Undercover
Everyone gets a secret word. A few get a different one. Find them.
3-20 players10-20 min
Best with a TV
A social word game for groups. Each phone shows a secret word: most players share it, a few undercovers have a close one, like coffee and tea. Describe your word without saying it, listen to the others, and vote out whoever sounds off. Each phone can play in English or Vietnamese.
How to play Undercover
Goal
- Civilians share one word. The undercovers have a similar but different word. Civilians win by voting out every undercover.
- Nobody is told which group they're in. Listen to the others to work out if your word is the odd one.
How it works
- Each round, everyone takes a turn to describe their word out loud in a few words, without saying it.
- Then everyone votes on their phone. The player with the most votes is out, and their role is shown.
- A tie goes to a second vote between the tied players. Another tie, and nobody is out this round.
- Players who are out stay to watch, but no longer speak or vote.
The Blank (optional)
- The host can add a Blank: a player with no word who must bluff. The Blank never speaks first.
- If the Blank is voted out, they get one guess at the civilians' word. A right guess wins the game alone.
Winning
- Civilians win when every undercover and the Blank are out.
- Undercovers win (with the Blank) when they are as many as the civilians left.
- The Blank wins alone with a right guess.
Learn to play: How to play Undercover: rules, the Blank and tips
Questions and answers
How many people can play?
3 to 20. It plays best with 5 to 12, with one undercover per three or four players.
Do I know if I'm the undercover?
No. You only see your word. You find out from how the others describe theirs.
What is the Blank?
An optional role with no word at all. The Blank bluffs, and wins alone by guessing the civilians' word when voted out.
Can we play in English and Vietnamese together?
Yes. Every word comes in both languages and each phone shows its own, so the pairs stay the same.