A card, not the whole proposal

A scratch card is a way of asking, not a substitute for being there. It works best as the last step of something you have planned: the card is what she or he is holding at the moment the question appears. Three ways people use it:

• In person. Open the card on your own phone, hand it over and say “scratch this”. You are standing there with the ring when the foil comes off.
• From a distance. For a long-distance relationship, send the link during a video call so that you can watch.
• As the last clue. At the end of a treasure hunt or a day out, the final message is a link.

Making the card

1. Start from “Proposal”: a rose-gold foil heart, flowers in the corners, script lettering, hearts rising when it is revealed.
2. Keep “Will you marry me?” or write the question in your own words — a nickname, or the language you speak to each other in.
3. The heading printed above the heart is “I have a question”. Change it if it gives too much away: a date, an in-joke, or simply the person's name.
4. Put your own name in so the card is signed.

Say the rest in the note

The question is one line. Everything else — why, since when, what you promise — goes in the longer note, which opens after the scratching on a sheet of writing paper with your name under it. It holds up to 600 characters: about as much as you would say aloud before getting down on one knee.

Getting the timing right

If the link has to be sent ahead — because you will be driving, or the restaurant has no signal — lock the card to a time. It can be opened early, but it shows a countdown instead of scratching, and it unlocks by itself at the minute you chose.

Check the sound before the day. With the drum roll on, a soft roll builds while the heart is scratched and bells sound on the reveal; in a quiet restaurant you may prefer to tap the 🔊 button and switch it off.

Afterwards

Once the card is scratched it can be saved as a picture or as a short video that replays the scratching and the reveal — something to send to both families with the news. The same reveal works for smaller questions too: a first date, a Valentine, a prom.