Showdown
Start a quick mini game in any channel with /showdown, from reaction races and emoji battles to trivia, polls, a secret word game and AI prompts.
On this page
/showdown drops a quick mini game into the channel for everyone to join. It's a fast way to wake up
a quiet chat: pick a game type or let Buddy choose one at random. Most rounds take a minute or two.
Before you start#
Some game types use AI to write their questions and lines. See AI and your messages below for what's sent.
How to play#
Type /showdown. Pick a type, or leave it empty for a random one.
Buddy confirms privately which game started, then posts it in the channel. Everyone can play.
Buddy replies to its own post with the result when the round ends.
Several game types have a random player limit between 2 and 10. The round ends early once that many people have joined.
Game types#
| Type | How it works | Ends when |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction | Buddy posts a challenge with a random emoji. React with it to enter. A random entrant wins. At least 2 players are needed. | The player limit is reached, or about 1–2 minutes pass |
| Trivia | Buddy asks a trivia question, inspired by recent chat. Type the answer in the channel. The first message that matches the answer exactly (capital letters don't matter) wins. | Someone answers correctly, or 60 seconds pass |
| Emoji | Two random emoji face off, like 🐉 vs 🦄. React to vote for your fighter. The emoji with more votes wins, or it's a tie. | The player limit is reached, or about 1–2 minutes pass |
| Poll | A three-option poll, inspired by recent chat. React with 🇦, 🇧 or 🇨. Buddy posts the vote count for each and the winner. | The player limit is reached, or about 1–2 minutes pass |
| Word | Buddy picks a secret word that's been used more than once in the last 30 messages. Type a single word to guess it. The first exact guess wins. | The player limit's worth of messages, or about 1–2 minutes pass |
| Wild | Buddy writes a fun question or challenge for the channel. Reply in chat. When things go quiet, Buddy posts a playful follow-up based on the replies. | Nobody has replied for 60 seconds, or 3 minutes pass in total |
Trivia, Word and Wild listen to every message in the channel while they run, so they work best in a channel that's focused on the game. Trivia always ends after 60 seconds and Wild after 3 minutes, even in a busy chat.
If the AI can't be reached, Buddy falls back to a built-in question or line, so Reaction, Trivia, Emoji, Poll and Word always work. Wild only starts when Buddy's AI connection is set up.
When AI is set up, /showdown shares the same limits as the other AI commands: one run per person
per minute, and a shared budget per server. Over the budget, a round still starts but uses the built-in text.
Commands#
Anyone who can send messages can start a showdown, unless you limit it with command roles.
/showdown [type] EveryoneStart a mini game in this channel.
AI and your messages#
Some game types send text to OpenAI to write the game. Nothing is sent for a game type until it's used, and the Privacy Policy explains how this text is handled.
| Type | What's sent to OpenAI |
|---|---|
| Reaction | Your server's name and the chosen emoji |
| Emoji | The two emoji |
| Trivia | Your server's name and the last 10 messages from members in the channel, with usernames |
| Poll | Your server's name and the last 10 messages from members in the channel, with usernames |
| Wild | Your server's name and description, the last 10 member messages with usernames, then the replies to the prompt with usernames |
| Word | Nothing. The word is picked from recent chat by Buddy itself |
The AI is told to keep everything clean and family friendly.
Examples#
A Poll round:
You're stuck on an island. Pick one: 🇦 Food | 🇧 Phone | 🇨 Boat
When it ends:
🇦 3 | 🇧 1 | 🇨 4
🇨 wins with 4 votes!
An Emoji battle:
Choose your fighter! 🐉 vs 🦄
Troubleshooting#
"Buddy is missing a permission"#
The card names what's missing. Give Buddy Add Reactions and Read Message History (as well as View Channel and Send Messages) in that channel. Members with Manage Server can also use the card's Fix permissions button, unless a channel override is what blocks Buddy.
"Not enough players joined the showdown"#
Reaction rounds need at least 2 players. Try again when more people are around, or ping a games role.
Wild says the AI isn't set up#
Wild needs Buddy's AI connection, and only you see this message. Pick another game type; they all have built-in fallbacks. Random picks skip Wild when AI isn't available.
"AI commands are cooling down"#
AI games are limited to one run per person per minute, plus a shared budget for the whole server. Wait the number of seconds shown and try again.
Nobody won the trivia#
Answers must match exactly. A message like "I think it's 2015" doesn't count; just type 2015.
Trivia or Wild won't finish#
They end after 60 seconds without new messages in the channel, so ongoing chat keeps them open.