Hotseat or hot seat, also known as pass-and-play, is a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode provided by some turn-based

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, which allows two or more players to play on the same device by taking turns playing the game. The term was first used as a reference to playing a PC game and trading seats with the other player, but the mode dates back to early 1980s arcade games. A notable example of games that use this mode is the '' Heroes of Might and Magic'' series, which allows up to 8 players to play locally on the same computer. Hotseat multiplayer has also seen prominence on some

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

video games, especially certain multiplayer games that are intended to be family-friendly, within the

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

genre, or both. For example, the Wii games '' Wii Sports'' and '' Wii Sports Resort'' have certain sports, such as golf, that require its competitors to take turns. Players share a Wii Remote, the system's controller, which the current player has possession of during a turn. Hotseat play allows players to play a multiplayer game with only one copy of the game on only one device. Since hotseat play is usually defined as turn-based by nature, the duration of a game may extend beyond that of a comparable real-time networked multiplayer game where each player can take action at the same time. Some games allow hotseat and networked players to compete with each other in the same game, while maintaining turn-based play. In those cases, hotseat enables players to play on fewer than physical computers.

References

Esports terminology Video game terminology {{Videogame-terminology-stub

See also

References