Adult only. Private by design.
Key party rules
A key party has a short list of rules because the reveal is shared. Everyone hears the same line before Round 1. If the line is fuzzy, the room argues about it later.
The short answer
Your host invites friends. The host invites friends they'd love to have there. There is no public guest pool. Adult only. Private by design.
Each card is one person. Your own partner is never a card. You say yes or no in private. A private no stays private. Round 1 shows one Play Partner, and only when the yes went both ways.
All mutual-yes matches are revealed, on this night as that one Play Partner at the same time. A play party reveals matches at check-in. A speed date is short rounds, then yes or no. Pack for the night you were told.
One person, and never your own partner
The card is one photo and one name. You are choosing a person, not a couple package and not a seat at a table. Your own partner never sits in your deck. That is the rule that keeps the reveal from being a joke you already live with.
A straight room shows you the other side. A bi-friendly room follows who is actually open to whom, and each partner can be a man or a woman. An open room can include singles the host invited, still as separate cards. The invite should say which room this is before anyone answers.
A yes means you want that person as a Play Partner if they also say yes. It is not a compliment you are owed a reply for. You can change an answer until answers lock. Use that. A rushed yes at lunch can become a no after you have talked.
Name the ceiling before Round 1
Soft and full are ceilings, not personalities. Soft, in the usual sense, stops short of intercourse with anyone but your own partner. Full includes it. Rooms disagree on the details, so the house rules have to say the line in plain words. Kissing, touching, and oral sex are separate sentences if your room treats them that way.
Same room or a separate room is a different question. Do not let one phrase smuggle the other in. If the living room stays clothed and the bedroom is the only place clothes come off, write that. If phones stay in the kitchen, write that too.
Guests agree to the rules before they answer. If the host edits the rules, they agree to the new version. A match is not a menu. Either person can stop. The word you picked at home still works in the room.
The address, the door, and who checks you in
The street stays in the host fields until the host releases it. A place name can show earlier, so you know the neighborhood without getting the door. Email can say Your event, or a public-safe name the host chose. Do not put the address, or the word key party, in a text you would hate a coworker to see.
On party day, after answers lock, you get a door code and a QR pass. You show the pass. Only the host checks people in. Guests do not check themselves in, and they do not check a friend in who was not on the list.
If you would rather sit the night out, tell the host before check-in. You do not owe a speech. A guest who is not checked in is not in Round 1.
Round 1 is one Play Partner
The host starts the reveal. A short countdown, and each guest sees one Play Partner: one photo and one name. The room finds out together. There is no grid of every mutual at once, and there is no second screen of people who said no.
If the host set more than one round, each round is still one Play Partner. The first reveal is Round 1. A super yes on both sides can show on that card. That is extra heat, not a different rule. It is still a mutual yes.
Do not ask other guests how they answered. The group chat is for the room, the timing, and a little heat. It is not a count of who said yes. Guests do not message each other in private. Message host is a private note only the host and co-hosts see.
Rules the host has to keep
Invite the people you already want in the room. Send each couple one private link. Say the room shape, the ceiling, and what a no means in your house. One line is one rule. Save a set if you host this shape of night more than once.
Leave the street address back until you mean to send it. Check people in yourself. Start Round 1 yourself. If two people want to go past the ceiling, that is a different night with a different agreement, not a rewrite in the spare room.
Rehearse with a test party before you invite anyone. A test party lets you walk the night as a guest. It does not send email, push, or reminders.
FAQ
Can I be matched with my own partner?
No. Your own partner is never a card. The deck is other people the host invited.
How many Play Partners does Round 1 show?
One. One photo and one name, and only if the yes went both ways. A later round, if the host set one, is still one person at a time.
When do guests get the street address?
When the host sends it. A place name can show earlier. The street stays back until the host releases it.
What if I want to sit out?
Tell the host. You are not checked in, and you are not in Round 1. No explanation is required.
Is a key party the same as a play party?
No. A key party reveals one Play Partner to the room at the same time. A play party opens mutual matches when the host checks that guest in, with no room-wide Round 1.