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Empire

The secret-name party game

Everyone plays.
Even the host.

One person usually collects the names and reads them out, and sits out the game. Empire does that job: pass the phone around for the secret names, then tap and it reads them aloud.

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Free · no ads · no accounts

Empire name entry: four names are in. Locked in. Keep it to yourself, and pass the phone to the next player.
Empire reading aloud: reading 1 of 2, name 3 of 7, Shrek. Tap for the next name.

How Empire is played

A party game from long before phones: no boards, no cards, just a good memory and a straight face.

  1. Everyone picks a secret name

    A famous person, real or made up, or whatever your theme is. Pass the phone around; each player types theirs where nobody can see. The host too.

  2. Empire reads them out

    Tap, and the phone says each name out loud. Every name, twice, in a new shuffle each time, so the order gives nothing away.

  3. Guess who’s who

    Ask a player, “Are you Gandalf?” Right, and they join your empire and you guess again. Wrong, and it’s their turn.

  4. Build your empire

    Players in an empire stop guessing alone and whisper advice to their emperor. When one empire has everyone, it wins.

The host’s job, done by the phone

Tap. It reads.
You play.

Each tap says the next name in the best voice on your iPhone, with the silent switch on and your music dipped. Say it again if someone missed it. Between readings it pauses, then starts a fresh shuffle.

Rather do the voices yourself?

Tap Show list and whoever’s reading gets the shuffled names, big and numbered. The next reading comes in a new order.

Empire showing the list: reading 1 of 2, seven names numbered in a shuffled order. Next reading, new order.
Empire after the reading: Let the game begin. All 7 names have been read twice.

Your table, your rules

Set it up once in Game options. Empire remembers for next time; it never remembers the names.

  • Read once, twice or three times

    Classic Empire reads twice. Reading again later asks the table first.

  • Decoy names

    Up to three famous names nobody picked, for small groups. Marked when you reveal the list.

  • Your own theme

    Cartoon characters, people in the room, 90s pop stars. Shown to each player while they pick.

  • Hide the names

    The phone shows a voice wave instead of the name, so a host who’s playing learns nothing extra.

  • Duplicates caught

    “Beyoncé” and “beyonce!” are the same name. The second player is asked to pick another.

  • Reveal at the end

    Every name on screen, decoys crossed out, to settle the argument everyone’s having.

Empire revealing every name at the end, alphabetically, with the decoy Cleopatra crossed out.

Secrets stay secret.

The pass-the-phone screen only ever shows a count. Autocorrect is off while you type, so the keyboard can’t suggest the last player’s name. And when the game ends, every name is forgotten: nothing is saved, nothing is sent anywhere.

Questions, answered

How much is it?
Free. No ads, no purchases, no subscriptions.
How many people can play?
Three or more, on one iPhone. Empire is at its best with a full living room, and decoy names help a small group.
Does it work with the silent switch on?
Yes. Names are read out loud with the switch on, and any music playing dips while each name is said. Turn the volume up.
Can someone read the names instead?
Tap Show list and one person reads the shuffled list aloud. The next reading gets a new order.
Are the names saved?
Never. They live in the phone’s memory for one game and are forgotten when it ends. No account, nothing sent anywhere.
Android?
Not yet. Empire is on the App Store for iPhone now.

Gather round.

Download on the App Store

Free · no ads · no accounts

Empire