Puzzles on the Big Screen: Running a Group Session
How to put a daily puzzle on a lounge TV or projector and run a lively, inclusive group session around it.
Why the big screen works
One puzzle on a large screen turns solitary solving into a shared game. Nobody needs their reading glasses, nobody is left out for lack of a sheet, and the group's chatter — 'top left! next to the R!' — is half the fun.
Our website suits screens well: the grids are high-contrast, the text-size control makes letters enormous if you want them, and there are no adverts or pop-ups to interrupt the session.
Setting up in two minutes
- Open puzzlepastime.com in the browser on a smart TV, or on a laptop plugged into the TV with an HDMI lead
- Press the largest 'A' in the top corner to boost the text size
- Choose the day's puzzle — word searches and trivia work best for groups
- Appoint a 'driver' to tap or click what the room calls out
Which puzzles suit groups best
- Word search: the whole room hunts at once; the driver taps the first and last letter of each find
- Daily trivia: read each question aloud, take a show of hands for A, B, C or D, then enjoy the little fact that follows each answer
- Memory match: turns are natural here — go round the room, two flips each
- Sudoku and the crossword suit smaller tables of two or three more than a full lounge