Every game on TwoSide is for two people sharing a single device. That is the whole idea, and it raises practical questions that online games never have to answer. Who sits where? Whose half is whose? What happens on a laptop with one keyboard?
A few minutes of setting up makes the games fairer and a good deal more fun.
Phone, tablet or computer?
All three work. They suit different games.
A tablet is the best all-rounder. Laid flat between two people, it gives each player a comfortable half. Air Hockey in particular is made for it.
A phone is fine for most games and good for the quick ones. It is cramped for Air Hockey and Light Trails, where two hands meet over a small screen.
A computer is best for the turn-based games, where a big board is easier to read, and it works for the play-at-once games through a shared keyboard. More on that below.
Sitting opposite
For the play-at-once games on a touchscreen, lay the device flat and sit facing each other, one at each end.
The half of the screen facing the second player is turned upside down on purpose. From where they sit it is the right way up. If you find half the screen is inverted, nothing has gone wrong. Turn the device so that each player's buttons are nearest them.
Make sure it is level and central. A device that is nearer one player gives that player a shorter reach.
Two touches at once
The play-at-once games rely on the screen feeling two fingers at the same moment. Nearly every phone and tablet can do this.
A few things can interfere:
- Resting palms. A hand lying on the glass counts as a touch. Keep wrists off the screen.
- System gestures. On some devices, several fingers on the screen at once triggers a zoom or a task switcher. If that keeps happening, look for multi-finger gestures in the settings and switch them off while you play.
- Screen protectors and wet fingers. Either can make touches unreliable.
Sharing a keyboard
On a computer, the two players share the keyboard. Player one takes the left side and player two the right. Each game page lists its keys in the panel beside the board. Here they are in one place.
- Tap Tug, Quick Draw, Hold Your Nerve: A for player one, L for player two.
- Air Hockey: W, A, S and D for player one. Arrow keys for player two.
- Light Trails: A and D for player one. Left and right arrows for player two.
- Sum Race: 1, 2 and 3 for player one. 8, 9 and 0 for player two.
- Shape Snap: Q, W, E and A, S, D for player one. I, O, P and J, K, L for player two. The keys match the two rows of cards.
- Throw Down: A, S and D for player one. J, K and L for player two. Rock, paper, scissors in that order.
- Odds and Evens: 1 to 5 for player one. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0 for player two, standing for 1 to 5.
The turn-based games are played with the mouse or by tapping, and the two of you simply take turns.
The keyboard problem nobody mentions
Here is something worth knowing if a game on a computer seems to ignore one player.
Many keyboards, especially cheaper ones and some laptops, cannot register every combination of keys held down together. Press three or four at once and one of them may simply not be noticed. This is a limit of the keyboard's wiring. It is not a fault in the game or the browser.
It matters most in Air Hockey, where both players may be holding two keys each. If player two's striker sometimes stops responding while player one is moving diagonally, this is almost certainly why.
What you can do:
- Use a touchscreen for that game if you have one. It is better anyway.
- Try an external keyboard. Keyboards sold for gaming are built to register many keys at once.
- Plug in a second keyboard. Two keyboards on one computer both work, and each player gets their own. This sidesteps the problem completely and gives you more elbow room.
For the games that need only one key each, such as Tap Tug and Quick Draw, it is not a problem.
Use the full screen
Under every game there is a Full screen button. On a computer it clears everything else away, so both players are looking at the board and nothing else. Press Esc to leave.
The games with secrets
Four games depend on one player not seeing what the other chose: Sea Search, Secret Number, Throw Down and Odds and Evens.
The games help. Choices are hidden until both are in, and Sea Search and Secret Number show a handover screen before the device changes hands. But on a shared screen, a determined cheat could always peek.
So agree it out loud before you begin. The player who is not choosing looks away. On a computer, they can turn their chair. It sounds obvious, and it avoids arguments.
Naming your players
At the top of the page are two name boxes, one orange and one violet. Type your names in. The site keeps a running tally of wins across all twenty games, and shows each pair's record on every game card.
All of it is stored in your browser, on your device. Nothing is sent to us. A different browser, or a private window, starts from nought.
There is a Reset button under the scoreboard for when a new rivalry begins.
A fair start
For the reaction games, agree where hands begin: both players with a finger the same distance from their button. For turn-based games where it matters, take turns to go first.
HTML5 games run on almost anything, which is why this site can work on whatever is nearest. The part no software can supply is two people who want a fair game, sitting where they can both reach.