Party word game
Decrypto
Pass secret codes to your team before the rivals crack them
Clues and guessingDeductionTeam gamesWord games
- 3–8best with 6-8
- 15–45 minper game
- About 3 minto set up
- 12+years
- Easy
- Somereading
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The game in a nutshell
Decrypto is a team word game for 3 to 8 players aged 12 and up. Two teams each hide four secret words behind a screen and take turns sending three-number codes using clues; your teammates must decode them while the other team listens in and tries to intercept. A game takes 15 to 45 minutes and suits friends, older cousins and teenagers who enjoy wordplay and a bit of bluffing.
Is Decrypto right for you?
Great if
- Groups of six to eight friends or older cousins split into two teams
- Word lovers who enjoy Codenames and want more of a head-to-head contest
- Clue-givers who like drawing on shared culture, from Bollywood songs to cricket, to fool the other team
- Game nights with teenagers aged 12 and up
Skip it if
- Your players are under 12 or not at ease with English vocabulary
- You need a game that explains itself; Decrypto only clicks once you see it played
- You usually have just three; there is a variant, but it shines with two teams
A place on the honours list
Good company to be in.
Recognition from beyond our table.
UK Games Expo Awards, Best Party Game (People's Choice), 2019 (Winner)
Årets Spill (Norway's game of the year awards), Best Party Game, 2019 (Winner)
International Gamers Awards, General Strategy: Multi-player, 2018 (Finalist)
Dice Tower Gaming Awards, Best Party Game, 2018 (Nominated)
How Decrypto plays
Split into two teams sitting opposite each other. Each team takes a screen, one white and one black, and slides four keyword cards into its slots, numbered 1 to 4, so only their own side can see them. Each team also takes its deck of code cards and a note sheet.
- Time to teach: about 10 minutes.
- Reading and language: The 440 keywords are in English, clues are spoken, and everyone writes clues and guesses on note sheets, so teams need a good English vocabulary. Clues can be in Hindi or any language the whole table understands (the rules even allow humming or miming), but you can't use a translation of a keyword. There is no Hindi edition.
Decrypto - How To Play · Watch It Played
Choose a video · Watch right here
If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.
Your turn, step by step
- 1Encrypt
Each team's Encryptor draws a three-number code and gives one clue per number, pointing to the team's hidden keywords.
- 2Intercept
From round two, the other team guesses the code first; a correct guess earns them an Interception token.
- 3Decode
Your own team then guesses the code; getting it wrong earns your team a Miscommunication token.
- 4Win
Two Interception tokens win and two Miscommunication tokens lose; after eight rounds, tokens decide.
The full explanation: how a game of Decrypto goes
Each round, one player on each team is the Encryptor. They secretly draw a code card showing three numbers, such as 4-2-1, and write one clue for each number, pointing to the matching keyword. If keyword 4 is 'tiger', the first clue might be 'stripes'. Clues must be about a word's meaning, not its spelling or its slot, and the same clue can't be used twice in a game.
The White Encryptor reads their clues aloud. From the second round on, the Black team first guesses the code to try to intercept it; then White's own team gives its answer. A correct interception earns the Black team a white Interception token; if White's own team gets its code wrong, White takes a black Miscommunication token. Then the teams swap roles for Black's clues.
Everyone writes every clue on the note sheets, so round by round the other team builds up a picture of your hidden words. Two Interception tokens win the game and two Miscommunication tokens lose it. If both happen together, or no one has won after eight rounds, tokens are counted, and if it is still tied each team tries to name the other's keywords.
The skill is giving clues your team will get while hiding the pattern from the other side, so come at each word from a new angle every time. With three players, one person plays the Interceptor against a team of two and must make two interceptions within five rounds.
What's in the box
- 2Screens
one white, one black; each holds a team's four keyword cards in slots numbered 1 to 4 - 110Keyword cards
440 words in all - 48Code cards
two decks of 24, one white and one black; each shows a three-number code - 50Note sheets
a pad for writing down every clue given - 1Sand timer
30 seconds - 4Interception tokens
white - 4Miscommunication tokens
black - 1Rulebook
Box: 0.52 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.
From the maker's contents list (sand timer, 2 screens, 110 keyword cards with 440 words, 48 code cards, 8 tokens) and the English rulebook, which adds the 50 note sheets and splits the tokens into 4 white and 4 black. The 5th Anniversary Edition has the same parts with 110 new keyword cards.
Where to buy
The official edition, on Amazon.in
There's no Indian edition, so this is the official imported game. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.
Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.
Decrypto has no Indian edition and no Indian distributor was found, so copies sold here are Le Scorpion Masqué's English box, imported. Our Amazon.in link goes to the standard English Decrypto, the original edition. The 5th Anniversary Edition plays exactly the same with a different set of words, so either makes a good first copy.
How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
- The box carries the Le Scorpion Masqué logo and credits Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance as designer
- Inside are two sturdy screens, one white and one black, each with four numbered slots for keyword cards
- Contents: 110 keyword cards, 48 code cards in white and black decks, 8 tokens, a 30-second sand timer, a pad of note sheets and the rulebook
- The listing names Scorpion Masqué as the brand and says plain Decrypto, not Laser Drive (the expansion, which can't be played on its own)
We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
What reviewers and players say
Reviewers rank Decrypto among the best team word games: one calls it fraught, funny and fantastic, another one of the best in its genre with the right group. The appeal is the balancing act of clues precise enough for your team but vague enough to keep the other side guessing, and the tension as the opponents' notes fill up round by round. They like the sturdy screens and the cleverly printed cards, and say it works with teams of different sizes. The cautions are that it sounds dull when explained and needs to be seen in action, that it depends on a group that enjoys wordplay, and that its grey, form-like look is plain.
What people love
- The balancing act of clues clear enough for your team but vague enough to fool the other one
- Tension that builds each round as the opponents' notes on your words fill up
- Everyone is involved, since both teams discuss and guess every code
- Sturdy screens and keyword cards printed so they are hard to read from the wrong side
Common complaints
- Hard to explain: it sounds dull until you see it played
- It needs a group that enjoys wordplay and can come up with clever clues
- The grey, document-like look is plain next to other party games
Based on 4 reviews and discussions
- Review Review: Decrypto (Paul, May 2018) · Shut Up & Sit Down
- Review Dale Yu: Review of Decrypto (Dale Yu, with comments from other writers, January 2018) · The Opinionated Gamers
- Reference Decrypto (Wikipedia, read 14 October 2026) · Wikipedia
- Reference Decrypto (Le Scorpion Masqué, read 14 October 2026) · Le Scorpion Masqué
Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.
More like Decrypto
Our picks if Decrypto isn't quite right
| Feature |
Decrypto |
Just One |
Codenames |
Wavelength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | 3–8 | 3–7 | 2–8 | 2–12 |
| Best with | 6-8 | 5-7 | 6-8 | 6-12 |
| Play time | 15–45 min | 15–30 min | 15 min | 30–45 min |
| Age | 12+ | 8+ | 14+ | 14+ |
| Rules | Medium | Easy | Easy | Easy |
| Indian edition | Import | Import | Import | Import |
| Why look at it | This page | A gentler word-clue game where everyone plays on the same team | The best-known team word-clue game; Decrypto adds codes, interceptions and more bluffing | Another team party game about giving the perfect clue to your own side |
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Better with just two players
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Questions people ask about Decrypto
Is Decrypto available in India?
Yes, as an imported game. There is no Indian edition, so copies sold here are Le Scorpion Masqué's English box. Our Buy on Amazon.in button goes to the standard English Decrypto.
How many players do you need for Decrypto?
Three to eight. The normal game needs two teams of at least two, so four is the real minimum; with three, one player becomes the Interceptor against a team of two. Reviewers find it best with two teams of three or four, when there is more discussion on each side.
What is the difference between Decrypto and the 5th Anniversary Edition?
The rules and parts are the same. The 5th Anniversary Edition has a black box with gold highlights and 110 new keyword cards with 440 new words.
What is Decrypto Laser Drive?
It is an expansion, not a standalone game. It adds category cards that challenge you to fit clues to a theme, with Laser tokens as a reward. You need the Decrypto base game to play it.
Is Decrypto like Codenames?
Both are team games about giving clues to your own side. In Codenames you link several words on a shared grid with one clue; in Decrypto you send codes while the other team listens, takes notes and tries to steal them, so memory and bluffing matter more.
Game facts
- Designed by
- Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance
- Publisher
- Le Scorpion Masqué
- First published
- 2018
- Players
- 3–8
- Language
- Needs English – The 440 keywords are in English, clues are spoken, and everyone writes clues and guesses on note sheets, so teams need a good English vocabulary. Clues can be in Hindi or any language the whole table understands (the rules even allow humming or miming), but you can't use a translation of a keyword. There is no Hindi edition.
- Box size and weight
- 0.52 kg
- Awards
- UK Games Expo Awards, Best Party Game (People's Choice), 2019 (Winner); Årets Spill (Norway's game of the year awards), Best Party Game, 2019 (Winner); International Gamers Awards, General Strategy: Multi-player, 2018 (Finalist); Dice Tower Gaming Awards, Best Party Game, 2018 (Nominated)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.
Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.
- Le Scorpion Masqué – Decrypto (contents, rules, videos)
- Le Scorpion Masqué – Decrypto 5th anniversary
- Le Scorpion Masqué shop – Decrypto (English item DEC01EN, weight, photos)
- Decrypto rules, English (Le Scorpion Masqué, 20 Sep 2019)
- Decrypto – Wikipedia
- Board Games India – Decrypto
- Board Games India – Decrypto 5th Anniversary Edition