A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include initiating a community wagering game associated with a bank of wagering game machines, where a wagering game machine, from the bank of wagering game machines, is associated with a hand-held game controller configured to control game play for the community wagering game. The operations can further include selecting a second game controller, associated with the wagering game machine, as an alternative to the hand-held game controller for the community wagering game. The operations can further include enabling the second game controller to control at least a portion of the game play for the community wagering game.