Friends who enjoy word games
A good fit for people who like describing, guessing and finding a less obvious way to say something.
Watch Your Words
A word guessing party game with hidden traps. Explain the secret word without saying the words your friends chose.
- 3+ players
- About 20 min
- Rotating roles
Set up your rounds, then invite players by QR code or link.
What’s the game?
You know the answer. Your partner doesn’t. Everyone else has seen it too — and secretly chosen a word they think you’ll say while explaining it. Get your partner to guess without walking into their traps.
The fun is in the detours: an obvious clue suddenly feels dangerous, and a perfectly ordinary word can end the round. Everyone takes a turn explaining, guessing and setting traps, with individual scores across the game.
Like Trapwords, the explainer must avoid words chosen secretly by other players. Watch Your Words rotates individual roles, so everyone gets a turn explaining, guessing and setting traps.
Who will enjoy it?
A small group around one screen
Start with three guests: one explainer, one guesser and one trap-setter. More guests add more possible traps.
A lively games-night round
Choose it when everyone is ready to talk aloud and listen closely. It needs the room’s attention.
How to play
Set a secret trap
One guest explains and another guesses. The other guests see the target on their phones and each lock one trap word before play begins.
Explain without slipping up
The target appears on the explainer’s phone when the host starts the timer. The pair talks aloud; setters listen for their own trap.
Check it, score it, swap roles
A setter can report a trap from their phone. The clock pauses while the host checks the claim, then the round ends or play resumes. Roles rotate for the next round.
The answer is “Airport”
A trap-setter secretly chooses “plane”. The guesser has seen neither word.
The explainer tries: “The place where you show your passport before a holiday.” The partner guesses “Airport”.
That safe guess earns each member of the pair 1 point. If someone says “plane” first and the host confirms the trap, the matching setter earns the point instead.
How points work
A safe guess gives the explainer and guesser 1 point each. A confirmed trap gives 1 point to every setter who chose that word. Skipped or timed-out rounds earn no points. The host judges spoken forms and disputed claims.
A tip for the host
Choose one round per guest, or a multiple of your guest count, so everyone gets equal turns. Set the explanation and trap-setting timers before opening the game.
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