How to play SMOOCH
You do not need to read this to start. SMOOCH walks you through the night as you play. This is the full reference if you like knowing the rules first, or if you want to settle an argument mid-game.
What you need
Two people, one browser each or one shared screen, and 45 to 90 minutes. Nothing to download and nothing to print. SMOOCH is for adults aged 18 and over.
1. Pick your mood
Choose Romantic, Flirty or After Hours together. Your mood sets the ceiling for how far tonight can go, and every challenge you draw stays inside it.
- Romantic: Sweet words, warmth, and intimacy.
- Flirty: Kisses, whispers, and playful heat.
- After Hours: A bolder mode for couples ready to spice it up.
2. Enter the story
Pick a storyline and you both get a premise, a role and a name for the night. The story runs in chapters, and every chapter has its own scene and its own set of challenges. The night ends when the last chapter resolves, so there is no clock to watch.
3. Roll and move
Take turns rolling. You both start with the same cash, and passing Start pays you again each lap. Where you land decides what happens next.
4. Claim your spots
Land on an unclaimed date-night spot and you can buy it or leave it. Buying seals the deal with a First Move card right then: a quick, easy challenge. Do it, or back out for a small fee into the Date Pot. The more spots you own, the more power you have over where your partner lands.
Own both spots of the same colour and the cover charge on them doubles. Need the matching one? Make a deal. Cash and spots can change hands at any point in the night, so trade, charm or bargain for it.
5. Pay up or smooch up
Land on a spot your partner owns and you choose one of three:
- Pay the cover charge. Simple and safe.
- Draw a Tease card. Do the challenge and the cover charge is waived.
- Draw a Go Bold card. Do the challenge and you get paid the cover charge instead.
Peeked at a card and changed your mind? You can back out, but you pay the cover charge you were dodging plus a fee into the Date Pot. Chickening out always costs more than just paying would have.
6. Wildcards
Some spaces and both wildcard corners draw from one shared Wildcard deck: windfalls, sudden moves, and dares. Every wildcard happens right away and the prompt stays a surprise until you draw it. Do not like the one you got? Skip it for a fee into the Date Pot.
7. Skipping is always allowed
Every challenge in SMOOCH is optional. Either of you can skip at any time, no explanation needed. The game keeps moving and the cost goes into the Date Pot. Comfort beats the scoreboard, always.
8. The Date Pot
A shared pot fed by fees, back-outs and skipped wildcards. It leaves in one of two ways:
- Land exactly on Start and it is yours immediately.
- If nobody does, the bolder player takes it when the last chapter resolves.
Whatever you win is yours to spend on the next real date.
9. Who was bolder?
Every challenge you actually complete quietly earns heat: a little for a Tease, more for a Go Bold. Paying the cover charge or backing out earns nothing, and neither of you sees the tally during the night. It decides who takes the Date Pot at the end, so a bold night can steal the win.
10. Winning the night
When the final chapter ends, add up each player's net worth: cash plus the value of the spots they own. Highest total wins the night and calls the shots. You will also get a couple title based on how the two of you played.
Playing long distance
SMOOCH works in the same room or over a private video call from wherever you each are. Stories that support it ship a separate long-distance version, written so every challenge works across a screen. Start a game, send your partner the link, and you play the same board together.
Consent runs the whole night. Skipping is free of judgement and built into the rules, and After Hours only opens after you both confirm you are 18 or over. See our After Hours policy for more.