Big game commercial ratings party: a paper ballot and a phone vote
For plenty of people at a watch party the ads are the main event, and the argument over the best one starts before the next break ends. This page is a way to settle it: a printable list for jotting down ads as they air, five paper categories for the fun awards, and a phone vote that turns everyone's 1 to 5 ratings into one ranking. There is no betting and no squares here, only opinions about commercials. The next big game is scheduled for February 14, 2027.
Skip the paper sheet: make a phone scorecard in about a minute.
What the existing options give you
Search for a commercial rating sheet and most results are prop-bet pages for the game itself. The ad games I found are low tech. One party games list suggests printable rating signs that guests use to score each commercial. Signs and paper scores work for a living room of six. It gets hard to read with twenty people, because someone has to collect the paper and do the sums. The list below keeps the pen and paper, and the phone vote replaces the adding up.
Printable ad list
Print one per guest. During the game, write the next number, the brand (or what happened in the ad) and a quick reaction. Don't score yet. The number you write is the number you'll use on the phone later.
| No. | Brand or what happened | Reaction | Award? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | |||
| 8 | |||
| 9 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | |||
| 12 |
Why the phone vote uses numbers
A scorecard is created with a fixed list of entries, and the list cannot be changed once guests have the link. Nobody knows tonight's ads in advance, so the entries are numbered slots instead: "Ad 1 (first quarter)" up to "Ad 12", or up to 20, which is the most one scorecard holds. A game airs far more ads than that, so the room decides which ones get a number. Anything that makes people groan, laugh or go quiet earns the next slot. A host who calls out "that's number 7" and writes the brand on a shared list keeps everyone aligned.
During voting, guests see "Entry 1", "Entry 2" and so on, and the names appear when you close voting. So the brand list lives on paper, and the phone only holds numbers. Each guest should send one set of ratings, so ask guests to rate once the last numbered ad has aired. The page remembers a browser that already voted, but it doesn't block a second ballot. Skipped numbers stay unrated and rank last, never as a zero.
Categories on paper, one score on the phone
The scorecard rates each entry once, from 1 to 5, so the phone ranking is an overall opinion. It cannot track "funniest" and "most creative" at the same time. Keep the categories on the paper list, in the "Award?" column, and use the phone for the one score that matters most. Five categories that suit commercials:
- Funniest
- The ad that got the biggest laugh in the room.
- Most creative
- An idea nobody saw coming, or a format you haven't seen before.
- Tear-jerker
- The ad someone will admit to getting misty over.
- Best celebrity cameo
- The face that made the room say "wait, is that...?"
- Wait, what was that for?
- The ad everyone remembers and nobody can attach to a product.
Write a category next to the number when you think it fits. After the last ad, count the marks for each category and read the winners aloud. The phone ranking picks the overall best. If you want a second ranking, such as funniest only, create another scorecard with the same slots and ask guests to rate by that question alone. Each scorecard asks for one set of ratings per guest.
A timeline for the night
- A day ahead: create the scorecard with 12 to 20 numbered slots, print the ad list and a QR table card.
- At kickoff: hand out lists and pens, and say how a slot is earned.
- During the game: call out the numbers and keep the brand list. Don't open the voting link yet.
- After the final numbered ad: guests scan the card and rate the numbers they remember, from 1 to 5.
- Close voting on the host page and read the ranking. Match each number to the brand list.
Keeping it a game about ads
The ranking says which ad this room liked, which says little about the product. If you want a prize, make it small and silly, like a golden remote for whoever picked the winning number most often. The app has no sign-in, so a phone that clears its cookies could vote again. For a living-room game that rarely matters.
How the phone vote works
Type the entries in the order of their numbers. Guests open one link, see Entry 1, Entry 2 and so on, and rate each from 1 to 5. The ranking appears with the names when you close voting. A paper sheet suits a judging panel, and the link suits a people's choice vote.
Your guests open one link and tap 1 to 5 for each entry. You print a table card with the QR code. Free, no account for you or your guests, deleted after 30 days.
Start a big game ads scorecard. The title is filled in; replace the sample slots with your own numbered list.
Create a scorecard See a sample contest