The Fishbowl

Follow the steps below to gather messages and start playing!

1. Create Your Google Form & Collect Messages

Click the button below to quickly create a new form. Use a **Paragraph (long answer text)** question to collect the phrases.

After collecting responses, open the linked Google Sheet, go to **File > Download > CSV** to get your file.

Awaiting Data

0 / 0 Messages

**Create the Form:** Click the **"Go to Google Forms"** button on the main screen. Set up a simple form with one question using the **Paragraph (Long Answer)** format for players to write their messages.
**Share & Collect:** Share the form link with all players to collect their submissions (e.g., inside jokes, personal compliments, confessions, etc.).
**Download CSV:** Once all submissions are in, the admin goes to the **Responses** tab in Google Forms, clicks the Sheets icon, and then in the Google Sheet, selects **File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv)**.
**Load Game:** Use the **"Upload Your CSV File"** section in this app to select and load the CSV file. The app will shuffle the messages and confirm when the game is ready.

The core gameplay is driven by the **Admin** (the person controlling this screen) who reads the messages to the group.

**Start Reading:** The admin clicks the **"Read Next Message"** button to display the first message from the virtual "fishbowl."
**The Reveal:** The admin reads the message aloud to the group.
**The Guess/Reaction:** After the message is read, the **person for whom the message was written** gets a chance to guess who wrote it, or simply react to the statement.
**Next Message:** Once the discussion for the current message is complete, the admin clicks **"Read Next Message"** again to continue the game.
**End of Game:** The game continues until all messages have been read (the progress indicator shows $X/X$). Click **Reset Game** to shuffle and read the messages again if desired!