A Secret Word Deduction Game
Updated August 18, 2023
WQRDLES is a word guessing game for two or more players, generally aged 7+. Each player must guess their own word, one which an opponent has provided for them. All players play at once - no moderator is required.
COMPONENTS
• Dry erase decoding boards
• Dry erase markers
• Dry erase racks.
OVERVIEW
The goal of WQRDLES is to guess your own secret word - one secretly created by an opponent.
Each player thinks of a word, writes it down in secret and hides it from an opponent.
All opponents can see all secret words, except their own.
Players write down words to query against their own secret word. Any opponent compares the word against the secret word and encodes an answer in the form of X’s and O’s.
“X” means the letter is in the secret word but in the wrong spot
“O” means the letter is in the secret word and in the right spot.
INITIAL SETUP
1. Give each player a decoding board, a rack and dry erase marker.
2. Each player thinks of a five-letter word and secretly writes it on their rack.
3. Each player passes their rack upside down to the player on their right.
4. Each player carefully flips over their new rack so that it is visible by all players except their self.
GAME PLAY
Players write down a five-letter “query” word on their decoding board and pass the board to any player to decode.
The receiving player decodes the word against the other player’s secret word and returns the board.
The receiving player now examines the result and decides upon the next query word to use.
All players play simultaneously and game play can be quick.
DECODING & MARKING MATCHING LETTERS
Each player will be decoding the query word of an opponent. You must accurately mark each letter of the query word against the letters in the player’s secret word.
Mark an “X” for a letter that is in the word but in the wrong spot. Fill the square for a letter in the identical position.
For example, the secret word is HOUSE.
The query word is SHAPE.
Three letters are in common and the “E” is the only letter in the correct place. Fill in the box for the “E” and mark the other letters with “X”.
Optionally, indicate that the secret word is lower than SHAPE by marking “<”.
PLAY IN ROUNDS
At the start of each round, clear your decoding board, except for your score. Continue with game play as above.
SCORING
When a player guesses their word, the value in the leftmost box (1-6) is their score for the round. Add that number to the existing score and mark the current score on their decoding board.
TRACKING MISSING LETTERS
Mark the A-Z letters at the bottom of your decoding board that you have determining are not in your secret word.
ENDING THE GAME
The game is over once five rounds have been completed. The player with the highest score is the winner. In the case of a tie, erase your board (except for the score) and play one more round.
INCORRECT DECODING PENALTY
If a player incorrectly decodes their word, they cannot receive any points for that round. It is very important to be accurate in decoding your opponent’s word.
ALTERNATE WAYS TO PLAY
1. For an easier game, use four-letter words.
2. Use the < and > markers as additional clues.
< means the secret word is alphabetically lower than the query word (eg BACON < STRIP), in other words, “go lower”.
> means the secret word is alphabetically higher than the query word (eg WAGON > TRAIN ), “go higher”.
STRATEGIES
To narrow down and home in on your secret word, pick query words that alternate the known letters.
-description from designer
Card Game, Deduction, Party Game, Real-time, Word Game · Multi-Use Cards, Real-Time
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