Board Game Reviews Ep #286: DECRYPTO

They took my fucking eyes

Had this game on my shelf for a while. This video has encouraged me to bring it out next game night!

Decrypto is simply amazing. Before Blood on the Clocktower it held #1 on Party games for a long time and with good reason.

I just started voice acting and wonder if you have any videos on Voice acting tips ?

Hiw do you enunciate so well and not sound monotone ? Even when I try to smile when I talk or use hand gestures my recordings come out so ~couldn't care less gen z vibe~ lol

I find when I practice new lines sometimes it feels like I have a lisp all of a sudden or have a hard time pronouncing "s" , "x" or "th" sounds

Does anyone that know anything about YouTube want to coach me on how to comment on videos so that it helps the algorithm?
Like, is there a word limit or can I just comment "comment" and it does the trick ?

Agree that this is an excellent game. With reference to “giving clues, but don’t make them too obvious,” how do you like this compared to others like Just One and Dixit?

Shout out to the 314!

I have played this exactly once. It was another family's game so it was a four-a-side Family Feud situation. It was fun!

Decrypto, Letter Jam, and Codenames are my favorite word games, usually not a big fan of the genre.

Very Nice 🖤

I second this recommendation!

It’s a fantastic game. You are right that it’s intimidating for new players to sit through the rules. Especially because the book keeping FEELS complicated when you aren’t the one doing it.

Great game and great review. I agree that the worst thing about the game is trying to explain it since it is such a simple game but the wording is "complicated".

Thanks for covering this! I love Decrypto, and love how both teams are engaged at all times. You care about your clues but also the other teams clues. And you care about what your team said before so its not too obvious.

Would also recommend the expansion to the game. Adds constraints by trying to be on theme but also another way to break your opponent by guessing one of their words.

I really wish there was a game similar to this that could be played at 2P. Decrypto only really works with minimum 4 players (and is leaning towards wanting 6). Fortunately So Clover works well at 2p even if it's more Codenames-adjacent than Decrypto is.

There really is no other word association game out there that forces you to come up with the style of clues Decrypto does. You want a clue that is extremely obvious to your own team (because they have the word list in front of them), but is impossible to figure out if you don't have the word list. It feels a lot like using a cypher to encrypt a code and needing the word list (aka the key) to decrypt, which is exactly in line with the theme. As a result, the "good" clues you give often have multiple meanings and can be associated with tons of concepts, and a good clue at the right time can throw the other team off for several rounds, just long enough for you to win. Best example in a game I played was my teammate needing to clue "calculator" and wrote the clue "summer" (as in, something that performs sums), which forced the other team to think about summer-themed concepts for the whole game. It let us sneak in vaguely calculator-related stuff, like "display", without much risk, because "summer display" is still extremely vague. Really fun game.

This game is great.

1. Gather players into 2 Teams of at least 2 people (Team Black & Team White). Each round each team decides on 1 allied player to be The Encoder.
2. Shuffle, draw and assemble 4 Code Words into each Decoder Tray. Teams may only see their own Decoder Trays. Rounds have 2 phases: "Phase 1 – Decryption" and "Phase 2 – Interception".
3. In Phase 1 The Encoders each draw an Encryption Card. Each Encryption Card has 3 Encryption Numbers that correspond to 3 Code Words, making 1 Code Phrase. Using a Clue Sheet (or paper), The Encoders must write one-word Decryption Clues for each Code Word, as dictated by their Encryption Card. Their allies must then guess which Code Words are being referenced by writing down the Encryption Numbers they think are correct next to the clues. The Encoders then write the correct Encryption Numbers beside them.
4. In Phase 2 the Teams swap all information written on the Clue Sheets. Each team must then guess the opposing team's Code Words if possible. Each Code Word can be guessed once per round.
5. Two correctly "Intercepted" Code Words result in a victory. Two incorrectly "Decrypted" Code Phrases result in a forfeit.

I like the duality of decrypto and codenames. In codenames, you try to find one clue to define many words. In deceypto, you try to find many clues to define one word.

I would also say that in decrypto, you are way less passive because you are always trying to guess the opponent's code and clues, so you are always involved.

But yeah, sometimes it's tough to get them to understand the rules. The best way in my opinion is to make them play a very quick tutorial game of like 2 or 3 rounds just so that they get the flow of it.

Whoa I actually just learned this game on Sunday! I agree that its a pain to learn, but if everyone already knows the game its so easy to pick up and play. One of my favorite of this genre

I played it recently 2vs2 was kinda fun

This one looks fun. The only real problem I have with the concept is that the odds of simply guessing the code with no information is 1 in 24.

I also have the game but I struggled to explain it to friends of mine who were kind of impatient with the concept. You really have to experience it for yourself.

it is a team game played while mid-drunk.

Ah yeah, Decrypto!!

This is one of my favorite board games. Glad to see it covered; I have so many fun memories playing this with my friends. The layers of references we would make is insane

I kinda want to see you do a review done as King Dragon….rapping of course

Very confused why this was being reviewed until he said it was a 5 year anniversary addition. Great game regardless

Like Codenames, it'll also be a puzzle of wondering how the Encryptor thinks about specific words while also not having access to Google (I once had an Encrpytor give a French clue).

I loved the concept of this game when I bought it, but I found it to be a bit too advanced for my non-gaming family members who only like impress the judge and simpler word games.

I bought this game because it looked interesting and wasn't too expensive and I have had tons of fun with it. But yeah, teaching it to new people can certainly be a challenge

I've had a lot of fun with Decrypto. Like Codenames, it'll also be a puzzle of wondering how the Encryptor thinks about specific words while also not having access to Google (I once had an Encrpytor give a French clue).

I've played Decrypto at a board game club/meetup… which leads to an unfortunate situation of when all of the slips of paper that come with the game have been used up because it's been played so much lol