You Can Now Play Netflix Games on Your TV.
Did you know you can configure Google to filter out junk? Follow these steps to improve your search results, including adding my work on Lifehacker as a preferred source .
You might not think of Netflix as a gaming company, but games are certainly part of its business . While the vast majority of Netflix subscribers simply watch shows and movies within the app, the company also offers free access to games as part of a Netflix subscription. And these aren’t all one-time purchases: Netflix has licensed several well-known titles , including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , Oxenfree , and Heads Up!
But while Netflix games have been mostly available on mobile devices for the past few years, the company is trying something new. This week , Netflix is releasing games you can play on your TV without leaving the Netflix app. You don’t need a special game controller or anything like a TV remote. Instead, players control the game using their smartphones. What a time!
At launch, you won’t be able to play any Netflix mobile games on your TV. Instead, the company has licensed five party games , not yet part of its library, designed for playing cooperatively with others in front of a TV. Here are a few of them:
-
LEGO Party! : It’s Mario Party , but with LEGO, with minigames, cards, and LEGO characters.
-
Boggle Party : Up to eight players can try to find words in a shuffled table of letters.
-
Pictionary: Game Night : Guess what the other person is drawing before time runs out.
-
Tetris Time Warp : Play different versions of Tetris , including the original 1984 version and the classic Gameboy version.
-
Uninvited Guests: Fool Your Friends : One person in the group is the odd one out and doesn’t understand what the others are saying. The group needs to figure out who it is.
LEGO Party! and Tetris Time Warp are existing games that can be played on other platforms, but it looks like the other three will debut on Netflix.
How to play Netflix games on your TV
To try out any of these five games when they’re available in your region, open the Netflix app on your Smart TV, then scroll to the “Games” tab. Select a game, then use your smartphone as a controller.