Mini-games: at night and once you're out

While the town sleeps, you can play one of ten mini-games: the “Games” button at the bottom left of the night screen. Eliminated players play until the match ends and can play each other.

Where the button is and who gets it. At night, while you sleep and see a dark screen with the card of the role that's waking, there's a round button with a game icon at the bottom left — “Games”. Once you're eliminated, the same button appears in the bottom bar next to help: it's there by day and by night, for a ghost too. The host and observers don't see the games. If you've never opened the games, the night button hops and shows the hint “While the night goes on, try a mini-game”. There are two more ways in. Outside a room there is a “Games” button too: in the header (in the bottom bar on a phone) on every page except the game itself. It offers the games against the computer only. And in a room, while the match hasn't started yet or is already over, every player has the games and can play the others; once the match starts, a game is put away until you are both out of the game again.

Ten games. Press the button and choose a game in the “Pick a game” list.

• Snake, Tetris and 2048: you score points, and next to them you see “Score” and “Best” (more is better).
• Memory: moves are counted, and the best result is the fewest moves in a won game.
• Tic-Tac-Toe: against the computer, with “Easy”, “Medium” or “Hard” to choose from.
• Connect Four: also against the computer.
• Battleship: against the computer. The fleet starts at random but can be rearranged: drag a ship to a new spot, or tap it and then tap a cell, “Rotate” turns it; “Shuffle” gives a new layout, and “To battle” starts the shooting; hit and you shoot again. The best score is the fewest shots in a won game.
• Draughts: Ukrainian rules, against the computer; you play white. Capturing is compulsory, and a capture series must be finished; a king moves and captures from afar. Whoever is left without a move loses; 15 moves each with no capture and no man moving is a draw.
• Chess: FIDE rules, against the computer; you play white. Tap a piece to see where it can go; a pawn reaching the last rank asks what to become. Mate wins; stalemate, repetition and 50 moves without a capture are draws.
• Long Nardy: against the computer; your checkers start on the head at the top right. The dice roll by themselves; tap a checker to see where it can go with them, tap a point to move. No hitting; one checker leaves the head per turn, except on the first turn with 6-6, 4-4 or 3-3. Whoever bears off all 15 first wins, and if the opponent has borne off none, it's a mars. In a duel the server rolls the dice.

Tic-Tac-Toe and Connect Four have no best score. Control with the arrow keys on the keyboard or the buttons on screen; in 2048 on a phone, drag your finger across the board, and in Snake, use the joystick. “Back” returns to the list of games, “New game” starts over, and the cross in the corner closes the window. In Chess, Draughts and Long Nardy you can pick the computer's level too — “Easy”, “Medium” or “Hard” — and change it mid-game.

Playing another eliminated player. In Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect Four, Battleship, Draughts, Chess and Long Nardy an eliminated player sees the “With a player” button. It lists the other eliminated players of this match, each with “Challenge”. Your opponent gets a notification with “Accept”, and in the games window “Decline” too. They have a minute to answer. In Battleship each of you first sets up a fleet and presses “Ready”; the shooting starts once both are ready. In a chess duel a clock runs: 5 minutes each plus 3 seconds per move; whoever runs out of time loses. A coin toss decides who moves first. You can close the window and come back: the game waits. “Resign” hands the win to your opponent, and once it's over there's “Rematch” and “Back to games”. You can't play living players this way: a shared board would be a way to pass hints. There's a quicker way too: hover over another eliminated player's name under their video, in the dead chat or in the participants list (on a phone, press and hold it) and press “Challenge to a game” on their card.

Finding an opponent and unfinished games. Instead of going through names, press “Find an opponent” in the dead chat or in the list of opponents and pick a game. The other eliminated players see a card with “Accept” above the chat input and in the games window; whoever accepts first plays you. The call lasts two minutes and you can cancel it. If the match ends before the game does, or one of you is back in play, the game isn't lost: it's put away for a day. When you are both out of the game in this room again, each of you sees “Continue” and “Start new” along with the other's choice; the game starts once you both pick the same. In chess the clock stays paused meanwhile. You can also pause a game yourself — the “Pause” button next to “Resign”. Progress is kept, and you can carry on once you both press “Continue”. A game nobody has moved in for half an hour is paused too, not lost.

When a game closes. For a living player a game lives only on the night screen: dawn or your role waking up — and the window closes. Next night the button appears again. For an eliminated player the games don't close until the match ends, except during your last word. A game with another player that the end of the match or someone's return to play cut short is put away: you can continue it once you are both out of the game again. Your best scores stay: they're saved in this device's browser.