal between each one. Everyone's phone shows "No spoilers here" until a card is revealed on the TV, so latecomers don't get hints.
Winner is chosen
In Judge Decides mode: after all answers are revealed the judge taps Choose Winner and picks their favorite. In Player Vote mode: everyone votes on their phone after all answers are shown — you can't vote for yourself.
Round winner is announced
The TV shows the winning answer and awards 1 point. The scoreboard updates, then the next round starts automatically after a few seconds. The judge or host can also advance manually.
Winning the game: The first player to reach the target score (default: 5 points) wins. The target score can be set to 3, 5, 7, or 10 in Settings before the game starts.
Tie-breaking in Player Vote mode: If two answers are tied on votes, the judge's vote counts double and automatically breaks the tie. The TV announces when this happens.
Game Modes
Picking Your Mode
Before the game starts the host picks two settings: Answer Mode (how players answer) and Winner Mode (how the winner is decided each round). These can be changed when starting a new game.
Answer Mode
Default
🃏 Classic Cards
Each player holds a hand of 12 answer cards. Pick the funniest one to fill the blank. Cards are refreshed each round. Great for groups who love the card-game feel.
Creative
✏️ Write Your Own
No cards — players type whatever they want as an answer. Completely open-ended and perfect for creative families and groups who want full control over what they submit.
Winner Mode
Default
⚖️ Judge Decides
One judge picks their favorite answer. The judge doesn't submit a card this round — they only judge. Clean, fast, and lets one person set the comedic tone.
Democratic
🗳️ Player Vote
Everyone submits an answer — including the "reader" who runs the reveal. After all answers are shown, everyone votes. Great for groups where everyone wants to play every round.
Prompt Mode
Default
👥 Players Only
Every prompt is about someone playing at the table. Great when the group loves the player rounds and wants a whole game of nothing else.
Variety
🔀 Mixed
A variety of prompts — about players, family, characters, animals, and more.
One word
🔤 Adjectives
The prompt is a single adjective — Greasy, Suspicious, Beautiful — and everyone plays the card it describes best. Hands are 7 cards drawn from a deck picked for this mode, things and actions both.
Any combination of modes works. The most popular starting point is Classic Cards + Judge Decides. Try Player Vote when you want something more chaotic, and Write Your Own when you want maximum creativity.
Configuration
Settings & Options
Settings are configured on the TV before the game starts. Tap the Settings option in the main menu.
| Setting | Options | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Target Score | 3 · 5 · 7 · 10 | How many points a player needs to win. Default is 5. Lower for a quick game, higher for a longer one. |
| Answer Mode | Classic Cards · Write Your Own | Whether players pick from a hand of pre-written cards or type their own answers. |
| Winner Mode | Judge Decides · Player Vote | Whether the judge picks the winner alone or the whole group votes. |
| Prompt Mode | Players Only · Mixed · Adjectives | Which prompts come up: only ones about the people playing, the full variety, or a single adjective each round with a 7-card hand. |
| Soundtrack | On · Off | Background music during the submitting phase. Two different tracks available to preview. |
Changing modes mid-game: Modes are locked for the current game. To switch, finish the game or use Play Again — the game-over screen lets the host pick a different mode for the next round.
Buying & Unlocking
Your Purchase
Take a Joke is free to try. Buying it once unlocks every mode, up to 8 players, unlimited games, and 15 Award Ceremonies. There is no subscription and nothing expires.
Unlocking a device
There are no passwords. Open Settings → Unlock on the TV app, enter the email you bought with, and we send you a 6‑digit code. Type it in and that device is unlocked. Do the same on any other device you want to play on.
Where your purchase works
| Bought | Plays on | How |
|---|---|---|
| On our website | Web, Mac, Windows, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV | Sign in with your purchase email on each device. |
| Apple’s App Store | Your Apple devices | Apple restores it. Tap Restore Purchases if it doesn’t appear. |
| Google Play | Your Google TV or Android TV | Google restores it when you reinstall on the same Google account. |
| Amazon Appstore | Your Fire TV | Amazon restores it when you reinstall on the same Amazon account. |
| App Store or Google Play, plus an email | Everywhere | Add your email in the app once, then sign in with it anywhere else. |
Your license works on 4 devices at a time. That covers the TV you host on, another TV in the house, a laptop, and a browser somewhere else. It is a household license, meant for your home and everyone in it. Remember that everybody at the party plays on their own phone for free, so only the person hosting needs to own the game.
Reaching the device limit
If you sign in on a fifth device, that device will tell you so and offer a button: Use This Device. Tapping it moves the license here and signs the other devices out. It never changes how many devices you can use, only which ones, and you can move it back whenever you like.
You will also find Sign out other devices in Settings on any device that is already unlocked. That is the one to use if you sold a TV, gave away a computer, or just want to start clean.
Old devices let go on their own. A device that has not been used for 60 days releases its spot automatically. So clearing your browser, replacing a laptop, or reinstalling does not cost you anything permanently, and you never need to remember to sign out before you get rid of something.
Something Wrong?
Troubleshooting
"This game already started" when trying to join
You can only join a room during the lobby phase, before the host starts the game. If the game has already begun, ask the host to create a new room — they can tap New Room on the game-over screen or from the TV's home menu.
I can't start the game — the button is greyed out or says "Need More Players"
You need at least 3 players in the room before the host can start. Check the TV — it shows everyone who has joined. If a friend is having trouble joining, make sure they're going to apprevolt.tv (not the full URL) and entering the 5-letter code exactly as shown on the TV. Room codes use only capital letters and numbers — no I, L, O, or 0.
I entered the room code but it says "Room not found"
Double-check the code against what's shown on the TV — codes are 5 characters and case-insensitive, but easy to misread. If the TV shows a code with a PM- prefix, enter just the 5 characters after the dash. The room may also have been closed if the TV screen went to sleep or the browser was refreshed.
My phone shows "Room closed"
The room has been shut down — usually because the TV browser was closed, refreshed, or the device went to sleep. The host needs to open Take a Joke on the TV again and start a new room. Everyone re-joins with the new room code.
I accidentally closed the app / browser on my phone. Can I rejoin?
Yes! Go back to apprevolt.tv, enter the same room code, and use the same nickname. You'll rejoin as the same player and your score will be preserved. If the game is in the middle of a round, you may miss that round's submission window but you'll be back for the next one.
I'm the judge but I don't see a "Reveal" button on my phone
The reveal button only appears during the judging phase, after all players have submitted their answers. If you see "Waiting for others…" on your phone, some players haven't submitted yet — check the TV for how many answers are still needed.
It says "Judge does not submit a card this round"
In Judge Decides mode the current judge doesn't play an answer — they only judge. Watch the TV to see whose turn it is to judge. Your turn to judge rotates every round.
The "Choose Winner" button doesn't appear for the judge
All answer cards must be revealed before the winner can be picked. Use the Reveal Next Answer button to reveal each one, and then Set Up Next Reveal between cards to reset the TV prompt for the next reveal. Once every card has been shown, "Choose Winner" will appear.
Someone left the game — what happens?
The player stays in the room and on the scoreboard but simply won't submit that round (their spot in the judging queue is effectively skipped). The game continues normally. If the host leaves, another player can still advance rounds — but only the original host can start the next game.
Two players ended up with the same nickname
If you enter a nickname that's already taken, the game automatically adds a number to yours (e.g. "Sam" becomes "Sam 2"). You'll still appear correctly on the TV and scoreboard — nothing is broken.
"Connection error" or the game seems frozen
This is usually a temporary network hiccup. Pull down to refresh your phone's browser and rejoin with the same room code and nickname. On the TV side, if the room disappears, the host can tap Open Existing Room on the TV home menu and re-enter the same room code to reconnect.
The TV went blank or the browser got refreshed mid-game
Room state is saved in the cloud, so no progress is lost. On the TV, tap Open Existing Room from the home menu, enter the 5-character room code, and the game will resume exactly where it left off.
Common Questions
FAQ
apprevolt.tv in any mobile browser and entering the room code. No account creation either — just a nickname and you're in.
Note: takeajoke.apprevolt.tv is the TV display link, not a player controller. If you open it on a phone, you'll see a screen explaining how to get it onto a big screen — that's by design. Players use their phones to join at apprevolt.tv using the room code, not this link.
apprevolt.tv to join. The TV also shows a QR code that players can scan with their camera app instead of typing the code manually. The code is valid for the whole game session.
___). When this happens your phone will ask you to select or write two answers — one for each blank. The judge reveals them slot by slot on the TV.
takeajoke.apprevolt.tv or in the Mac and Windows apps. There is nothing more to buy. (This isn’t available yet for purchases made in the Fire TV app.)
noreply@apprevolt.io and arrives within a minute. Make sure you are using the exact email you bought with. Codes expire, so if it has been a while, ask for a fresh one with Resend. Still nothing? Email us.