The quick version
Choose a defender and reveal the secret word's first letter. A guesser clues a word with that prefix. Another guesser says 'Contact'; the pair count 3, 2, 1 and say their answers together. The defender can stop them by naming a valid answer before their reveal. An unblocked matching pair earns the next letter. Use the whole growing prefix for every new clue. Finish when the pair match the secret word or it is fully revealed.
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Choose a word and gather within speaking distance
Play with 3–8 people: one defender and at least two guessers. Sit together indoors, in a small room, or in a sheltered outdoor spot where everyone can hear soft conversation. Stay gathered rather than playing while driving or moving through a crowd. No table or equipment is needed. If helpful, write only the revealed prefix on scrap paper and add letters as they are earned.
The defender chooses one familiar word in the group's agreed language and silently fixes its spelling. Reveal only its first letter. Keep the same secret throughout the round. This guide uses ordinary dictionary words for the secret and for clue answers, excluding proper names, abbreviations and invented words. Agree on this before starting. Pick a word others are likely to know; being the only person who knows it makes for a poor round.
This is the spoken folk game. It follows the Science Ambassador Contact rules using self-chosen words, which that rulebook permits; its commercial word cards are optional. The fixed-word and dictionary-word conventions, first-contact pairing and full-reveal finish below are this guide's host choices. A countdown creates thinking pressure, not a fixed whole-game duration.
Clue another word with the same beginning
Any guesser may offer a clue. First choose the intended answer privately, then describe it without saying the answer itself. It must begin with every revealed letter in order. With C showing, CROW works. With C-A showing, CROW no longer works, but CAMERA does. You can clue the secret word if you suspect it; you do not have to know the secret to earn letters.
Use meanings and public knowledge. No private signals, whispered extra hints, answer-spelling hints or inside references that deliberately exclude the defender. Everyone must hear the same clue. Use memory during attempts; save dictionary checks for settling a word dispute afterward. For example, 'A bird that caws' can clue CROW with C showing. 'What I whispered to you earlier' is unfair. The defender hears the clue and may solve it too.
Keep one clue active. If nobody contacts it, its author can make it clearer for everyone or let another guesser replace it. Once a pair starts counting, let that attempt finish before offering another clue. Do not change your intended answer after hearing someone else's answer.
Make contact, defend and add letters
Find a partner
A guesser other than the clue-giver says 'Contact' when they think they know the answer. For this guide, use the first person heard and the clue-giver as the pair; other guessers wait. If two people call together, the clue-giver picks one. Repeat the clue for the defender if needed, then both count steadily: '3, 2, 1', followed immediately by their answers at the same time. Speak rather than shout.
Give the defender a fair chance
The defender may name an answer as soon as the clue is given, including during the countdown. Any word fitting the clue and full prefix blocks it; it need not be the clue-giver's intended answer. With C showing, 'A pet with whiskers' can be blocked by CAT even if the clue-giver intended CHINCHILLA. The defender cannot use the secret word or a close form of it as a blocking answer. A wrong answer does not stop the countdown; the defender may try another before the pair reveal.
Resolve one attempt
If the defender gives a valid block before the pair reveal, stop: no letter is earned and that clue ends. Otherwise compare the pair's answers. They must fit the clue and current prefix. The same answer, or a close form that means essentially the same thing in this clue, earns one letter. Unrelated or invalid answers earn none. With CA showing, CABBAGE and CAULIFLOWER for 'A vegetable you might cook' are different answers, so that pair fails. Once resolved, start a fresh clue.
Grow the whole prefix
After successful contact on a word other than the secret, the defender says the next letter and repeats the complete prefix. If C becomes C-A, all new clue answers and blocking answers must start CA. Do not restart at the first letter. A blocked clue may return only after a substantial change; merely adding 'not the word you just said' is not enough.
Finish the round
Successful contact on the exact secret ends the round immediately: the defender confirms it. If contact instead earns its final letter, the defender confirms the completed word and ends the round; this is this guide's full-reveal convention. If the defender accidentally says the secret aloud, the round also ends. A single guesser shouting a word is not a valid contact; if the defender confirms it aloud, the word has been revealed and the round ends. Keep guesses as clues.
A complete round: CANDLE
The defender secretly chooses CANDLE and announces C. A guesser clues 'A pet with whiskers'; the defender says 'Not CAT' before the pair reveal. The clue is blocked and C remains the prefix.
- A guesser clues 'A bird that caws'. Another says 'Contact'. The defender has no valid answer before the pair finish '3, 2, 1, CROW'. They match, so the defender announces C-A.
- With CA showing, the clue is 'It records a photograph'. The pair both reveal CAMERA after an unblocked countdown. The defender adds N: C-A-N.
- With CAN showing, 'A narrow boat moved with a paddle' leads the pair to CANOE. The defender cannot block in time and reveals D: C-A-N-D.
- 'Wax with a wick you can light' clues CANDLE. The defender may try a different valid CAND answer but cannot block by saying CANDLE or CANDLES. The pair count and both say CANDLE. The defender confirms the secret and the round finishes.
This is a teaching example, not a word list to memorize. In a real round the defender may solve these clues quickly; the guessers then need a different clue.
Settle close calls and share the clue-giving
The main game has no points, overall winner or tie-break. Solving the word is the shared finish. Stop after one round, or rotate the defender around the circle until everyone who wants the role has tried it. Choose a fresh secret for each round. If the group is stuck, agree to end the round, hear the word and move on; that is a house restart, not a win for either side.
Close forms count only when the clue supports the same meaning. For 'An animal that purrs', CAT and CATS can count if both fit the prefix. CAT and CATERPILLAR do not. A pair that matches a close form of the secret earns the next letter; only the exact secret or a full reveal ends this guide's round. The defender settles an unresolved same-meaning dispute, following the printed rules.
For a blocking-answer dispute, check the meaning and prefix openly after the attempt. If the block was valid, no letter; if it was invalid and the pair's unblocked answers were valid, award the letter. If people genuinely cannot tell whether the block preceded the reveal, discard that attempt and keep the prefix. This timing remedy is a house suggestion; avoid rewarding whoever argues longest.
Let newcomers hear a practice attempt before picking a real secret. Start with familiar words and simple definitions, then try less direct clues. If the same two people dominate, use the clue-circle variation. Soft conversation and a steady countdown work well; agree on a slower count if people need more thinking time. Decide language, hearing and speech needs together before choosing the format.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Contact · See main rules
House variationLonger countdown
Replace the three-count with a steady '5, 4, 3, 2, 1', then reveal together. Everyone uses the same pace, and the defender may block right up to the answers. Change the count only between attempts with group agreement. This gives both guessers and defender more thinking time; it does not impose a round timer. All clue restrictions, letter gains, failed attempts and finish stay the same.
Contact · See main rules
House variationClue circle
Choose a starting guesser and take clue-giving clockwise among the guessers. On your turn, offer one clue or pass; any other guesser can be your contact partner, and the first-contact pairing still applies. Keep the clue active until it is blocked, the pair reveal, or you withdraw it because nobody contacts. Then move to the next guesser, even after a successful contact. The defender stays in place for the entire secret word. If everyone passes once in succession, agree to reveal and restart. No points are added; the usual contact and full-reveal finishes still apply.
About this guide
Contact has several folk rulesets. This guide uses the Science Ambassador three-count, alternative valid blocking answers, close-form matches, one active clue and private-reference restriction. Its cards are optional. Dictionary-word limits, fixed secret, one contact partner, rotation, timing disputes and full-reveal finish are host conventions; the three variations are house suggestions.
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