# Hot Potato

> A bomb with a hidden fuse jumps from phone to phone. Tap PASS to get rid of it — whoever holds it when it blows is out.

Source: https://engageslide.com/knowledge-base/quiz-games/hot-potato · EngageSlide Help Center · Quiz & Game Slides

## What is Hot Potato?

**Hot Potato** is the party classic with a bomb instead of a potato. When a round starts, the bomb lands on a random player’s phone — the whole screen turns red with a big **PASS!** button. Tapping it sends the bomb to another random player, and on the big screen it jumps around the circle of players. Somewhere along the way the hidden fuse runs out: **BOOM!** Whoever is holding it is out. Round after round the circle shrinks until one player survives. Nobody — not even the host — knows when the bomb will blow; the only hint is that the screen pulses faster the longer it burns.

Video tutorial: [Hot Potato — video tutorial](https://youtu.be/W6ehYuu1epM)

Presenter creates the slide → Click Present → Share code / QR → Audience enters code → Respond & submit → Real-time results

## Create a Hot Potato slide

1. On **Home**, click + Create new presentation (or add a slide to an existing one).
2. In **Choose Slide Type**, pick **Hot Potato**. You can also type it into Search slide types….
3. The slide is created and the right panel opens on the **Content** tab.

## Set up the content

1. Add a **Hot Potato** slide from the **Games** tab of the slide picker. There is nothing to prepare.
2. Type a title for the big screen, for example Hot Potato — don’t get caught!.
3. Open **Settings** and choose the fuse: short, medium or long.
4. Present the slide, let at least two people join, and press **START** (or Enter).

![The Hot Potato editor — slide list, live screen with join code & QR, and the content panel](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-editor.webp)

## Hot Potato settings

- **Fuse** — **Short** (8–15 s), **Medium** (15–30 s, default) or **Long** (25–45 s). Each round the fuse is a random length in that range, and it is never shown anywhere.
- **Where the bomb goes** — Each round starts with the bomb on a random player still in. Every pass sends it to another random player still in — players whose phone is connected first, so it doesn’t get stuck with someone who walked away.
- **Players** — At least 2. The circle on the big screen shows up to 40 players.

![Hot Potato settings in the right panel](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-settings.webp)

## Present & share the join code

1. Click **Present** in the top bar to put the slide on the big screen.
2. A **join code** and a **QR code** appear (e.g. `36Y56`).
3. Participants open the **Audience** app at **join.engageslide.com**, type the code and press **Enter** — or simply scan the QR.
4. When everyone has joined, the responses start flowing in live.

## How the audience responds

Players join with your code; the phone says **You’re in!** and explains the rule. When a round is running, the phone of the player who holds the bomb turns red and pulses, with a ticking 💣 and a huge **PASS!** button (_You have the bomb — get rid of it!_) — and it vibrates. Tapping it sends the bomb on at once. Everyone else sees whose turn it is: **Mia has the bomb** — _Stay ready — it could come to you next!_. When it blows, the player holding it sees **BOOM! You’re out**; everyone else sees **Phew — you survived!** and who was holding it. Players who are out watch the rest. At the end everyone sees their place and how many times they passed the bomb. Players who join after the start watch until **Play again**.

## View results

Before the game the big screen shows the title, the rules, the fuse and everyone who joined (you need at least 2). Press **START**. The players stand in a circle; the bomb sits on the holder with a sparkling fuse and a glowing ring, and the middle of the screen says **The bomb is with Mia**. Each pass makes the bomb fly to the next player, and chips at the top count the round, the players still in and the passes. The background pulses and ticks faster the longer the bomb burns — it says nothing about how much fuse is left. When it blows, an explosion covers the holder, **BOOM! Leo is out!** appears in the middle and that player turns grey in the circle. The next round starts by itself after a few seconds, or press **Next round**. When one player is left, press **See results**: the survivor is crowned, everyone else is listed with the round they blew up in, and **Hot hands** names the player who passed the bomb most often.

![Before the game: the rules, the fuse and everyone who joined](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-lobby.webp)

![The bomb is with Mia — her phone shows PASS](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-lit.webp)

![You have the bomb: tap PASS!](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-phone-hot.webp)
![Everyone else sees who has it](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-phone-cool.webp)

![Passed! The bomb jumps to Leo](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-hop.webp)

![BOOM — the holder is out](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-boom.webp)

![It blew up in your hands](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-phone-boom.webp)
![Phew — you survived the round](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-phone-phew.webp)

![The survivor, the order everyone blew up in and the hot hands award](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-results.webp)

![Your place and how many times you passed it](https://engageslide.com/images/kb/hot-potato-phone-results.webp)

> **Tip** — Start with the **Medium** fuse. With a big group or a short break, switch to **Short** so the rounds keep coming; save **Long** for small groups who enjoy the tension.

## Ways to use Hot Potato

- **Energizer:** phones out, everyone alert — nobody wants to be caught holding it.
- **Team socials and parties:** loud, fast and over in a few minutes.
- **Remote meetings:** works just as well on a video call — share the big screen and play from phones.
- **Picking a volunteer:** the last player left (or the first one out) does the next task.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does passing quickly help?

Yes — the bomb can only blow up on the player who holds it at that moment, so getting rid of it fast keeps you safe. But it can come straight back.

### Who decides when it blows?

Nobody. Each round the fuse is a random length in the range you chose, and it is never shown on any screen.

### What if the player with the bomb doesn’t react?

They keep holding it — and if the fuse runs out, they’re out. Passes go to connected phones first, so a player who left the room rarely gets the bomb.

### Can I play with two people?

Yes — two is the minimum. The bomb goes back and forth until it blows.

### Can players join late?

They can join, but they watch until you press **Play again**.

### What if I close or refresh the presenting window?

Everyone who joined shows up again straight away. If the slide is still open in another window, the game carries on; a round that was burning starts again with a new random fuse, and an explosion or the results stay. If it was the only window, the game goes back to the start screen.