Seven years of Trueplay: luck, fun, and mystery

This year, Trueplay has turned seven — a lucky number we wouldn’t have hit without every pro in the office and across the globe. I’m typing with confetti on the keyboard and frosting on the trackpad, still picking at yesterday’s cake. How do you celebrate across time zones? With a week-long caper: an AI mystery, snacks on us, and a finale that flew like fireworks across calendars. Stick with me by the end of this read, and I might finally switch off party mode. Who knew Zoom could deliver Vegas bachelor party energy, minus the questionable decisions?

Everyone loves a good plot twist

A brief toast over Zoom and goodbye just wouldn’t cut it for Trueplay’s birthday. We wanted something everyone could join, whether in the office or three time zones away. Yes, to the brave souls sipping “celebratory champagne” at 9 a.m. — your dedication has been noted. An online quest made it easy to jump in, collaborate, and cross the finish line together. We framed it like an escape room — the kind that encourages teamwork, racks up shared wins, and turns a random Zoom grid into a real team, fast.

So… who’s AIsha?

Our in-house AI. She helps build and even hosts marketing presentations. Also, full disclosure: our CMO is mildly obsessed. AIsha is the muse, the best friend, the true love of Trueplay (pun intended), part therapist, part fantasy. She has it all, which is precisely why the plot hit a nerve.

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The twist: hackers hijack AIsha and graft on a real streamer persona. Overnight, she’s leaking data, snapping at clients, and acting like a drama queen. Heartbreaking scenario. “Romeo and Juliet” wouldn’t stand a chance.

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Seven days, seven missions, zero chill. To bring our beloved AI angel back, everyone became a detective. At 8 a.m. Tuesday to Thursday, a new mission would drop. Did anyone wake up early to grab first blood? Oh yes. Once, two teams submitted within 48 seconds.

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What it looked like in the wild:

• Teaming up with colleagues you’ve never worked with 
• Cracking logic puzzles and company lore riddles 
• Swapping cultural facts and pulling gems from past lectures 
• Staging a group portrait of exaggerated emotions — proof you can still be ridiculous together, even if you WFH

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Built with our stack 

We ran the whole thing on Funnels No Code, not a Slack DIY. HR and MarCom wrote the plot and missions. Product & Tech wired the app so clues, timers, and submissions felt like a real game. What kind of tech company would we be if we didn’t gamify our own quest?

Of course, keeping the whole crew engaged is a challenge — and that was the point. Not everyone could step away from their responsibilities to complete the quest from start to end (hello, C-level calendars!), so we brought them in as hint-givers and judges. 

Party mode unlocked

The grand finale brought us to Zoom — to wrap it all up, trade stories, and eat together. Trueplay gave everyone the green light to order their favorite treats and picked up the tab, so screens filled with burgers, sushi, and “whatever’s best near me” while we settled in.

The two hours rushed by like a good playlist, guided by our Mood Master, who kept the energy high and the transitions smooth. We opened with a few heartfelt words, slid into a wonderfully nerdy round of Kahoot, and then let the talent show tip the whole thing into full party mode. Even the team names had range and personality: Milf Bar, Room #2 Team, TrueLove, with a couple of “minimalist” logos like this masterpiece:

For the closer, the brief was simple: congratulate Trueplay any way you like. The only rule was to be creative. So we got a rap song with live ad-libs and unplanned echo courtesy of internet lags, a stunt or two that made everyone say “please be careful,” and the unbeatable cheat code: a chorus of “Happy Birthday” with pets popping into frame. Turns out our creativity doesn’t clock out at 5 p.m.

Winners walked away with beautiful branded prizes: aprons, bucket hats, socks, moon bags, and more. But the best part was watching people drop the serious work face on Friday and just be themselves. It felt easy: laughing, making things, cheering each other on, and closing the week the way we started it — together.

Level 8, here we come

Seven years down, countless more to go. 

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Sliding back into work mode after a week like that feels a little bittersweet. Observing my teammates being wonderfully goofy motivates me as a reminder that we are on the right track. It gets bumpy. Then the confetti lands again. That’s the balance.

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As a mostly remote human, I couldn’t stop laughing and wondering how everyone is still that funny on a Friday night. The juicy parts stay secret, though. In true Vegas spirit: what happens at Trueplay celebrations stays on the Zoom recording.