Meet in person with Let's Hang: volleyball, dinner, a hike

Let's Hang is a way to hang out with friends online: you set a table, share one link, and once enough people are in, the lights go on and the room opens with video, chat and games. This post is about the other thing it now does, because you asked for it: plans in real life.

A few of you told me the same story in different words. A Thursday volleyball game that needs at least eight people. A dinner where somebody has to call the restaurant and say how many. You were creating an online hangout, ignoring the video, and using the sign-ups and the chat to get everyone to the same place at the same time.

So meeting in person is a proper option now. The idea came from you, and I am grateful for it.

How it works

At the top of the form there's one question: Online or In person.

Pick in person and the form gets simpler. No cameras, no games, no "right now". You choose what you're doing (volleyball, soccer, basketball, pickleball, padel, golf, bowling, running, cycling, hiking, climbing, dinner, drinks, a BBQ, karaoke, trivia night, coffee, board games, the cinema, or something else with your own name and emoji) and search for the place. Pick it from the list and it lands on a map, so everyone gets directions to the right court, not just the right park.

Everything else works like any other hangout:

• It only happens with enough people. Set "happens at" to eight and the game is on at eight, not at four thumbs up in a group chat.
• A deadline. If not enough people are in by then, it's called off and everyone is told. Nobody drives to an empty court.
• The calendar invite has the address. The reminder comes an hour before instead of ten minutes, so there's time to get there.
• The chat stays open for "who brings the ball" and "running five minutes late".
• Every week, if you tick it. Next Thursday's game opens by itself once this one is over.

Private by default

A video call with strangers is one thing. Telling strangers where you'll be at 7 pm is another. In-person hangouts start as private: only people you send the link to can see the hangout and the place.

If you run an open game and want anyone to be able to turn up, you can make it public. The form tells you plainly what that means.

A picture instead of a table

Online hangouts are drawn as a round table with chairs. That didn't fit a football pitch, so in-person hangouts get a small animated scene instead: a ball going over the net, steam off two plates, two glasses clinking, a rocket crossing the cinema screen. Tap one to see it, or "more" for all twenty:

They're on the front page too, taking turns, and a shared link shows its picture in WhatsApp or iMessage.

If you try it for something I didn't think of, tell me with the "Ask or suggest" button. That's how this one happened.