How it works
In this secret word tag game every player gets a hidden word and a target, and tags the target by getting them to say the word. The first card waits face down: press Turn the card. The game is also known as word assassin.
Read the full guide
One common way to play, in four steps
1. Deal. Press Turn the card, read your word, press Hide the word, then Next card, and hand the phone on. Your target is the player you hand it to. The last player's target is the first. 2. Talk. Carry on with the day and steer your target toward your word. 3. Tag. When they say it, tell them quietly. They are out, and you take over their word and their target. 4. Win. The last player in wins.
Three settings, three levels
Before the first card, press Topic to set where you are: At home, At the office or A holiday gathering. Levels sit under it. Easy words come up by themselves, such as Monday. Hard words, such as Trombone, take a plan.
Tips
- Only the word said aloud counts. Getting a target to read it out or spell it does not.
- A player who is out keeps every secret until the game ends.
- Set an end before you start: when dinner is cleared, or at five on Friday.
Questions and answers
How many players does the game need?
Four or more makes a loop worth playing. It suits a big group, because the game runs in the background of a party or a workday and nobody has to stop what they are doing.
What happens when a player is tagged?
They are out. They tell the tagger their own secret word and who their target was, and the tagger carries on with both. Nobody else is told.
Can you play without passing a phone?
Yes. Turn a card for each player, write each word on a slip of paper and fold it. Sit in a circle to hand them out: every player's target is the person on their left.
What makes a good secret word?
One your target might say without noticing. Easy words, such as Coffee at the office, fall in a morning. A Hard word, such as Volcano at home, needs a story that leads there.