Picking a game for a group of friends shouldn’t be the hardest part of game night, but for a lot of people it is. Someone suggests a game, someone else doesn’t own it, and nobody can agree on whether crossplay actually works between PC and PlayStation. PickThe.Games is a free web tool built specifically to solve that problem.
The concept is straightforward. A group creates a board, everyone swipes through games individually, and the app figures out what works for the whole group based on platforms, crossplay compatibility, and votes. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works and whether it’s worth trying.
What Is PickThe.Games?
PickThe.Games is a browser-based game picker for friend groups. It combines a database of over 6,100 games with a Tinder-style swiping system and automatic crossplay checking across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
Unlike static game lists or recommendation articles, it’s interactive. Everyone in the group participates by swiping through games and voting yes, no, maybe, or ban. The app then processes the group’s votes alongside platform data and crossplay rules to produce a ranked list of games that actually work for everyone.
It’s completely free with no ads, no subscription, and no premium tier. There’s nothing locked behind a paywall.
How It Works
Getting started takes about a minute:
1. One person creates a board and selects which platforms the group plays on
2. They share an invite link with the rest of the group
3. Each member joins, picks their own platforms, and starts swiping through games
4. After everyone has voted, the results page shows the best matches ranked by compatibility
Each game card displays the cover art, a short description, platform availability, genres, multiplayer type, player count, and a community rating. Swiping right means yes, left means no, and up means maybe. Swiping down bans a game entirely, removing it from the group’s results with no questions asked.
The matching algorithm considers three things: how many people voted yes, whether everyone has the right platforms, and whether crossplay is supported between the specific consoles in the group. A game that got four yes votes but only works on PC won’t outrank a game with three yes votes that supports crossplay between everyone’s platforms.
Key Features
Crossplay Compatibility Checking
This is what sets it apart from a generic game list. The app tracks crossplay between every platform pair, not just a blanket “supports crossplay” label. It knows whether a game works between PC and PS5, between Xbox and Switch, or any other combination. That means if your group has one person on PC, two on PlayStation, and one on Xbox, it filters for games that actually support cross-platform play between those specific platforms.
6,100+ Game Database
The database covers both single player and multiplayer titles across PC, PS5, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Data is sourced from IGDB (the Internet Game Database by Twitch) and includes platform availability, genres, ratings, player counts, and crossplay rules. New releases are added regularly.
Discord Bot
For groups that live on Discord, there’s a bot with slash commands and an embedded activity. Run /gameboard setup to create a board, share invites, and even swipe through games without leaving the app. The embedded activity opens the full swiping experience directly inside Discord.
Streamer Mode
A newer addition aimed at streamers. Toggle Streamer Mode when creating a board and you get a public link to share with your audience. Viewers open it on their phones, swipe through games, and the streamer sees a live leaderboard that updates every five seconds. It works as an OBS browser source and viewers don’t need to create an account. It’s a more engaging alternative to a standard Twitch poll since viewers actually browse games rather than picking from a handful of options.
Anonymous Try Mode
Not sure if it’s worth signing up? The try mode at https://pickthe.games/try lets anyone swipe through games without creating an account. It’s a good way to see how the swiping feels before committing.
Who Is It For?
The most obvious use case is friend groups who play together regularly and keep running into the same “what should we play” problem. If your group is spread across different platforms and you’re tired of manually checking whether games support crossplay, this saves a lot of time.
It’s also useful for:
– Discord servers that organise game nights and want a fair way to pick
– Streamers looking for audience interaction beyond basic polls
– Anyone who wants to discover multiplayer games they might not have considered
The swiping format is fast enough that it doesn’t feel like homework. Most people finish in two to three minutes, and the results appear as soon as everyone’s done.
How It Compares
There are other tools in this space, but none of them do quite the same thing. Crossplay databases like crossplaygames.com let you look up whether a specific game supports cross-platform play, but they don’t have any group features. Co-Optimus has a huge co-op game database but doesn’t track crossplay or let groups vote. Game night pickers like GameNightPicks and BoardGame-Picker are built for tabletop games, not video games.
PickThe.Games is the first tool that combines all three: group voting, crossplay checking, and a video game database. That combination is what makes it genuinely useful rather than just another game list.
Getting Started
Head to https://pickthe.games, create an account, and set up your first board. The whole process from signup to sharing a link with your group takes under two minutes. If you want to test it first, the try mode lets you swipe without signing up. it works on any device with a browser. No downloads, no installs, no app store.
