Adult only. Private by design.
How to host a key party
A key party is a private night for people you already want in the room. They say yes or no in private. You start one shared reveal, and the room sees one person only if both people said yes.
Watch the signature night
What you are hosting
You are hosting one shared moment, not a stack of private lists. Each person is one photo and one name. Your own partner is never someone you answer about. People say yes or no before they arrive. When you start the reveal, phones wait about ten seconds, and the room sees one person, only if both people said yes.
A play party is the other shape. People still say yes or no to one person, and you open those matches after you close the answers and check guests in. There is no single name for the whole room. A speed date is a clock, and people stay dressed. A new party starts at five minutes a round, and a match needs both couples to say yes. You see both names and one photo of the couple. Pick one of the three before you send a link.
A bowl of keys is a theme you can add. It does not do the pairing. If you want that prop, say so in the first note. The reveal is still the one you start. There is no ticket. Guests never pay to come.
Start with the people
Write the names before you promise a time. People join when you invite them, or when they apply and you approve them. An application does not put someone in the room until you approve it. A short list you trust is a calmer night than a full room that still includes someone you would not leave alone with a drink. A maybe does not get a link until they are a yes.
One private link per couple. A friend of a friend does not inherit a spare. If you are unsure, leave them off and say so before the night, not in the hallway. An open room can include a single guest you picked on purpose. Name that in the first note. Do not add them at the door because the couch looks empty.
Say the shape of the room in the same note. A straight room is couples of one man and one woman, with no singles. A bi-friendly room allows same-gender couples and does not add singles. An open room can include a single guest you named. Open describes who was invited, and it is not the same as bi-friendly. People pack for the sentence you sent. If you leave it out, they pack for a guess. If the list is short, host the smaller night or move the date. Do not lower the bar to fill chairs.
Write the rules in your own lines
One line is one rule. Dress, phones down during the reveal, no photos of other guests, which rooms stay closed, where drinks live, and what time the door closes. Say what a no means in your house. A no to the night means they tell you, and you do not check them in.
Guests agree to those lines before they answer. If you edit a line, they agree again. Do not hide a rule in the chat and hope people scroll. If you would be unhappy to see it broken, it belongs in the list they accept. Save the set if you host this shape again, and start from it instead of rewriting it in a rush.
A match is not a menu of acts. Either person can slow down or stop. The lower yes is the ceiling. Say that where people agree to it, not in a toast after the second drink. The reveal shows a person. It does not schedule the rest of the hour.
Answers stay private until you start
Before the party, each person looks at one photo and one name. They say yes or no, and they can change that answer until you close the answers. A private no stays private. A yes from only one person stays hidden. The room never gets a list of the people someone turned down.
While answers are still open, and if you left that setting on, partners can see each other's yes and no. Nobody else sees those answers. You can turn that off for the whole party. Do not pressure a couple to walk through every name out loud.
If both partners needed to finish and one did not, that couple is not in the reveal. Say that in the rules so it is not a fight in the hallway. You can send one stronger yes during the party. It is a flourish, not a match by itself. If both people sent it, the reveal can say so. It still needs an ordinary yes from both of them.
Let the chat warm the room
The group chat opens when someone joins. Use it for the timing, the dress, and a hello. Guests do not message each other in private. A message to the host stays with you and any co-hosts. Another guest does not see that thread.
One prompt can post each day before the party starts, if you leave them on. Write your own, one per line, up to twenty, or leave the list blank and use the built-in lines. They do not post after the start, and they do not post on a test party. Turn them off if you want a quiet list.
Keep the real party name inside the app. Email and reminders use a public-safe name, or the words Your event. Do not paste the street, the door code, or a guest photo into the chat. If two people want a side thread, this is the wrong tool for that. The warmth stays in the invited room.
Hold the street, then check them in
Leave the street in the host fields when you create the party. Guests do not see it until you release it. A place name can show earlier, so they can judge the drive. Release the street when you are ready for people to travel, not while you are still deciding the last name.
Check-in opens on party day, after answers close. Each guest has a door code and a QR pass. Only the host checks people in. A guest cannot check themselves in, and they cannot check someone else in. If someone would rather sit the night out, they tell you. That is a complete answer. You do not check them in, and you do not make them explain it to the room.
A co-host can help at the door. A co-host cannot delete the party or remove the original host. You already asked each guest to confirm they are 18 or older. Your eyes are the second check. Someone who is not on the list does not get a pass.
You start the reveal
When the room is ready, you start it. Phones wait about ten seconds. Then the room sees one person, only if both people said yes. Later rounds, if you run them, are still one person at a time for the whole room. You are not pairing people by hand in front of the couch, and you are not reading a no out loud.
Do not add a speech over the name. The point of this night is that the room finds out together. A commentary turns it into a show. Let the phone do the one sentence. Then the night is yours to host: water, a quiet corner, and a way to end a conversation that has gone sour.
If someone breaks a rule, you deal with it. A private note about a bad interaction is yours to handle. It is not a topic for the group chat. You decided they could be in the room. You can also decide the night is over for them.
How you actually start
Start from the host home and pick a key party before you promise a time. Write the rules. Send links only to the list you would let in. Leave the street, the floor, and the door code out of that text. There is no ticket. Guests never pay.
A test party lets you walk the night as a guest, including either partner, before anyone you know is invited. Test parties do not send email, push notifications, or reminders. Start the reveal once, and confirm that a one-sided yes stays hidden. The same screens run the real night once the list is real.
When the list and the rules are written, start from the host home, read the hosting help, and open the key party page. The hosting page is the longer walk through the same door. Do that before the first real link goes out.
FAQ
Do people answer about a couple or a person?
A person. One photo and one name. Your own partner is never someone you answer about. A speed date is the night where you see both names and one photo of the couple.
What does the room see?
One person, only if both people said yes. You start the reveal. Phones wait about ten seconds. A private no stays private. A one-sided yes stays hidden.
Can I practice the night first?
Yes. Open a test party and walk it as a guest before you send a link. Test parties do not send email, push notifications, or reminders.
When do guests see the street?
When you release it. A place name can show before that. The street stays held until you let it out.
Who checks guests in?
Only the host. Guests show a door code or a QR pass. They cannot check themselves in. If someone would rather sit out, they tell you.
Do guests pay?
No. Guests never pay. There is no ticket.
Can guests message each other in private?
No. The group chat is one room. A message to the host is a private note only the host and co-hosts see.
When the list is ready, you can host a key party. You can start hosting from your own list.