How to play Wavelength

2 to 12 playersOne phone for the whole table

Also called Dial guessing game · Spectrum game · Mind reading party game

The game

Wavelength is a guessing game about how alike your heads are. Every card names a spectrum between two ends, like Cold and Hot or Overrated and Underrated. Somewhere on that spectrum is a hidden target only one player, the Psychic, gets to see.

The Psychic says one clue out loud that they think sits exactly there. Their team argues about it and turns the dial. Then the target is revealed, and the closer the dial, the more points.

It needs one phone for the whole table and no signal at all. The phone is the dial, the shutter and the scorekeeper. The arguing is yours.

The rules

  1. 1

    Pick a Psychic

    One player takes the phone. Everyone else looks away. The Psychic presses and holds the dial to see where the target sits; letting go hides it again. If the card is hopeless, they can skip it before saying anything.

  2. 2

    Say one clue

    Out loud, the Psychic names one thing that sits where the target is, and can type it into the box so it stays on screen while the guessing happens. On Cold to Hot with the target just right of centre, “chai” works. No numbers, no pointing, no explaining the clue after it is out.

  3. 3

    Turn the dial

    The Psychic's team talks it over and drags the dial to where they think the clue lives. The Psychic keeps a straight face. When the team agrees, lock it in.

  4. 4

    The other team calls left or right

    With two teams, the other side now guesses whether the target is left or right of the dial. They get a point if they are right, unless the dial landed dead centre.

  5. 5

    Reveal and score

    The target appears. Dead centre scores 4, the bands either side 2, the next ones out 1, anything else nothing. The points go straight onto the scoreboard, and the banner over the dial says who takes the phone next.

Ways to play it

  • One Psychic

    Everyone for themselves. One Psychic gives the clue and every other player guesses in secret, passing the phone round so nobody sees the others' dials. Each guesser scores their own band, and the Psychic scores the average of the table. The Psychic moves one seat on every card.

  • One Guesser

    The mirror image. One player looks away while everyone else sees the target and agrees on clues together. The guesser turns the dial and keeps whatever it scores. A different player guesses every card.

  • Teams

    Two teams take turns, each with its own Psychic. After the dial is locked the other team calls left or right for a bonus point, unless the dial landed dead centre. The highest score after the last round wins.

  • Rounds

    A round is one turn for every seat: every player takes the rotating role once, or each team plays once. Pick between one and six rounds before you start; the scoreboard keeps the running total.

Questions people ask

Does everyone need a phone?
No. One phone does the whole game. Only the Psychic needs to see the target, and only while holding the button, so the phone just goes around the table.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded it works with no signal at all, and the game survives a refresh or a locked screen.
What makes a good clue?
Something everyone at the table knows. A clue only works if your team pictures the same thing you do, so the most famous example usually beats the cleverest one.

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