JinxO (Dito!)

Components and objective

For 3–7 players aged 10 and up; the box states a minimum of 30 minutes with no printed upper bound. Write answers that fit the prompt while aiming for the sweet spot of matching exactly one other player — not so obvious that everyone matches, not so odd that no one does.

Setup

1. 1Shuffle all 200 category cards (or a smaller subset for a shorter game) face down into a draw pile in the middle.
2. 2Each player takes a player board and a wipeable marker.
3. 3The game runs for 3 rounds. Each round has two phases: choosing prompts and writing answers, then revealing them.

Round structure

1. 1A random player starts (from round 2 on, the player with the fewest points), then play passes clockwise, each drawing the top category card in turn.
2. 2The drawing player picks one of the card's two prompts and reads it aloud.
3. 3Everyone secretly thinks of three answers fitting that prompt and writes them into any empty cells of their own choosing on their board.
4. 4Repeat this cycle (draw a card → pick one prompt → write 3 answers) three times per round until all nine cells are filled, then move to the reveal phase together.

Rules for writing answers

• An answer may be at most two words, except for fixed phrases, idioms, or proper names treated as a single unit (e.g. “The Lord of the Rings”).
• You may not write the same answer twice within one round, even if it would also fit a different prompt you already answered.
• You may choose freely which of the nine cells to put each answer in — anticipating which row or column you might complete later is part of the strategy.

Reveal and scoring a match

Once all nine cells are filled, the youngest player (from round 2 on, whoever has the fewest points so far) reveals first, then play passes clockwise. The active player picks one of their own not-yet-judged answers and reads it aloud. An answer already called out this round cannot be read again.

1. 1If no one else wrote the same answer, cross it out with an × (0 points).
2. 2If exactly one other player wrote the same answer, both players shout together (the German edition uses “SAME!”, “DITO!”, or “EBENSO!” — any of the three) and both circle that cell and colour in the star (BFF star).
3. 3If two or more other players wrote the same answer, everyone involved shouts together and circles the cell only — no star.
4. 4Play continues clockwise this way until someone has no more answers left to judge (all circled or crossed); that player calls it, ending the round immediately for everyone. Any answers not yet revealed by others simply stay unresolved.

Scoring a round

Write that total into the round's score cell, then wipe the board clean for the next round (keeping only the round totals recorded beside it).

Game end and winning

1. 1After 3 rounds, add up each player's three round scores into the total score cell.
2. 2The highest total wins.
3. 3If tied, whoever among the tied players had the higher single-round score wins.
4. 4If still tied, those players share the win.

Strategy tips

• A too-obvious answer gets circled only (1 point) when several others match it; a too-unusual one gets crossed out (0 points) when no one matches. Aim for answers you think exactly one other player will share.
• Since you choose freely where each answer goes among the nine cells, clustering answers into one row or column lets you collect its bonus if the whole line ends up circled.
• Avoiding answers already called out by others is part of the game — listening to what has already been revealed tells you something about what is likely to happen to your own remaining answers.

Editions and variants

The German rulebook explicitly allows using “all 200 category cards, or only part of them” as the draw pile — an official way to shorten the game by using fewer cards. No other expansion or separate edition was confirmed in this research.

Frequently asked questions

Designer and awards

Originally titled Dito! (international title JinxO), the game was designed by Indonesian designer Martin Ang and released in its 2026 edition by Swiss publisher Game Factory under license from Indonesia's Tabletoys Games (German/Swiss distribution via Carletto). Illustration is by UNTAI Studio.

Cross-checking the official Spiel des Jahres site against the English Wikipedia winners list confirms Dito! (JinxO) as the 2026 Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) winner. That same year, the Connoisseur-gamer category went to Rebirth (Reiner Knizia) and the Children's Game category to Die Insel der Mookies (Mooki Island).