How to Play

Basic Rules

Use Your Words is played using a computer or console, as well as web-enabled devices (smartphone, tablet, etc.).

Use Your Words is played by 3-6 players in 7-round games called “Party Matches.”
Every round, players are shown a prompt on the screen and invited to either write a punchline on their device or press the HOUSE DECOY button (pressing the HOUSE DECOY button allows players to use one of our pre-written house answers). Once all answers have been shown, players vote for their favorite.
One house answer is always thrown in with player answers in every round. If a player votes for a house answer or a house decoy, they will lose 250 points.
Players who write an original answer will earn 1,000 points per vote. Players who use a HOUSE DECOY will earn 500 points per vote.
In the final lightning round, all point values are doubled
The player with the most points at the end of the lightning round is the winner.

Controls

PC/Mac

Menu Navigate: Arrow keys (or d-pad/left analog stick if you have a controller connected)
Menu Accept: Enter (A/X or its equivalent if you have a controller connected)
Menu Cancel: Escape (B/O or its equivalent if you have a controller connected)
Pause: Escape (Start/Menu/Options or its equivalent if you have a controller connected)

Getting Started

When you load up the game, you will first be prompted to press a button. If you are playing on a console at this point you may be asked to sign in.

When you are ready to enter the Lobby, activate the PLAY button on your screen. You will need at least 3 players with web-enabled devices such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other device with a browser. This device will act as your controller during gameplay. After you press the PLAY button the first time, a Room Code will be generated for you. On your device’s browser, navigate to www.wordsgame.lol and enter the on-screen room code. Once all players have joined, press the PLAY button and a Party Match will begin.

Additional players (up to a maximum of 6) can join during a Party Match by navigating to the website and entering the on-screen Room Code. If more than 6 users wish to participate, see SPECTATOR MODE.

House Answers

In each round, we automatically throw one house answer in with player answers (one per prompt in the lightning round). House answers are written specifically for their given prompt. They range from hilarious to bland, and are intended to blend in with all kinds of player answers. Every prompt has at least seven house answers. If you vote for a house answer in the first six rounds, you lose 250 points. If you vote for the house answer in the lightning round, you’ll lose 500 points.

House Decoys

If you press the HOUSE DECOY button in any given round, a house answer for that round’s specific prompt will be selected for you and will act as your answer during that round. Once all answers are shown, you will know which one is your decoy because it will appear greyed out on your device. If a player votes for your decoy, you will receive 500 points per vote in the first 6 rounds and 1,000 points per vote in the lightning round. Any player who votes for your house decoy will also lose half the amount of points you gain (250 points in the first six rounds, 500 points in the lightning round). There is no limit to the number of times you can press the HOUSE DECOY button.

Timer

In the first 6 rounds, the timer doesn’t begin until a player has entered an answer. At that point, the remaining players have 75 seconds. In the lightning round, the timer is shortened to 60 seconds and begins when the prompt is shown.

If “Let’s Play Mode” is active, an additional 30 seconds is added to account for streaming lag. If you haven’t entered answered before the timer runs out, you will automatically be assigned a house decoy. It will be the same as if you pressed the HOUSE DECOY button.

Pause Menu

At any time during the game, you can enter the Pause Menu by pressing the Pause button on your keyboard or controller.
NOTE: The Pause Menu does not halt gameplay, so if you access it in the middle of a Party Match, the game will continue.

The Pause Menu offers the following options:

Settings: takes you to the Settings Menu
Clear Disconnected: allows you to clear disconnceted players, making room for new ones. For example, if one of your players has to leave and another user wants to play.
End Game: ends your current Party Match and returns you to the Lobby with a new Room Code
Credits: loads the Use Your Words credits.
Quit (PC/Mac only): quits the game and exits to desktop.

Settings Menu

The Settings Menu is accessed from the Pause Menu and allows you to customize various elements of gameplay:

Family Mode: filters out adult prompts and house answers. NOTE: Family Mode does not filter out player answers.

Let’s Play Mode: changes the music to a content ID-friendly soundtrack so you can produce video content of the game without worrying about copyright issues. It also adds 30 seconds to the timer in all rounds to account for potential lag during a live stream.

Spectator Mode: allows up to an additional 1,000 to participate. More information about Spectator Mode here.
Password: allows you to create a custom password that users must enter in order to join the game as a player.
Music Volume: allows you to change the volume of the game’s background music.
SFX Volume: allows you to change the volume of the game’s sound effects and voice over.
Voice Over: allows you to toggle on or off the game’s voice over.

NOTE: In the Steam version, there is also a “Fullscreen” option which allows you to toggle between a fullscreen and a windowed appearance.

Spectator Mode

Spectator Mode allows up to an additional 1,000 users to participate.

To activate Spectator Mode, enter the Settings Menu and toggle Spectator Mode. Spectators will enter the room code and select SPECTATOR.

After players’ answers are shown in each round, spectators will be invited to raect to an answer of their choice. At the end of a Party Match, spectators’ reactions are tallied and contribute to awards that are given to players. If spectators do not wish to react in a given round, they can press the PASS button.

FAQ

How do house answers work?

In every round of play, the game automatically includes one house answer (one per prompt in the lightning round). House answers are written specifically for their given prompt. They are intended to range from hilarious to bland, and to blend in with all kinds of player answers. Every prompt has at least seven house answers. If you vote for a house answer in the first six rounds, you lose 250 points. If you vote for the house answer in “Survey Says,” you’ll lose 500 points.

How does the house decoy button work?

If you press the “House Decoy” button in any given round, a house answer for that round’s specific prompt will be selected for you and will act as your answer during that round. You will not know which answer is your house decoy until after the answers are shown. If a player votes for your house decoy, you will receive 500 points per vote in the first 6 rounds and 1000 points per vote in “Survey Says.” Any player who votes for your house decoy will also lose half the amount of points you gain (250 points in the first six rounds, 500 points in “Survey Says”). There is no limit to the number of times you can press the “HOUSE DECOY” button over the course of a game.

How does the timer work?

In the first 6 rounds, the timer begins once a player has entered an answer. At that point, the remaining players have 75 seconds. In “Survey Says,” the timer begins when the prompt is shown and is shortened to 60 seconds. If you activate “Let’s Play Mode” in the Settings Menu, an additional 30 seconds is added in all cases to account for streaming lag.

What happens if I run out of time and haven’t entered an answer?

You will automatically be assigned a house decoy. It will be the same as if you pressed the “HOUSE DECOY” button.

Do I have to write something funny every time?

You can write whatever you want! It’s all a matter of what you think will get votes of your fellow players. And if you don’t want to write anything, you can press the “HOUSE DECOY” button every time and still contribute to the laughs!

Do I have to write a headline in "Extra, Extra!"?

You can write whatever you want! If you prefer to write a caption, that’s fine. You can make it less like a newspaper and more like a clickbait article. If you think your fellow players will vote for it, try it! And if you don’t want to write anything, you can press the “HOUSE DECOY” button every time and still contribute to the laughs!

Technical Support

Overview

No app is required to play. Simply open up a browser and navigate to https://wordsgame.lol.
Most devices with a web browser work with wordsgame.lol, though we recommend the following: iOS 6.1+, Android 4.0+, and latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.

Ensure that cookies are enabled in your browser. This allows for automatic reconnection if you disconnect.
Only one user can login per browser, per device.
Devices that are known to NOT work with Use Your Words: Windows Phone 7, PSVITA, Nintendo 3DS, any browser that does not support HTML5
Make sure that ports 80 and 443 are open on your firewall and router.
If you experience any issues make sure that ad/popup blocking software is disabled.

Tech Questions

I got disconnected from a game, how do I rejoin?

If you simply lose a data connection, the game should reconnect automatically. If it doesn't, refresh your browser, enter in the Room Code, then press Join. You should see your player name in the Inactive Users list and be able to rejoin the game.

My game is not generating a Room Code.

If you encounter issues, force quit Use Your Words and double-check your internet connection. Also make sure to disable any network security protocols that may prevent access. Make sure that ports 80 and 443 are open on your firewall and router.

My game is generating a Room Code but I cannot connect on my browser.

Please ensure that JavaScript and cookies are enabled. Additionally, your browser must support web sockets. You can check support for WebSockets at: https://www.websocket.org/echo.html

Can I change the resolution of the game?

Not directly from in-game, but you can launch the Screen Selector by modifying your launch options. Follow the first four instructions as listed on this page: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1040-JWMT-2947, and enter the option: -show-screen-selector. The game will now open the screen selector before launching.

I'm having weird visual issues with in-game graphics (Windows only).

Some users have encountered rendering issues while playing using certain graphics cards. While we haven't identified the issue, the following may help. Follow the instructions above to enter one of the following launch options (we recommend trying them in order until you find one that works): -force-d3d9, -force-opengl, -force-d3d11.

If this doesn't address the issue, please email us support@smilingbuddhagames.com.

I'm playing on a PS4 in Europe and encountering unexpected issues.

We have identified a bug in the European version of the PS4 SKUs that affects players whose PlayStation console language settings are not set to English. We are working on a patch, but a short-term workaround is to set you console's system language to English. This will allow the game to function as normal.

Help & FAQ

How to Play | FAQ | Technical Support