Host Your Own Fitness Game on Cadoo — Right From the App
Cadoo lets you do more than join fitness games — you can create your own and invite your friends. Set a goal, put a little money on the line, and everyone who follows through gets paid. Hosting a game (we call it “Create Your Own Game”) takes about two minutes in the Cadoo app, and this guide walks you through every step.
What You’ll Need
- The Cadoo app on your iPhone or Android phone
- A few dollars in your Cadoo balance to cover your own entry fee (you can top up during setup)
- An activity in mind — steps or a camera-counted exercise like pushups or squats
Step 1: Tap “Create Game”
Open the Cadoo app and tap the + Create Game button on your home screen. This opens the game builder, which walks you through each setting one screen at a time.
Step 2: Choose Who Can Join
Decide how people find your game:
- Private — your game stays off the public list. Only people you send the link to can join. Perfect for a game with friends, family, or coworkers.
- Public — any Cadoo player can discover your game in the app and join it.
You can share your game link either way — “private” just means it won’t show up in Cadoo’s public game feed.
Step 3: Name Your Game
Give your game a title and a short description so people know what they’re signing up for — for example, “October Pushup Showdown” or “Family Step Challenge.”
Step 4: Pick the Activity
Choose what everyone will do. Cadoo supports:
- Steps — tracked automatically through Apple Health or Google Fit
- Pushups
- Situps
- Squats
- Pullups
- Dips
The five exercises are counted automatically by the Cadoo app using your phone’s camera — no honor system, just verified reps.
Step 5: Set the Goal
Decide how much everyone has to do. You can set a total goal (for example, 3,000 pushups over the whole game) or a daily goal (for example, 30 pushups a day). Pick a number that’s challenging but achievable for the people you’re inviting.
Step 6: Set the Dates
Choose when your game starts and ends, and set an entry deadline — the last moment someone can join. Games can run anywhere from a few days to about a month.
Step 7: Set the Entry Fee (and Optional Prize Pool)
This is where the stakes come in. Set an entry fee between $10 and $1,000 — every player pays it to join, and the pot is what finishers split. You can also add an optional prize pool from your own pocket to make the reward bigger, and cap the maximum any single winner takes home.
Step 8: Add a Cover Photo
Pick a cover image so your game looks great when you share it. Choose from Cadoo’s built-in cover art.
Step 9: Review and Confirm
Check everything on the preview screen, agree to the terms, and slide to confirm. As the host, you’re automatically entered into your own game, and your entry fee comes out of your Cadoo balance. If you don’t have enough, the app will prompt you to add funds first.
Step 10: Invite Your Friends
Once your game is live, tap Invite Friends to share it. You’ll get a link you can copy, send through your phone’s share sheet, or text directly to contacts. Anyone who opens the link is taken straight to your game in the Cadoo app, where they can join in a couple of taps.
How Verification Works
Cadoo verifies every workout so the game stays fair. Rep-based exercises (pushups, situps, squats, pullups, dips) are counted by the app using your phone’s camera. Step goals sync automatically from Apple Health or Google Fit. No one can fake their way to a payout.
How Getting Paid Works
When the game ends, everyone who hit the goal shares the pot. The players who follow through get their money back plus a cut from those who didn’t — along with any prize pool you added on top. Cash out straight from the app.
Ready to Host Your First Game?
Hosting a game is the best way to get your friends moving and add real motivation to any goal. Download Cadoo from the App Store or Google Play, tap Create Game, and set up your first game in minutes. Prefer to set it up on a computer? Check out our guide to hosting a fitness game on the web.
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