How to use your phone as a game controller for your TV

You do not need a console, a gamepad or an app. If your television can open a web page — or you can plug a laptop into it — then the TV is the screen, the phones in everyone’s pockets are the controllers, and the entire setup takes about thirty seconds.

This is how LanPlay works, and it is why there is nothing to install. The shared screen loads one web page; each player’s phone loads another. The room code is the only thing connecting them, so people can join from mobile data, from the sofa, or from the kitchen while they are still pouring drinks.

Host a Game
Four to six letters or numbers, shown on the big screen.

Four steps, about thirty seconds

Works on a smart TV, a laptop on HDMI, a projector or a tablet.

  1. Open the big screen

    On whatever you want to play on — a smart TV's browser, a laptop plugged into the TV over HDMI, a projector, a tablet propped up on the table — go to lanplays.com and press Host a Game. A room code and a QR code appear on the screen.

  2. Everyone scans the code

    Each player points their phone camera at the QR code and taps the link, or opens lanplays.com/join and types the four-to-six character room code off the screen. No app store, no sign-up, no password.

  3. Your phone becomes the controller

    The browser on each phone turns into a gamepad — a stick, a couple of chunky buttons, or two pedals, depending on the game. The big screen stays the only thing anyone needs to watch.

  4. Pick a game and play

    The host picks from the catalogue and everybody plays at once on the shared screen. Rounds run 60 to 100 seconds. When one finishes, pick another — nobody has to rejoin.

Why a browser instead of an app

Party games have a very short window. Somebody suggests a game, and you have roughly a minute before the room loses interest. An app store download — find it, install it, sign in, grant permissions, repeat for seven other people — does not fit in that window. A QR code does.

It also means the awkward cases stop mattering. The friend with a five-year-old Android, the one whose phone storage is full, the one who refuses to make another account: all of them can play, because a web page asks nothing of them. And nothing is left behind on anyone’s phone afterwards.

The trade-off is real and worth stating: browser games cannot match the graphical ceiling of a native console title. LanPlay leans into that instead of fighting it — the games are physics-driven, short and readable from across a room, which is what actually matters when eight people are watching one screen.

Twelve games to try it with

All free, all in the browser, all up to 8 players.

Phone-as-controller FAQ

Setup questions, answered plainly.

How do I use my phone as a game controller for my TV?

Open lanplays.com in your TV's browser (or on a laptop connected to the TV) and press Host a Game. Scan the QR code that appears with your phone's camera. Your phone's browser becomes the controller — no app, no pairing, no Bluetooth.

Do my phone and the TV need to be on the same Wi-Fi?

No. Everything is coordinated through the room code over the internet, so a player on mobile data can join a screen on home Wi-Fi. Being on the same network does not hurt, but it is not required.

Which TVs work?

Any TV that can open a modern web browser — most smart TVs from the last few years, plus anything running through a laptop, a console browser, or a Mac mirrored to an Apple TV. If it renders a web page, it can be the arena.

What if my TV's browser is slow or missing?

Plug a laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable and open the page there instead. This is the setup most people end up using, and it is the most reliable one: the laptop does the rendering and the TV is just a big monitor.

Do I need a gamepad or any other hardware?

No. One screen and one phone per player is the whole kit. There is nothing to buy, plug in or charge.

Does everyone need to download an app?

No. Both halves — the shared screen and every controller — are web pages. That is the entire point of the design: a room of eight people should not have to install anything to play one round.

Can I play on a projector?

Yes, and it is the best version of it. Anything that can display a browser window works as the arena, and a projector gives you the biggest arena for the least money.

How many phones can join one screen?

Up to eight. Past that, people share a phone and take turns — which, for the turn-based games like Tower Tumble, works perfectly well.

Gather the crew.

Throw it on the big screen and let the chaos begin.

Host a Game