How to play Clueless
A cooperative word game: everyone is on the same team, working through a deck of cards together. If you've played Just One, you already know it; this is it for phones and video calls.
1. Set up
One player makes a room in the lobby (public for anyone, or private) and shares the 4-letter code or the link. The host picks how many cards are in the deck (13 is the classic game) and how long everyone has to write and to guess. When everyone's hit ready, the host starts the game. Players take turns being the guesser.
2. Pick the mystery word
Each card has five words. The guesser can't see them, and picks a number from 1 to 5. Everyone else sees the whole card, and that number is the word for this round.
3. Write a clue
Everyone except the guesser writes one word to help the guesser get the mystery word. No talking it over! You can change your clue until everyone's in.
4. Check the clues
Before the guesser sees anything, the clue-givers see every clue side by side. Clues that match (the same word, a plural, the same word with an ending) cancel each other out and are removed. Anyone can take out other clues that are too alike or break the rules, or bring one back. Then everyone hits done.
5. Guess
The guesser sees only the clues that are left, and gets one guess:
- Right: the card is scored, and everyone whose clue made it through gets a helpful-clue point.
- Wrong: this card and the next card in the deck are lost.
- Pass (or out of time): just this card is lost. Better to pass than to take a wild guess.
6. Score
When the deck runs out, count the cards you scored. In a 13-card game, 13 is perfect, 11 or 12 is amazing, 9 or 10 is great, 7 or 8 is solid, and anything under 4 is, well, clueless.
Tips
- The obvious clue is the one everyone else will write too. Go one step sideways.
- Think about what the other clues will be, and fill the gap they leave.
- Guessers: the clues that got through are a team effort. Look for the word that connects all of them.
FAQ
- How many players do I need?
- 3 to 10. With 3 players there are only two clue-givers, so each of them writes two clues. It's at its best with 5 to 7.
- What counts as one word?
- Anything without a space. Numbers, acronyms and sounds are fine: "007", "FBI", "Riiing". The mystery word itself, a plural of it, or a word that contains it ("firefighter" for fire) is refused when you write it.
- Which clues get removed?
- Matching clues are taken out automatically: the same word, plurals, and the same word with an ending (prince and princess). Then the clue-givers look over the rest and can take out anything else that's too alike, like homophones, made-up words, or the word in another language. They can also bring back a clue the game took out by mistake.
- What if nobody knows the word?
- Any clue-giver can press "Swap the word" once per card. The game picks another number on the same card and everyone writes new clues.
- My guess was right but marked wrong!
- The check ignores capitals, accents, plurals and a small typo in long words, but it can't know every way to say something. The host can press "Count it" on the results to score the card anyway.
- Can people watch without playing?
- Yes. Pick Watch on a room in the lobby, or add /spectate to the room link. Spectators never see the mystery word or the clues before the guess, so a TV in the room won't give anything away.
- What if someone leaves or loses connection?
- Reopening the room link puts them back in their seat, with their clue. Nobody waits for a player who's away. If the guesser leaves for good, that card is passed.
Clueless is an independent game by Thorstein Games. Just One is a trademark of Repos Production; Clueless isn't affiliated with or endorsed by its makers or any other game.