Questions about the Russian Roulette game
Short answers about this phone game. The longer rule pages are linked where a sentence is not enough.
Is this Russian Roulette game safe?
This site is a phone game. You tap a button and the phone plays a click or a bang. Most phones also vibrate. There is no gun here. These pages do not describe playing with a real firearm.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Open the site in a phone browser, add names, and pass the phone around. There is no account.
Can one person play?
No. The roster stops at two players. The round needs someone to pass the phone to. The range is covered on the players page.
Can I play with the phone sideways?
The game is built for portrait. On a phone held sideways it asks you to rotate. On a tablet or a desktop browser it shows the same column, centred.
What is the difference between a click and a bang?
A click means that chamber was empty. The player stays in, and the next chamber of the same cylinder is up next. A bang means that chamber was the live one. That player is out.
Do the odds reset after a click?
No. A click spends an empty chamber. The live round is still in that cylinder, so the next player faces worse odds. A four-player walkthrough is on the odds page.
Do the odds reset after a bang?
Yes. A bang throws out the rest of that cylinder. The next player still in starts a new cylinder with one live chamber. It has six chambers, or one per player if seven or eight are still in.
Can I turn the sound off?
Yes. The speaker icon on the home screen, the pause menu and Settings all switch sound off, and the game remembers your choice. Every sound has a visual cue, so a game with the sound off still plays. Vibration has its own switch.
What does the winner screen show?
The last player still in, with the pulls they survived, the Spins they used and their closest call. Play again keeps the names and picks a new first player.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
It runs in the mobile browser on iPhone and Android. The bang is the loud part, and vibration needs a device that supports it. A desktop browser can run the roster, but the game is built around passing a phone.
Where does Russian roulette come from?
The English name shows up in a Collier's story by Georges Surdez, dated 30 January 1937. A character in the story credits Russian officers in 1917. No army record has confirmed that story. The history page has the rest, including why the familiar odds are 1 in 6.
Are there other ways to play?
This site is the pass-the-phone version for 2 to 8 people. Y8 and Silvergames host solo browser games. Buckshot Roulette, by Mike Klubnika, seats you against a dealer. The other ways page links out to them.
Why does the heartbeat speed up?
On the turn screen the heartbeat quickens as the odds shorten, from 70 beats a minute at 1 in 6 to 130 on the last chamber. During the 3, 2, 1 count it runs at 100, 130 and 160. Then the sound cuts out before the result.
Do I have to hold the button?
By default you press and hold for one second. If that is hard, turn on Tap to pull in Settings and the game asks for a tap and then a confirm. Space and S work on a keyboard.
Does it work offline?
Yes, after your first visit. The game saves your place for the current tab, so a refresh mid-game resumes the same cylinder.