Kotbo 3 min read
Discord channel games: counting, word chain, emoji riddles and more
A game channel is a channel where one simple rule keeps conversation going: count, chain words, guess a number. Members cross paths effortlessly, and the channel polices itself. Discord doesn’t check a game’s rules, that’s a bot’s job. In Kotbo these games are grouped in the Fun channels module, and each has its own channel
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Why have game channels on a server
A game gives members a reason to write without needing something to say
- Small games attract members who won’t dive into a big discussion
- A shared record gives a common goal, and a leaderboard brings people back
- The rules are simple, so a newcomer gets it fast
- Mistakes fix themselves, with no mod stepping in
What Discord offers without a bot
Nothing to check that a message follows a game’s rule. Without a bot, a mod has to watch the channel and delete wrong answers by hand, which doesn’t last
The games Kotbo offers
Each game has its own channel to pick, and the bot deletes or rejects any message that breaks the rule
Counting
Members count 1, 2, 3… in turn. The bot tracks the current number and the server record, and keeps each player’s stats
Word chain
Each word must start with the last letter of the previous one
One word story
A story written one word at a time. Wrong messages are deleted and double posts blocked
No Yes No
Answering yes or no is forbidden: any message containing either one is deleted
Emoji only
Only emojis are allowed, everything else is deleted
Emoji riddle
Guess the phrase hidden behind a string of emojis. A new riddle is generated in one click
Mystery number
Guess a number picked by the bot. A new target is generated in one click
Image of the day
Everyone posts the image they find best of the day, from 00:00 to 23:59. A message without an image or a second image in the same day is deleted, with an explanation
Setting up a game with Kotbo
Everything is set on dash.kotbo.fr, in the Fun channels page
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Create one channel per game
A dedicated channel with a clear name (#counting, #word-chain). One game per channel
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Pick the channel in the dashboard
Each game has its card with a channel selector
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Choose punitive mode or not
In punitive mode a mistake in counting or the word chain resets the game. Off, the offending message is deleted and its author warned, without breaking progress
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Pin the rule
A short message explaining the game avoids the first mistakes
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Reset when needed
The dashboard lets you reset the counting, reset the word chain, or generate a new riddle or mystery number
Following the counting game
Counting has its own stats command
/counting-stats- Shows the current number, the record, the counting channel, the last activity, your score, your correct and failed numbers, and the top players. If counting isn’t set up, the command says so
Avoiding the traps
A well-launched game channel livens up on its own, a badly launched one stays empty
- Choose punitive mode only if your community accepts it: a reset in the middle of a run discourages some
- Don’t mix two games in the same channel, the bot wouldn’t cope
- Announce records: a broken record is a reason to log back in
- Drop a game that doesn’t catch on after a few weeks instead of leaving a dead channel