How to Play Guess the Song

Guess the Song is NextJam's competitive party game. The host plays a short snippet of a random track, and players race to name it. It comes in two variations — Classic and Buzzer — that share the same setup but play very differently. Classic can also be played solo, with nobody but you and the host screen.

What you need

A host device with a screen and speakers everyone can see and hear.
A NextJam account to create a game (hosting requires signing in).
Players only need a phone and the game code — no account required.
Buzzer mode needs at least 2 players on their phones.
Solo mode needs nothing else — no phones, no other players, no game code.

Setting up a game (host)

Sign in and go to Join, then choose Start new game session.
Pick a game mode: Classic (type your guess) or Buzzer (buzz and guess out loud).
In Classic, pick your players: Multiplayer (everyone joins with their phone) or Solo player (just you, on this screen). Buzzer is always multiplayer — switching to it clears the solo choice.
Configure the round:
- Theme (optional) — limit songs to a single tag/genre, or leave it open to all songs.
- Number of songs — how many rounds to play (3–20).
- Snippet length — how many seconds of each song to play (3–30).
- Guess window — how long players have to answer after the snippet, in seconds (5–60). Classic mode only.
Select Create game.

You'll get a game code and QR code on the host screen. A theme needs at least 3 songs available, or you'll be asked to pick another. A solo game skips both — there's nobody to invite, so the screen just shows a Solo mode badge.

Joining a game (players)

Scan the QR code on the host screen, or go to Join and type the game code.
If you're not signed in, choose Join as guest and enter a display name.
Your phone becomes your buzzer / answer pad for the whole game.
Solo games have no joining step. Anyone still connected from an earlier game in the same room sees a "the host is playing solo" holding screen and is back in on the next multiplayer game.

Scoring

Both variations use the same point values:

Song title — 100 points
Artist only — 50 points
Maestro consolation (Buzzer only) — 25 points for a round nobody scored on, 10 points when the table claimed only one of the two awards

Guessing the full title is worth the most; naming just the artist is a safer play for half the points.

Replays cost points. A round is worth its full value while the table has heard at most one snippet. Every extra snippet's worth of audio — replaying the clip, or asking for more of it — steps the round down: 75% after the first extra snippet, 50% after the second, and 25% from there on. A round can never be worth more than its base value, so buzzing in early doesn't pay a bonus — it just keeps the round at full price for everyone.

Replay snippet / Play more

Stuck on a hard song? Two controls buy the table more audio:

Replay snippet — plays the same clip again from the top.
Play more — carries on from where the clip stopped, into more of the song.

Each tap grants one more snippet's worth of audio and costs the round one tier, and the screen shows what the round is currently worth. A round can be topped up three times; after that both buttons switch off, because the round is already at the 25% floor and more audio would be free.

The host always has the controls on the big screen. In Buzzer mode the maestro gets them on their phone too — they're judging the round, so they're the one hearing "play it again". The maestro can't grant a replay while a buzz is waiting on their verdict; judge it first.

Variation 1: Classic

In Classic mode, everyone answers privately by typing on their phone.

How a round works:

The host starts the round and the snippet plays for the configured length.
When the snippet ends, the guess window opens — you can now submit your answer.
Type your guess (the song title, or just the artist) and send it. You get one guess per round.
When the window closes, the answer is revealed and points are added to the leaderboard.

Good to know:

You can't guess while the snippet is still playing — wait for the window to open.
Guesses are forgiving: capitalization, accents, "feat." credits, and text in parentheses/brackets are ignored, and small typos are tolerated.
The host can pause and resume a round; the remaining time is preserved.

Solo mode

Solo is Classic played by one person: you host and you guess, all on the same screen. It's the mode for practising, testing a theme before a party, or just playing on your own.

What changes:

You type on the host screen. The guess box appears right under the player instead of on a phone — there's no companion device involved.
Guessing ends the round early. As soon as you submit, the answer is revealed; you don't sit out the rest of the guess window waiting for other players.
The leaderboard is just you, and the game ends with "You scored X pts!" instead of a winner — or an invitation to try again if you didn't score.
No QR code, no game code, no Manage players, and no "guesses in" counter.

What stays the same: the theme, number of songs, snippet length and guess window all work exactly as in multiplayer, and so does scoring — 100 for the title, 50 for the artist, one guess per round, with Replay snippet and Play more discounting the round the same way.

Solo runs on the honour system: the guessing screen is also the playback screen, so the video is right there. Don't peek. 🙂

Variation 2: Buzzer

In Buzzer mode, players race to buzz in and then say their answer out loud. Each round has a rotating maestro who judges the answers.

How a round works:

The host starts the round and the snippet plays. One player is assigned as the maestro for that round (the role rotates each round), and only the maestro's phone privately shows the correct answer.
When you think you know it, tap BUZZ! — the first person to buzz gets to guess.
Say your answer out loud. The maestro decides what you got right and awards:
- Artist — 50 points
- Song — 100 points
- Both — 150 points
- Wrong — the buzzers reopen so anyone (including you) can race to buzz again.
Each award (artist / song) can only be given out once per round, so a round can be split between players — one nails the artist, another gets the title.
If the round ends with neither award claimed, the maestro picked a song nobody could get and takes 25 points for it. If only one of the two was claimed — the artist but not the title, or the other way round — the pick was still a hard one and the maestro takes 10 points.

Good to know:

Because the answer is spoken, the maestro's phone is the "answer key" — being maestro means you sit that round out as a judge, so the consolation points are your only way to score on your own round.
A round continues, reopening the buzzers on wrong guesses, until the points are claimed or the host moves on.
No typing here — speed and confidence win.

Ending the game

After the last song (or whenever the host chooses to finish), the final leaderboard is shown with everyone's total points. Highest score wins. 🏆

In a solo game there's nobody to beat, so the banner shows your own total instead — a score to try to beat next time.

Tips

Classic is best for larger or quieter groups — everyone answers at once, privately.
Buzzer is loud, fast, and great for a lively room where people can shout answers.
Solo is for practising or for testing a theme's difficulty before you run it with a crowd.
Use a theme to tailor the difficulty to your crowd.