1Two teams, 25 word cards. Crimson and Indigo — the starting team owns 9 cards, the other 8, seven are neutral bystanders — and one is the Black Chit. Only the two Spymasters can see which is which.
2The Spymaster gives one word and one number. "OCEAN · 2" means two of your team's cards connect to OCEAN. One word only — no gestures, no hints, no extra talking.
3The team guesses. Tap a card to pick it, tap ✓ to lock it in. Correct → keep guessing, up to the number plus one bonus. Wrong → your turn ends. You must guess at least once per clue.
!Find all your cards first and you win. Reveal the Black Chit and you lose instantly. That single card is why the game is tense — respect it.
The clue rules
- A clue must be a single word about the meanings of the cards — never a word that's still visible on the board, or a simple form of one (BAKERY is illegal while BAKER is on the table).
- The number tells your team how many cards match. They may always try one extra beyond it.
- 0 is a legal number — it means "none of ours relate to this word, avoid them all". ∞ means "several of our old clues are still unfound". Both give your team unlimited guesses that turn.
- After your first guess you may stop any time with End turn — quitting while ahead is a skill.
- A bystander ends your turn harmlessly. Revealing an enemy card ends your turn and moves them one step closer to winning.
Good to know
- The starting team has 9 cards to the other's 8, so going first matters. The start alternates every rematch.
- The Chai Token — one per team per game. Spend it while guessing to learn the category of one of your hidden cards (or its first letter in a custom pack). A nudge, never the answer.
- Timer rooms — the clue and the guessing each get their own countdown. Run out and the turn passes automatically.
- Series rooms — first team to the target number of match wins takes the series. The scoreboard lives in the room, so a series can run across days.
1No Spymasters, no key. 25 cards — 12 belong to each team plus one Black Chit — and nobody can see which is which. Not even the Operators.
2One player per team is randomly made the Operator and secretly dealt 6 clue cards: 4 real, 2 fakes. Every real card points at exactly 3 of your team's board cards. The fakes point at nothing.
3On your turn the Operator broadcasts one clue card, then the team taps up to 3 cards. Matching card +15 · any other of your cards +10 · enemy card −5 and the turn ends.
!Broadcast a fake and your team loses the whole turn. The Black Chit is an instant loss. Clear all 12 of yours for +15, then the higher score wins.
Reading the fakes
- A real card always fits 3 cards on the board. Before broadcasting, quietly count how many cards fit each clue — fewer than three is a red flag.
- Used cards dim, but you may re-broadcast them on a later turn if some of their cards are still unfound.
- Enemy cards whose clue was already broadcast cost nothing to tap — but they still push the enemy toward finishing. Rarely worth it.
- Four fake or passed turns in a row ends the game — highest score takes it.
- Team chat is private in Express — scheme freely, the other team reads nothing.
The Daily Board
- Every day there is one English board, identical for every player in the world. Beat the bot, keep your streak alive, and share your result — only your first attempt counts.
1Two players, one mission. 25 cards, and you each secretly hold half of the key. Your half shows 9 green agents, 3 Black Chits and 13 bystanders. Your partner's half is different — and you never see it.
2Take turns cluing. One of you gives a one-word clue about the agents on your own key; your partner guesses. Every guess is judged on the clue-giver's key.
3Green → agent found, keep guessing (no limit while you're right). Bystander → the turn is spent, and a ◦ mark records it. You must guess at least once per clue.
!Find all 15 unique agents within 9 shared turns and you both win. Reveal a Black Chit on the cluer's key and you both lose. The twist: a card that's green for you can be black for your partner.
Sudden death
- When the 9th turn is spent, clues stop forever. Either partner may keep tapping — each tap is judged on the other player's key. Every green keeps hope alive; anything else ends it.
Playing it well
- 3 agents are green on both keys — finding those early effectively saves turns.
- A ◦ mark from your partner's turn means that card is safe for them — it may still be deadly for you.
- Turns are the real currency: a brave 3-card clue beats three timid 1-card clues.
- No talking about the board! Chat is for celebration and panic only.