Why not Doodle?
Doodle finds a date.
Hammertime finds a decision.
A yes/no poll picks what the majority ticked, even if it’s the one thing a friend can’t stand. Hammertime asks how much you like each option, and lets you say when you’re out. Here is the difference in one dinner.
Same friends, same opinions, different winner
Everyone answers honestly both times. The only difference is what the poll lets them say.
Where should we eat?
Five friends, three options, one set of opinions.
| Option | Anna | Ben | Chris | Dana | Mia (vegetarian) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SteakhouseWinner: 4 yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pizza3 yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sushi3 yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
🥩 Steakhouse wins, 4 to 3. Mia is vegetarian. She can order fries, or stay home.
What a yes/no poll can’t hear
“No” can mean “meh” or “never”
A yes/no poll can’t tell “I’d rather not” from “I can’t come”. Hammertime keeps them apart, so a shrug doesn’t sink a good option, and a real dealbreaker doesn’t get outvoted.
“Yes” has a volume knob
In a yes/no poll, a shrug and a cheer count the same. With one to three stars, the option people are actually excited about rises to the top.
One “I’m out” outweighs a pile of stars
Options with fewer vetoes always rank first. Stars only decide between options that leave the same number of people behind. So the winner is something everyone can join.
How the winner is picked
No secret formula. Options are compared rule by rule, and the next rule only counts when the one before is a tie.
Fewest vetoes
🍕 Pizza (nobody’s out) beats 🥩 Steakhouse (Mia’s out), even with fewer stars.
Then the most stars
🥩 Steakhouse (10 stars) beats 🍣 Sushi (8 stars). Both have one veto.
Then the most people in
Same vetoes, same stars? The option more friends would join wins.
Still tied? A coin flip
It’s random, but stays the same every time you open the poll. No reloading until your favourite wins.
Fair questions
Can one person block everything?
No. A veto pushes an option down, it doesn’t delete it. If every option gets vetoed, the one with the fewest vetoes still wins. And a veto means “if this wins, I won’t join”. For “not my favourite”, there’s one star.
Isn’t it more work than ticking yes or no?
It’s one tap per option, the same as a yes/no poll. Voting takes less than a minute, without an account or an app.
What about dates? Isn’t that Doodle’s thing?
Hammertime does days and date ranges too, with the same stars and vetoes. A veto means you can’t make it. One star means you could, but it’s not ideal. So the group picks the day that works best, not just a day that technically works.
So should I never use Doodle?
Doodle is great at what it was built for: finding a time when everyone is free. When the question is what to do, where to go, or which day suits everyone best, Hammertime is the better fit.
Want the long version? This blog post explains the idea behind it: A different way to group decisions.