How to Play Open Up
Open Up is the quietest game on Spice Up and the one that changes the most. Everyone answers the same set of questions privately, yes, maybe or no. Then the app shows only what you have in common. Nobody has to be the first to say anything out loud.
Play Open UpWhy answer privately
Most conversations about what people want stall for the same reason: somebody has to go first, and going first is the risky part. If you say a thing and the other person is not into it, you cannot unsay it.
Open Up removes the going first problem entirely. You answer on your own, they answer on their own, and the app only reveals the overlap. If you both said yes, you find out. If only one of you did, neither of you learns anything. The risk of asking disappears, which is usually the only thing standing in the way.
How a round works
- Add your players and agree a safe word, the same as any other game
- The first player takes the phone and answers a set of questions privately, tapping yes, maybe or no
- They pass the phone on. Nobody sees anyone else's answers
- Once everyone has answered, the app shows the results
- By default you only see the things you both said yes to
What yes, maybe and no actually mean
- Yes: you are interested, now or at some point
- Maybe: you are curious, or it depends on the situation and the person
- No: not for you, and it will not come up again
Maybe is the most useful of the three and the most underused. It is the honest answer far more often than yes or no, and it gives you somewhere to go without committing to anything.
Revealing what did not match
The default is overlaps only. You can also choose to reveal the near misses, where one person said yes and the other said maybe. That is a bigger step and it is worth agreeing on before you start rather than in the moment, because turning it on halfway through changes what people have already answered under.
Full reveal, showing every answer, exists but it undoes the reason the game works. Most groups who try it once go back to overlaps only.
Playing it as a couple
This is the game Open Up was really built for. Two people, one phone, ten minutes. It works best when you are not treating it as foreplay, because the results are more interesting when neither of you is performing for the other. Answer it on a sofa on a Tuesday and see what comes up.
If it opens up a conversation, that is the point. If it does not, you have lost ten minutes. There is no version of this where you find out something you both wish you had not, because you only ever see agreement.
Playing it in a group
In a group the app compares everyone and shows what the whole group shares, which is a different and slightly braver game. It works well with couples who know each other, and it works badly with a group where one person is noticeably less comfortable than the rest. If in doubt, play it in pairs first.
Where it fits in the evening
Early. Open Up is a warm up rather than a finale, because what it produces is information, and the rest of the night is what you do with it. A common shape is Open Up first, then Temptation or Truth or Dare once everyone knows where the interest actually is.
Open Up, answered
How does Open Up work?
Each player answers the same set of questions privately, choosing yes, maybe or no, passing one phone between them. Once everyone has answered, the app shows only the answers you have in common. Nothing you said alone is ever revealed.
Can other players see my answers?
Only where they match. If you say yes to something and nobody else does, it is never shown to anyone. That is the whole design: you can be completely honest without exposing anything.
Is anything stored or sent anywhere?
No. Spice Up runs entirely on the device and nothing you enter leaves it. There is no account and no server holding your answers.
How many people can play Open Up?
Two or more. It is at its best with two, because the overlaps are clearer and the conversation afterwards is easier. In a group it shows what everyone shares, which is a higher bar and a different game.
What if we match on something and neither of us brings it up?
That is a completely normal outcome and not a failure. Knowing is the useful part. Plenty of people find the conversation happens a week later rather than that night.
Play it now
Everything above is built into Open Up in the app. It handles the order, the intensity and who goes next, so nobody has to keep track.
Play Open Up