Pass & Play vs solo Quiet Arcade — how to choose
Both modes are local, no-account, and calm. This article compares the social experience, session shape, storage, and what NoCharge deliberately keeps out of each.
Bottom line: Solo Quiet Arcade is one person, one screen, optional audio, and local best scores. Pass & Play is two people, one screen, turn handoffs, and one local match record per game. Both are free, no-account, and offline-of-the-network; the only difference is who is next.
Side by side
| Solo | Pass & Play | |
|---|---|---|
| People | 1 | 2, same device |
| Shared chrome | Game shell (pause, mute, ambient, Game Mode) | Same shell plus handoff screen |
| Hidden information | n/a | Handoff hides board when a game has secrets |
| Persistence | Best scores, wins, progress | One most-recent match record per game |
| Leaderboards | None | None |
| AI opponent | None | None |
| Network | None | None |
How to choose
- You have a few minutes alone: solo games with untimed defaults (Word Search, Mini Sudoku, Minesweeper) are built for this.
- A friend is beside you: Gomoku or Nine Men’s Morris give a real strategic duel on one screen.
- You want to avoid looking over a shoulder: Battleship-style hidden info (when it ships) uses the handoff; open games like Gomoku do not hide anything.
- You want a calm solo ritual: Simon’s Calm pattern or Beacon Lattice with ambient on.
Storage is the honest divide
Solo games each hold their own local keys (best score, solved count, current puzzle). Pass & Play games hold exactly one bounded match record per game under nocharge:passplay:match:* — no history, no names, no ratings. Both are listed on Privacy.
What neither mode is
Neither mode is online multiplayer, ranked, cross-device, or account-based. NoCharge does not offer a “versus strangers” mode, an Elo system, or cloud sync, by design. The Pass & Play definition and Quiet Arcade definition explain both postures.
Next step
Choose by company: open a solo game alone, or a Pass & Play game with someone next to you.