I suggest this, but not sure if it could be implemented as a function of a future Roon release, or maybe a plugin or extension?
Name That Tune, game mode. Roon could implement a que list with special functions that facilitate having fun when you have friends over. I have spent many hours in the days of vinyl playing the non-computer version of this with my friends.
A Roon version of this would require the ability to hide information from the que list and the now playing display, until revealed by whoever chose that music.
I imagine it like this; Everyone at the game has their own Roon remote to display the current Que, and see the Now Playing track. In these two screens Roon would replace the track info with the name of the player that selected it. The que history of the past would show all the track info, but upcoming tracks only shows the players name who choose the music. Everyone can add tracks to the que, but each person can only see the que entries they themselves entered, at least until the they reveal it to all. The que would order the songs like turns, each person gets a play before it moves on to playing a persons next selection. If a person guesses a song name, artist, performer, composer, or whatever satisfies the person who choose that track, then the person who selected that song can reveal it in the que to everyone, or they can reveal it at any time. The chooser can give verbal hints, but what would be really be cool is if the track chooser could reveal different portions of the tracks details in the que as hints. Something like exposing track details, photos, band members, performers, influences, and so on. It would be extra nice if the Chrome Cast display shows a group display, where no one’s track data displays until revealed, and it could have player scores, or stats. These rules are simply an implantation of good manners, everyone take turns and you can’t play the same artist twice in a row.
When I grew up playing this game in the vinyl age each person would put on a album side, being 4 to 5 songs, making about 15 - 20 minuet’s a turn. I think one song per turn might be too hectic and an entire CD would bog down the game. A 3 to 4 song off one album is ideal. Or one long track, if in the classical, or jam band genres. Having each turn taking 15-20 min makes the game into a discussion of the music and promotes socializing. One song per turn makes the game more of a race and lessens the discussion. Not as much fun. I learned so much about music from others playing this game and learned to appreciate music I probably would have never experienced otherwise.
When I played this game with my friends during high school and college, we would all go to a record store and buy albums. We would have them put in a paper bag to hide what it was. When we got to someone’s home we slid the disk out of the sleeve with the cover still hidden in the bag, put it on the turn table with our back to everyone, not letting anyone see the disk label. This game led my friends and I to purchase obscure recordings in an attempt to outfox everyone. We got good at recognizing artists and developed diverse tastes. We all acquires amazing collections. We sought out obscure artists, or new and unknown artists. Forty years later I am still friends with one whom I most often played this game with, and he was who turned me on to Roon. We are two of the Roon users that have accumulated massive collections. We still discuss music and trade albums.