Decrypto

The whole game at a glance

Each team keeps four Keywords, numbered 1–4, for the entire game. The Encryptor sees a three-digit code and gives one clue for each digit in order. Their team must decrypt it while the opponents try to intercept it.

Components and setup

1. 1Split the players as evenly as possible into White and Black teams and sit facing the opponents.
2. 2Each team takes a Screen and its matching deck of Code Cards.
3. 3Draw four Keyword Cards and slot them into positions 1–4 without showing the opposing team.
4. 4Take one Note Sheet with your team's color facing up and write a team name. Put the tokens and timer in the center.

Step 1 — Create the clues

Each team appoints an Encryptor every round. Both Encryptors secretly draw one card from their team's Code deck and write three clues in the same order as the three digits.

Step 2 — Intercept, then decrypt

1. 1The White Encryptor reads all three clues and gives the sheet to their teammates. Both teams record the clues.
2. 2Both teams quietly discuss and write a three-digit guess. The Encryptor must not react in a way that reveals the answer.
3. 3Black announces its Interception attempt first, then White announces its own Decryption attempt.
4. 4The White Encryptor reveals the actual code and the teams assign tokens.
5. 5Reverse the colors and resolve the Black team's clues in the same order.

Step 3 — Assign tokens

• An incorrect Interception attempt has no penalty.
• Correctly decrypting your own code gives no reward; it only avoids Miscommunication.
• The opponents can intercept successfully while your team also miscommunicates, so both sides may receive a token from one code.

Step 4 — Build the clue record

After the reveal, copy each clue under its actual number at the bottom of the Note Sheet. This table is the main tool for discovering the opposing Keywords.

The boundaries of a legal clue

• A clue may be a word, sentence, hum, dance, or mime, but the three clues must be clearly separated.
• Clues must refer to the meaning of a Keyword. They cannot point to spelling, letter count, Screen position, or pronunciation.
• Use only publicly available information. Private facts such as what you ate for breakfast or a couple's pet names are illegal.
• Spell a clue if asked, and share any additional information equally with the opposing team.
• Once read aloud, a clue cannot be changed or improved. The same clue cannot be reused during that game.
• You cannot read the code aloud or use a Keyword, including its translation into another language, as a clue for any position.

Round end, victory, and ties

1. 1A team with 2 Interception Tokens wins. A team with 2 Miscommunication Tokens loses.
2. 2Use the tiebreaker if one team has both kinds of token at 2, both teams gain their second Interception or Miscommunication Token in the same round, or Round 8 ends without a result.
3. 3Score +1 per Interception Token and −1 per Miscommunication Token. The higher score wins.
4. 4If still tied, each team guesses the opposing team's four Keywords. More correct words wins; another tie is a shared victory.

To begin another round, return the used Code Cards to their respective decks and shuffle. The same code may appear in consecutive rounds, and team members take turns as Encryptor.

Three-player game

Follow the standard sequence with one token change: when the Encryptor team miscommunicates, give the Interceptor an Interception Token instead of giving the team a Miscommunication Token. There is still no Interception attempt in Round 1. The Interceptor wins by gaining two tokens within five rounds; otherwise the Encryptor team wins.

Edition and background

Designed by Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance and published by Le Scorpion Masqué in 2018, Decrypto turns a shared clue log into its central deduction system. Every clue must remain clear to teammates yet ambiguous even after opponents combine it with earlier clues.

Frequently confused rules