PULTEVENT
Projector party games: 8 games for a wall, a sheet or a screen
A backyard in late August, about nine. A white bedsheet pegged to the fence with clothes pins, a borrowed projector sitting on two crates of sparkling water, an extension cord snaking across the lawn from the kitchen window. Somebody has already tripped on it once. Thirty people are standing around with drinks, and the sheet is showing the laptop's desktop wallpaper, because nobody has figured out what to put on it yet.
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A projector is the cheapest way to get a huge picture at a party, and most people who own one use it for exactly one thing: a film. Films are a quiet, sit-down activity. At a party you want the opposite, something the whole garden or hall can play at once while standing up, holding a drink.
That's what these games are for. PULTEVENT runs from a laptop browser, the projector throws the game onto the wall, and guests join by scanning a QR code with their phone camera. The phones become steering wheels, buzzers and voting buttons. Everyone's phone needs internet for this, so outdoors, check the mobile signal at the far end of the garden before the evening, not during it.
8 games that look good projected big
1 Drift Arena
A 3D arena where up to twelve cars drift around the track at once, each one steered from a guest's phone. The projection makes the cars the size of sofas.
How to run it. Run heats: twelve drivers, then the next twelve, then a final with the winners.
It's the game people queue for. Spectators shout at the wall like it's a real race.
2 Horse Race
Horses gallop across the screen, driven by the crowd from their phones. The first horse over the line wins the round.
How to run it. Split the garden into teams by where they're standing: patio versus lawn works fine.
It gets people who never play games to tap like mad, just for team pride.
3 Bowling
A bowling lane on the wall. A guest takes a turn from their phone, the pins scatter at the size of the fence panel.
How to run it. Good for the slower part of the night when people have found chairs.
Turn-based games give the crowd time to comment on every single throw.
4 Fun Flight
A 3D flying game played from phones, with the whole flight playing out across the projection.
How to run it. Put it early, as a warm-up. It teaches everyone how the phone controls work.
Once people know the QR routine, every later game starts faster.
5 Aquarium
A slow, glowing 3D aquarium for the whole room, played from phones. Less of a competition, more of a shared scene on the wall.
How to run it. Leave it running during food. It gives the projector something beautiful to do between games.
A bare wall with the laptop's desktop on it is the saddest thing at a party.
6 Quiz from phones
Questions on the wall, four answers, everyone taps. Scores go up after each question.
How to run it. Write your own questions in the quiz builder. Short text reads best on a sheet with a slight ripple.
A quiz is the one game every guest over sixty already trusts.
7 Charades on the big screen
The word appears on the host's laptop and only the performer sees it, while the room watches a timer on the wall.
How to run it. Stand the performer in front of the projection, not behind the projector's beam.
Silhouettes on a lit sheet make charades twice as funny.
8 Dance battle
Two dancers, music through the speaker, and the crowd votes for the winner on their phones.
How to run it. Save it for after eleven, when the grass has been danced on already.
The light of the projector turns the lawn into a stage without you doing anything.
Any flat, pale surface
A wall, a sheet, a garage door. The game scales to whatever the projector can throw.
Phones as controllers
Up to 12 guests steer cars at once in Drift Arena. Others vote, bet and answer.
Built for standing crowds
Big shapes, big colors, short rounds. Nobody needs to sit down and concentrate.
From the laptop you brought
One HDMI cable from the laptop to the projector, and the host runs everything from the browser.
How bright does the projector need to be
Projector brightness is measured in lumens, and outdoors after sunset almost any projector will do on a sheet a couple of meters wide. Indoors with the lights on is harder. In a hall or a living room, dim the lights near the screen and keep them on near the drinks table; people don't need to see the game from the bar.
Wait until real dusk to start a garden game. In June that can mean ten o'clock. Plan the games for the second half of the evening and use daylight for food and talking.
Sheet, wall or screen
A smooth, pale wall is the best free screen there is. A bedsheet works if you stretch it tight, because wrinkles become waves in the picture. Iron it, or weigh the bottom edge down with a broom handle through the hem. A cheap pop-up projector screen is worth it if you do this more than twice a year.
If the picture is a trapezoid rather than a rectangle, the projector is pointing up at an angle. Most have a keystone correction setting. Better still, raise the projector so it points straight at the middle of the surface.
Sound is the part people forget
A projector's built-in speaker is tiny and it's sitting next to the laptop, not the crowd. Connect a proper speaker to the laptop, by cable if you can, and put it near the screen so sound and picture come from the same place. Races and battles need music. The built-in DJ deck can play your own tracks between games so there's no silence while the next heat joins.
Phones, signal and the far end of the garden
Guests join through their browser, and every phone needs a working connection. At home, share the Wi-Fi password on screen. Outdoors, walk to the spot where the crowd will stand and check your own phone there, because home Wi-Fi often dies about ten meters past the back door. If it does, mobile data usually covers it.
The laptop needs internet too. Keep it plugged in and close to the router, or use your phone as a hotspot if the router is far away.
"Is it working for you?"
"It is now I'm standing on the bench."
A running order for a projector party
Start with something that teaches the phone routine: a quick Fun Flight or a three-question quiz. Then the big crowd game, Horse Race. Then Drift Arena heats, which can fill half an hour on their own. Put a calmer game like bowling or the aquarium around food, and leave the dance battle for last.
Try it at home before the party, on your own wall. The free 3-day demo needs no card. The full version is a one-time license, no subscription; the price is on pultevent.ru/en.
About the author
PULTEVENT was built by Ruslan Barashkin, who has hosted weddings, birthdays and office parties since 2014: over 500 events, best host of Moscow 2024 and of Saint Petersburg 2023 at the TOP 100 Awards. He made it for his own nights first. The rest is at pultevent.ru/en.
How to run a projector party with phone games
- 1
Test the projector on the actual wall or sheet at the time of day the party will be.
- 2
Connect the laptop to the projector with HDMI and a speaker to the laptop.
- 3
Check phone signal where the guests will stand, and put the Wi-Fi details on screen if needed.
- 4
Open the stage window on the projection and choose the first game in the console.
- 5
Show the QR code and wait until most of the crowd has joined.
- 6
Play short rounds, rotate players in Drift Arena heats, and keep music going between games.
FAQ
Can I play these games outdoors?
How many people can play at once?
Does it work with any projector?
Will there be lag between phone and wall?
Can I use a TV instead?
Do guests need to sign up?
What does it cost?
See also
Run brighter events — with PULTEVENT
All audience interactions, a second screen and timing in one app. Guests join by QR — internet is needed for you and for them.
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