Word Dodge
Say anything but the forbidden words
- Players
- 4–10
- Play on
- Single or multi-device
- Rounds
- Until the game ends
- First package
- Free
How to play
Split the players into two teams, Red and Blue, and choose how many cards each team plays.
When it's your turn to describe, tap I'm ready. After the countdown, you have 60 seconds to get your team to say the word.
Don't say the word, part of it or any of the card's 5 forbidden words. Tap Correct when your team gets it or Pass if you're stuck; you have up to 3 passes a turn.
When the other team is playing, watch the card. If the describer says a forbidden word, tap Busted! right away.
After the turn, check the cards and fix any wrong marks; then the other team plays. When the cards run out, the team with the most points wins.
Get your team to guess the word on the card without saying the word itself, part of it or any of the card's 5 forbidden words. The other team watches the card and taps Busted! if a forbidden word slips out. Stuck? You can pass, but pass the same card a second time and it's gone (no points lost).
Each card your team gets is worth 1 point, and each Busted! card costs 1 point. When the cards run out, the team with the most points wins.
How to win
When both teams have played all their cards, the team with the most points wins. On a tie, the team with less total turn time wins; if that is also equal, the game ends in a draw.
Single device
Multi-device
Playing on one phone? Invite your friends: the game runs on your phone, and XP, titles and stats go on everyone's own profile. How to invite
Word Dodge rules
Every rule of the game, from scoring to how a game is won.
Overview and setup
- Word Dodge is played by 4–10 people in two teams, Red and Blue. Each team needs at least 2 players.
- Each game uses one package of 60 cards. Every card has a word to describe and 5 forbidden words below it.
- The package is shuffled and the chosen number of cards is split evenly between the two teams, so each team has its own deck. With 15 or 20 cards per team, the rest of the package is not used that game.
- The starting team is chosen at random, and then the teams take turns.
- The describer changes every time a team plays, so everyone on the team gets to describe.
- Each turn has three roles: the describer sees the card and taps Correct or Pass; the describer's teammates guess out loud (nothing is typed); the other team watches the card and taps Busted! when needed.
How a turn works
- At the start of a turn, everyone sees which team is playing and who is describing. The describer starts the turn by tapping I'm ready.
- After a 3-2-1 countdown, the turn begins and lasts 60 seconds.
- Cards come one at a time from the top of the team's deck. The describer tries to get the team to say the word without saying the word itself, part of it, a form of it or any of the card's 5 forbidden words.
- When the team gets the word, the describer taps Correct. If they're stuck, they can tap Pass; there are up to 3 passes per turn.
- If the other team hears a forbidden word, they tap Busted!. Only the first tap on a card counts.
- A new card appears after every action. The turn ends when the 60 seconds are up or when no playable cards are left for that turn.
- After the turn, its cards are listed with their results: Correct, Busted!, Pass or Gone. A card passed for the first time will come back to the team, so its word is not shown; it reads "Pass · back to the deck" instead (when everyone plays on their own phone, the describer's teammates are the ones who see this). Tap a wrongly marked card to change its result in the order Correct → Busted! → Pass; the pass limit does not apply to these fixes.
- Then the other team plays. A team whose deck is empty is skipped.
Passed and gone cards
- A card passed for the first time scores nothing and goes to the back of the deck when the turn ends. It does not come back in the same turn, but it shows up again in one of the team's later turns.
- A returning card warns you that if you pass it again, it's gone. If you pass it a second time, the card is gone: it leaves the game and scores nothing, but costs no points either; the team can no longer score it.
- The second pass, after which the card is gone, also counts toward the 3 passes of the turn.
- When time runs out, the card in hand scores nothing and does not count as a pass; it goes back to the top of the deck and comes up first in the team's next turn.
Scoring
- Correct: +1 point. Busted!: −1 point. Pass and gone card: 0 points.
- A team's score is its correct cards minus its Busted! cards, and it can go below zero.
- Example: if a team gets 6 cards, gets Busted! on 1 and passes 1 in a turn, it scores 6 − 1 = 5 points that turn.
- There are no other ways to score.
Winning
- The game ends when neither deck has a playable card left. Since a card can only be passed once before it's gone, the game always comes to an end.
- Both teams play the same number of cards, but they may play a different number of turns. A team whose deck is empty is skipped, and the other team keeps playing until its own deck is empty.
- The team with the most points wins.
- On a tie, the team with less total turn time wins. Each turn is timed from its first card to its end, without the countdown. If the times are also equal, the game ends in a draw.
One phone or everyone's phone
- On one phone, the describer holds the phone and someone from the other team watches the card beside them. Correct, Pass and Busted! are all on the same screen; the describer's team should not look at the screen.
- On one phone, whoever holds the phone makes the fixes on the turn result screen. The game pauses when the app goes to the background; if you quit, the result is not saved.
- When everyone plays on their own phone, the describer sees the card with Correct and Pass, and the other team sees the card with Busted!. The describer's teammates don't see the card during the turn; they see the describer's profile picture and name instead. Played cards are revealed on the turn result screen.
- When everyone plays on their own phone, only the describer can fix the turn result, and the change is shown to everyone. Cards are shown in the room's language, which is the host's language.
Special cases (everyone's phone)
- If the describer is not connected when the turn starts, the next connected teammate describes instead.
- If the describer disconnects or leaves during the turn, the turn ends at once. Cards played so far count, the card in hand goes back to the top of the deck, and the other team plays next.
- If the describer disconnects or leaves during the 3-2-1 countdown, the team keeps its turn and the next connected teammate describes. If no teammate is connected, the other team plays next.
- If the describer has left or lost connection, any player can confirm the turn result and carry on; only the describer can correct the cards.
- 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 a team drops below 2 players, the game ends with no winner.
Game settings
- Cards per team: 15, 20 or 30. The default is 30, which is the whole 60-card package. Each option shows an estimated playing time.
- The turn time (60 seconds) and the passes per turn (3) are fixed.
- On one phone, tap a name to move that player to the other team, or tap Shuffle to split the teams again.
- When everyone plays on their own phone, a new player joins the smaller team. Each player can switch their own team, and the host can tap Shuffle to split the teams at random and evenly.
- Timers and point values may change in future updates.
Word Dodge titles
You earn these titles in Word Dodge matches: in multiplayer games and in one-phone games you play with friends as real players. The title you pick shows on your card, under your name.
AlexSultan of WordsLVL 27Sultan of Words Win 35 matches in a row.
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 Word Dodge
How many players do you need for Word Dodge?
4 to 10 players, split into two teams. Each team needs at least 2 players.
Is one phone enough?
Yes. The describer holds the phone and someone from the other team watches the card. If you prefer, everyone can join the same room on their own phone.
How long does a game take?
Depending on the setting, you play 30, 40 or 60 cards in total. The app shows an estimated duration next to each option: about 5 minutes with 15 cards per team, 6 with 20 and 9 with 30. The actual time depends on how fast the teams play.
What if someone taps Busted! by mistake?
It can't be undone during the turn. After the turn, tap that card on the turn result screen to fix it; when everyone plays on their own phone, only the describer can do this.
