How to Run a Game Night on Discord (Step by Step)

The usual Discord game night

Someone posts "game night this Friday" in the announcements channel. A few people react. Friday arrives. "What are we playing?" Nobody knows. The organizer throws out a poll. Three people vote. Two suggest games in chat instead. Someone says "I can't play that, I'm on Switch." Twenty minutes of back and forth. Half the group has gone quiet. You end up playing whatever the loudest person suggested.

There's a better way to do this.

Before the night

The key insight: pick the game BEFORE game night, not during it. The actual session should start with everyone launching the same game, not debating what to launch.

Set up a board (one time)

Add the PickThe.Games bot to your server. Run /gameboard setup name:Friday Night Games platforms:pc,ps5,xbox,switch and you've got a board tied to your server. This only needs to happen once.

Get everyone to join

Run /gameboard invite and the bot generates a link. Post it in your game night channel. Each person clicks it, picks their platforms, and they're in. This also only happens once per person.

Open voting mid-week

Tuesday or Wednesday, post something like "Game night is Friday. Swipe your games before then." People can swipe whenever they have 2 minutes. They open the link, swipe through games (right for yes, left for no, up for maybe, down to ban), and close it.

Or run /gameboard round minutes:0 for an untimed round. The bot posts a message and tracks who's done.

On the night

Check results

Run /gameboard results. The bot posts an embed with the top matches for your group, sorted by how well they fit everyone's votes and platforms. Pick from the top of the list.

Pick and announce

Run /gameboard pick game:Lethal Company (or whatever won). The bot announces it. Done. Everyone knows what to play. No debate.

Set a time

If you've set a scheduled time on the board, members see a countdown. People know exactly when to show up.

After the night

The board stays. Next week, everyone swipes the new games that appeared since last time (the database updates regularly). Old votes carry over. The results evolve as people swipe more.

If the game was good, great. If not, someone bans it for next time.

For bigger servers

If your Discord server has multiple gaming groups (the competitive crew, the casual crew, the late-night crew), create separate boards for each. Run /gameboard setup to switch between them.

The embedded Activity also works in voice channels. People can swipe games together in real time while they're already hanging out in voice. No browser needed.

Get started

1. Add the bot to your server

2. Run /gameboard setup

3. Share the invite with /gameboard invite

4. Tell people to swipe before Friday

5. Check /gameboard results on game night

Total setup time: about a minute. Total time saved per week: the 30 minutes your group currently spends arguing.

Need game ideas? Browse the best co-op games, best PvP games, or free multiplayer games.