At the start of each round, each team chooses their spymaster. They spymasters are given a key to reveal the secret identies of the agents in the field. The goal of the spymaster is for their team to choose their colored words. Each team has 8 words to find, the first team to goes has an extra word (totalling 9 to find).
Simple Rules
Spymaster give a clue in the form of "word: number" indicating a single linking word and how many cards are linked.
Their teams's players click on a card to select that card. They can click a number of cards up to the number the spymaster indicated plus one.
Cards
Red (8) and Blue (8): These are the teams agent cards.
Double Agent: The team that goes fiest has one extra word to guess
Grey (7): These are innocent bystanders.
Black (1): This is the assassin. Avoid at all cost.
How to play
Clues
If you are the spymaster, you must think of a one-word clue that relates to one or more of the words your team is trying to guess. When you have it, you say that word plus a number. The number is how many of the cards relate to your clue.
Example: Two of your words are "horse" and "dog." Both of these words are animals, so you say "animal: 2."
One Word
You clue must only be one word. You cannot give extra hints. You cannot use any of the words visible on the board (once a word is guess, it is covered up. This means that word that is illegal to use early on, might be legal to use later). Your word cannot relate to the position on the board, only about the words themselves. You are allowed to give a clue for only one word, such as "woof: 1," but it puts your team at a disadvantage and is not that fun. Try for 2 or more. Get to 8 in one go. I believe in you!
Field Agents
When the spymaster gives a clue, it is up to the other members of their team to figure out what it means. They can debate amongst themselves, but the spy master cannot help or offer any additional information. The field agents indicate their offical guess when one of them clicks on one of the words.
If the field agent clicks on a word that belongs to their team, the spymaster covers the word with their color. The field agents get another guess (but not another clue).
If the field agents click on an inncocent bystander (grey color), the spymaster covers it with grey and thier turn ends.
If the field agents click on a word that belongs to the other team, the spymaster covers it with the opposing teams color and thier turn ends. (How dare you help them, they're the bad guys).
If the field agents click on a word that is the assassin (black), the spymaster covers it with the black and ends the game. The team that clicked on the assassin looses.
Number of Guesses
The field agents must make at least one guess per round. They can stop at any time, but it is usually best to guess at least as many words as the spymaster said.
The field agents are allowed only one guess above the number indicated by the spymaster.
Ending the Game
The game ends when one team has all of their words covered. That team would win. It is possible to win the game for your opponent. The game can end early if the assassin is clicked on. The team that clicked on the assassin looses.
Firm Rules
Your clue must be about the meaning of thw word. You can't use your clue to talk about the letters in a word or its position on the table. Gland is not a valid clue for ENGLAND. You can't tie BUG, BED, and BOW together with a clue like b: 3 nor with a clue like three: 3. However … Letters and numbers are valid clues, as long as they refer to meanings. You can use X: 1 as a clue for RAY. You can use eight: 3 as a clue for BALL, FIGURE, and OCTOPUS. The number you say after your clue can't be used as a clue. Citrus: 8 is not a valid clue for LEMON and OCTOPUS. You can't say any form of a visible word on the table. Until BREAK is covered up by a card, you can't say break, broken, breakage, or breakdown. You can't say part of a compound word on the table. Until HORSESHOE is covered up, you can't say horse, shoe, unhorsed, or snowshoe.
Homonyms and Spelling
English has a lot of homonyms. For example, night sounds like knight, but these two words don't mean the same thing. Same-sounding words with different meanings and different spellings are considered different words. So you can't give knight-related clues for NIGHT. Words that are spelled the same are considered the same even though they might have different pronunciations and meanings. For example, actors take a bow and the bow is part of a ship, so you could use bow as a clue for THEATER and SHIP. You could also use it as a clue for archery-related things, even though that bow is pronounced differently. You are allowed to spell out your clue. For example, if you want your teammates to guess THEATER and STRING, you can spell out b-o-w without committing to a pronunciation. You can give the clue k-n-i-g-h-t even when NIGHT is one of the codenames on the table. (But you can't use t-h-e-a-t-r-e when THEATER is on the table. Theatre and theater are different forms of the same word.) You should spell out your clue if someone asks. If you aren't that strong on spelling, ask the opposing spymaster for help. Tip: Spelling is not just for homonyms. It's also useful when the room is noisy or when the players have very different accents.
Choose Team
You have joined as an observer. Please choose a team.