How to play

Time Stake is a game of nerve for 2 to 8 players. You spend time instead of money, and you never know exactly how much anyone has left.

The goal

Win more tokens than anyone else. Tokens are won one at a time in a series of auctions (19 by default). When the last auction ends, the player with the most tokens wins the game.

Your time bank

Every player starts with the same amount of time, ten minutes by default. That's your currency for the whole game. Each time you bid, the length of your bid comes out of your bank. Your bank is hidden from everyone, including you. The game never shows you how much you have left, so it pays to keep count.

Setting up

1. One player opens the game, enters a name and taps Create a room. They become the host.
2. The host shares the 4-letter room code or the invite link. Everyone else enters the code and taps Join.
3. The host can change the settings and add bots to fill empty seats, then taps Start game.

How an auction works

1. The countdown

Each auction opens with a five-second countdown. To take part, press and hold the big button before the countdown reaches zero. If you don't want this token, don't press, or let go before zero. Letting go during the countdown costs nothing, but you're out of that auction and can't press again until the next one.

2. The clock starts

When the countdown reaches zero, the auction clock starts and everyone still holding is bidding. While you hold, you see how long the clock has been running. Pressing after the clock has started doesn't count. You have to be in before zero.

3. Letting go

Let go whenever you decide the token isn't worth any more of your time. Your bid is how long you held after the clock started, and it's taken out of your bank whether you win or not. Once you let go, your clock disappears and you wait for the others to finish.

4. The result

When everyone has let go, the auction ends. The player with the longest hold wins the token. Then the result is revealed and the next auction begins.

Ties

If the longest holds are within the tie margin of each other (0.1 seconds by default), the auction is a tie. By default nobody wins the token on a tie, but every tied player still pays for their hold. The host can change this so that all tied players win a token instead.

Running out of time

If your bank runs out while you're holding, you're released automatically at that moment. Your bid is whatever you had left. With an empty bank you can't enter any more auctions. You keep the tokens you've won and stay in the standings until the end.

What everyone gets to see

• During an auction: only your own clock, and only while you're holding.
• After each auction: who won. Depending on the room settings, also the winning bid, or every player's bid.
• Always: how many tokens each player has.
• At the end: the final standings, including everyone's remaining time.

The end of the game

After the last auction, the player with the most tokens wins. If players are tied on tokens, the one with more time left places higher. The host can switch this off so tied players share their place.

Room settings

Connection problems and fair play

Anything that suggests your finger has left the button counts as letting go, at that moment:

• lifting your finger or sliding it off the button
• switching apps or tabs
• losing your connection

If you drop out, reopen the game on the same device and you'll rejoin automatically. You'll sit out the auction that's in progress, if there is one, and play from the next. The game's server keeps the official clock and adjusts for each player's connection speed, so a player on slower mobile data isn't at a disadvantage.

Ready? Start a room or read the strategy guide first.