I had a hard time choosing between two similar games to recommend for this issue: Decrypto and Codenames.
Both have similar themes (spies and secrets!), they’re both really great team-based party games, and they’re ALL about communication (which of course, is the current theme for this series of newsletters).
However, I’ve chosen Decrypto for two reasons:
Given the choice, it’s the one I more often reach for when I’m looking for a fun party game to play
But more importantly… it’s got SECRET KEY that only reveal their words when you slide them into your team’s screen. Which is SUPER cool. 😱
So how does the game work?
In Decrypto, two teams compete against each other to see who the best codemasters are! The goal is to transmit 3-digit codes to your teammates without letting the opposing team intercept them.
In order to do this you need to be able to carefully communicate the code so your team can work it out using words to describe the position of each digit (e.g., if my code was 3-1-2 in the image above my clue for the code might be drink-night-insect).
Why won’t you go for super obvious clues you ask. Well, it is because the opposite team is listening and writing down your clues!! If they break your code a couple times, your team loses!! So, your clues need to find the perfect balance between clear enough your team will get it, AND vague enough the opposing team won’t!
This makes the game a great way to practice communication.
Overview
Age: 12+ years
Players: 3-8 (best with 4-8)
Duration: ~30 mins
This game is recommended for children 12 years or older and the game works best with at least four players, but there are special rules if you can only muster up three players.
It’s a fairly cheap game as well which is great! You can grab a copy from your local boardgame store or online from somewhere like Gameology.
Learn the game
You could read the rules, but I find videos are just a much more interesting way to learn the rules so check out this video on how to play Decrypto from Watch It Played.
Tell the story
Okay once you’ve mastered the rules (and maybe played it with a few friends first) it’s time to set the scene for your students or kids. You could start by saying something like…
🎶 Cue Mission Impossible Theme Song 🎶
We are secret spies transmitting codes to each other! But we can’t let the other spies work out our secret codes.
We need to describe words in a way that our team can understand them but confuse the other spies.
So for example if our secret words is Apple, we might say ‘red’ one round, but could say ‘worm’ another round to throw the other team off.
At the same time, we need to try and crack the other team’s codes so listen closely to what they say.
Can we keep our code secret and try and guess the other team’s first? Let’s try!
Learning Points
Decrypto is a little more complicated to learn. This is one of those games where you won’t really get it until you’ve played it: in just one turn, you will understand all the rules; in just one game, you will start to appreciate the depth of this game. So it’s good to play it twice the first time you play it with someone new. The first time to get a grasp of the game and the second time to try and master it (or try different strategies).
This game is all about careful communication and comprehension. It’s all about working out in your head the best way to relate a word to another one and then hoping your teammates understand what you’re trying to communicate.
Some of the best fun comes from when you think you’re clearly communicating a clue very obviously to your teammates but then they have no idea what you’re trying to communicate.
This helps you to evaluate whether or not what you said was actually a suitable way to communicate the code or not. This realtime feedback on your communication skills is a really great way to learn how to communicate effectively.
On the flip side is that at the same time you’re trying to determine what your opponent is trying to communicate to their team. You get to practice forming synonyms and trying to determine links between different words. It’s a great way to practice comprehension.
Pro tips to game and learn
Here are a few pro tips for you to get the most out of Decrypto at home, in a classroom, corporate, or therapy setting.
Understanding each other’s worldviews
Each of us has our own different view of the world, a fundamental cognitive orientation encompassing the whole of our individual knowledge. Some of us will know certain things that others don’t, therefore we link them in ways that others might not understand. Trying to communicate a code clearly in Decrypto involves the ability to be empathise with each other and understand that each other’s point of view may be different, especially if a clue is given that no one else on the team gets.
A great example can be found in the game of Decrypto itself. If you have a look at the image above you can see that the code cards look like floppy disks. If like me you were born before the 90s then you likely know exactly what a floppy disk is and how it’s used.
Your kids on the other hand may have no idea what a floppy disk is at all (apart from being the save button icon in Microsoft Word!). So if your word in Decrypto is “Disk” and you provide the clue “Floppy” then it’s important to understand that in your head this makes sense, but in someone else’s this might mean nothing at all.
Understanding someone else’s worldview and communicating clearly for them is an important skill to practice. If your kids happen to use a word that doesn’t make sense to you then take some time at the end of the game to explain this so that you both learn something new.
Guessing your opponent’s words
It’s really fun to take some time to guess each other’s secret words at the end of the game, even if one team has already won. It adds another way to practice communication and comprehension, and can lead to some fun ‘aha’ moments.
Great for travel and all ages
Like a number of the previous games we’ve recommended, Decrypto is in a fairly portable box, and it doesn’t require a large surface. The other nice thing is that this game can be played with teams of all sizes and ages, from children to great-grandparents. So it’s great for family gatherings!
We hope you enjoyed our third game recommendation in the communication series! Please help us out by giving us a rating and feedback below. We would love it even more if you share our newsletter with your friends and families!
Otherwise, if you have any questions or any suggestions on what educational skills you’d like to teach your kids then leave a comment below.
We will be back in a fortnight for another game recommendation!
Until next time, game and learn with Decrypto!
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