In Other Words

Help them guess the word without writing the obvious clue.

One player is the guesser. Everybody else can see the hidden word and writes a single word to help. Then the matches are removed: if two people wrote the same clue, it never reaches the guesser at all.

So the obvious clue is usually a wasted one. You are hunting for something helpful that nobody else will think of, which is harder and much funnier than it sounds. If the guess is right, the guesser scores and so does everybody whose clue survived.

Roles rotate every round. Twelve rounds a game, four to eight players.

  • 4–8 players
  • About 15 minutes
  • Free
  • No download
Someone in a teal armchair facing a glowing television, three empty speech bubbles above

How each way works

Friends playing In Other Words on a television they can all see, each with a phone

Play with a group in your room

A TV, laptop or tablet — a phone each

The clues go on a television, laptop or tablet. The hidden word stays on the clue-givers' phones and never appears on the shared screen, so the guesser can look up at it safely.

Open the board
People in different cities playing In Other Words with strangers on their own screens

Play live online with people worldwide

Sit down at a public table with people you have never met. The guesser still never sees the word — and a stranger can take the guesser's chair.

Start

How to play

  1. One player becomes the guesser and does not see the word.
  2. Everybody else writes one clue. Duplicates, and the word itself, are thrown away.
  3. The surviving clues appear without names. The guesser gets one try.
  4. A correct guess is worth 2 to the guesser and 1 to every surviving clue.
  5. Twelve rounds, roles rotating. Highest score wins.

Questions

Is In Other Words free to play?

Yes, and there is nothing to buy later. In Other Words runs in your browser: no download, no app store, no payment.

Do I need to install anything?

No. Open the link and play. It works on a phone, a tablet, a laptop and any television with a browser, and everyone at a table can be on a different kind of device.

What does “Play with a group in your room” mean?

The clues go on a television, laptop or tablet. The hidden word stays on the clue-givers' phones and never appears on the shared screen, so the guesser can look up at it safely.

What does “Play live online with people worldwide” mean?

Sit down at a public table with people you have never met. The guesser still never sees the word — and a stranger can take the guesser's chair.

How many people can play?

4–8 players, in the same room or live online.

How long does a game take?

About 15 minutes.

Do I need an account?

Only if you want to start a game for other people to join. Playing on one shared screen works without one, and so does joining a game a friend started — you just choose a name.

More to play

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Ready when your friends are.

No download, no app. In Other Words opens in the browser they already have.

Start playing