Rumor Mill
This round, the gossip is about you.
- Players
- 3–10
- Play on
- Multi-device
- Rounds
- 10 per package
- First package
- Free
How to play
Read the question. It names one, two or three players in the room. If it's about you, the screen says THIS ONE IS ABOUT YOU!
Write your funniest answer and tap Submit. Your answer can be up to 120 characters, and you can't change it once it's sent.
The answers show up anonymously. Pick your favorite one that isn't yours and tap Vote.
See who picked you. Each vote is worth 100 points, and if you got every vote from the other players, you also get the 200-point Sayko! bonus.
After 10 rounds, the player with the most points wins. Points double in the last 3 rounds, so the ranking can change right up to the end.
Each round, a question comes up with the names of one, two or three players in the room filled in. Everyone writes their funniest answer; the answers are shown anonymously, and everyone votes for their favorite one that isn't their own.
Every vote you get earns points, and if you get every vote from the other players, the Sayko! bonus is yours too. Points double in the last 3 rounds, and the most points wins.
How to win
The player with the most points after 10 rounds wins. Players tied for first all win; if the top score is 0, nobody wins.
Multi-device
Rumor Mill rules
Every rule of the game, from scoring to how a game is won.
Overview
- Rumor Mill is for 3–10 players, and everyone plays on their own phone. It can't be played on one phone.
- There are no roles or teams. Every round, everyone writes and everyone votes.
- The host picks a package. Each package has 10 questions: 5 name one player, 3 name two players and 2 name three players. The questions come up in random order, and the game lasts 10 rounds.
- Keep your answers fun: tease your friends, but never hurt anyone.
How names are picked
- Names are picked fairly from the players in the room at the start of each round. Nobody gets a second one-name question until everyone has had one.
- As long as everyone stays connected, the gap between the most-named and least-named player is never more than 1. A disconnected player isn't named that round if there are enough other players.
- Which name goes into which spot in the question is random. In a 3-player game, a three-name question names everyone.
- Players named in the question also write an answer and vote. Being named doesn't affect your points.
How a round works
- Everyone sees the same question with the names filled in. If it's about you, the screen says THIS ONE IS ABOUT YOU!
- Everyone writes one answer and taps Submit. Once sent, an answer can't be changed. The screen shows how many players have submitted.
- When writing ends, all the answers are shown anonymously, shuffled separately for each player.
- Everyone picks their favorite answer and taps Vote. Your own answer is marked YOURS, but you can't vote for it. Voting has no time limit, and everyone must vote.
- The round result has three steps: YOUR PICK shows the answer you voted for and who wrote it, WHO PICKED YOU shows who voted for you, and ROUND SCORES shows the round's points and the overall standings.
- On the last step, the next round starts once everyone taps Continue; if someone is holding things up, the host can move on without waiting. The game ends after round 10.
Scoring
- Each vote your answer gets is worth 100 points.
- If your answer gets every vote cast by the other players in a round, and that is at least 2 votes, you earn a 200-point Sayko! bonus.
- In the last 3 rounds (rounds 8, 9 and 10), the screen shows ×2 POINTS and that round's points are doubled: each vote is worth 200 and the Sayko! bonus 400.
- Example: in a 5-player game, if all 4 other players pick your answer, you get 4 × 100 + 200 = 600 points. If that happens in round 9, you get 1,200 points.
- If you don't submit an answer in a round, you get no points for it, but you still vote.
- There are no penalties. Your score never goes down.
- The answer with the most votes on its own is shown as the round's WINNER; if the top vote count is shared, it shows TIE. This label doesn't affect points.
Winning and ties
- The player with the most points after 10 rounds wins.
- Players with the same score share the same rank. Everyone tied for first place wins.
- If the top score is 0, nobody wins.
- Players who leave the game are ranked last and can't win.
Special cases
- An answer can't be empty and can be up to 120 characters; longer answers can't be sent. Emoji and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count as 2 characters. Line breaks are removed and extra spaces are trimmed.
- If writing time runs out, any answer you haven't submitted is lost, and you count as not answering that round.
- If nobody submits an answer, voting is skipped and everyone scores 0 that round. If the only answer submitted is yours, you have nothing to vote for, and the game goes on without waiting for you.
- If a player leaves mid-round, their name stays in that round's question but isn't used again.
- Players who lose connection aren't waited for. If they come back before the phase ends, they can pick up where they left off.
- If the host leaves, the game goes on: hosting passes at once to the next signed-in player. If the host loses connection, everyone is warned after 1 minute, and hosting passes on if they aren't back within 2 minutes. If players leave and fewer than 3 players remain, the game ends with the current scores. Losing connection alone doesn't end the game.
- Nobody can join the room after the game starts.
Host settings
- The host sets the Writing Time: 60 seconds, 90 seconds (default), 120 seconds or unlimited. Voting has no time limit.
- Once at least one answer is in, the host can tap Start Voting to end writing early. Players who haven't submitted can't answer that round but still vote.
- The host picks the package.
- Timers and point values may change in future updates.
Rumor Mill titles
You earn these titles by what you do in Rumor Mill matches. The title you pick shows on your card, under your name, in the lobby and in the game.
AlexMaster of the CauldronLVL 27Master of the Cauldron Finish in 1st place in 35 consecutive matches.
On top of these, there are 21 general titles you can earn in every game. Levels and titles
This game has 35 titles. Tap one to see it on your card.
Questions about Rumor Mill
How many players do you need?
3–10 players. Everyone joins the same room on their own phone.
Can we play on one phone?
No. Everyone writes at the same time and votes in secret, so each player needs their own phone.
How long does a game take?
A game is 10 rounds. With the default 90-second writing time, it usually takes 25–40 minutes.
Does everyone get named equally?
Yes. Names are shared out fairly, so the gap between the most-named and least-named player is no more than 1. The questions are there for friendly teasing, not to hurt anyone.
