What Were You Thinking? (2025)
What Were You Thinking? (2025) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Cooperative Mode
What Is This?
One person will be the Guesser, everyone else will look at a secret word, and then give clues using the FIRST LETTER Tiles on the Board. Score those tiles if the secret word is guessed correctly, and lose them if not!
Goal
You all win if you flip 5 Tiles in a row.
Setup
- Shuffle the Letter Tiles and put them letter side up on the Board so the entire Board is filled. Then, place the Board in the middle of the table.
- Each card has 4 words on it (numbered 1-4). Pick one number to use throughout the entire game. Then, shuffle the cards and place them with your chosen number face down to form a Draw Pile (leave some room for a Discard Pile).
- Pick a player to be the first Guesser.
Playing the Game
The Guesser draws 1 card and holds it so that everyone can see it except for them. Next, the other players have to decide on a 2-word clue to get the Guesser to say the word on the card.
Giving Clues
All clues must consist of two words. The first letter of each word in your 2-word clue must be on the Board.
For example, if the secret word was "Penguin", and you wanted to give the 2-word clue "Waddling Tuxedo", the "W" (for "Waddling") and "T" (for "Tuxedo") Letter Tiles must be on the Board. Letter Tiles will be removed from the Board as the game progresses.
Your clues CAN:
- Be any two words.
- Be words in any language.
- Be sung or said in any cadence.
Your clues CAN'T:
- Contain the word, part of the word, or any form of the word that is on the card (in any language).
- Be accompanied by any gestures.
Remember: if it feels like cheating, it's cheating!
Who Gives the Clue?
You all have to decide on ONE PLAYER to give the 2-word clue! This means that before giving the clue, you're going to have very strange conversations that sound like:
"I have a great W and B!" / "W and B?? I have a good one for W and T!" / "OK, try your clue!" / "Waddling Tuxedo!"
Have the conversation out loud, but follow the rules of the Clue Discussion (which you're about to read!)
The Clue Discussion
YOU CAN:
- Discuss starting letters.
- Discuss your confidence. You can say, "I'm 70% sure they'll guess it with my clue".
YOU CAN'T:
- Give hints. You can't say, "My clue is about the brand name", or "My clue is a synonym of the secret word".
Once you've all agreed on which player will deliver the 2-word clue, that player says their clue out loud.
IF YOU GIVE AN INVALID CLUE, immediately remove any single Letter Tile from the Board, then start a new round.
Guessing
The Guesser can only make one guess. The guess can only be a single word.
Remember: All secret words on all the cards are simple, single-word nouns.
IF THE GUESSER IS RIGHT:
Flip over the 2 Letter Tiles of the starting letters from the 2-word clue. If there are multiple Letter Tiles with the same letter, you get to choose which one of them to flip.
For the clues "Waddling" and "Tuxedo", you would flip the W and T Letter Tiles.
IF THE GUESSER IS WRONG:
Remove the 2 Letter Tiles from the Board.
ONCE A LETTER TILE HAS BEEN FLIPPED OR REMOVED, YOU CAN'T USE IT AGAIN! (This means the game gets harder as you continue.)
1-Word Clues
You CAN give 1-word clues, however:
IF THE GUESSER IS RIGHT:
Flip over the single Letter Tile from the clue, PLUS any adjacent Letter Tile you'd like.
If the 1-word clue was "Princess", and the guesser got it right, you'd get to flip over the P Letter Tile, plus any one of these tiles. Pick one.
If there are no adjacent Letter Tiles available, then you don't get to flip over an additional Letter Tile.
IF THE GUESSER IS WRONG:
Remove the single Letter Tile, PLUS any adjacent Letter Tile you'd like. If there are no adjacent Letter Tiles available, then you don't have to remove an additional Letter Tile.
Ending Your Turn
After flipping or removing the Letter Tiles, it's time to start a new round with a new Guesser and a new card.
Winning
You all win if you flip 5 Letter Tiles in a row, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally!
Expert Mode: Get three 5-in-a-rows in a single game to win!
Losing
You all lose if you ever have 6 or more Letter Tiles removed from the Board. Try again!
Competitive Mode
What Is This?
Two teams compete to guess a secret word. Their teammates will race to give clues using the FIRST LETTER Tiles on the Board. Teams score those tiles if the secret word is guessed correctly, and lose them if not!
Goal
Be the first team to get 5 spaces of your team's color in a row.
Setup
- Split into two teams (the Yellow Team and the Pink Team. Remember your team color) and each team picks a player to be their Guesser (it's OK if one team has more players than the other).
- Shuffle the Letter Tiles and put them letter-side-up on the Board so the entire Board is filled. Then, place the Board in the middle of the table.
- Each card has 4 words on it (numbered 1-4). Pick one number to use throughout the entire game, then shuffle the cards and place them with your chosen number face down to form a Draw Pile (leave some room for a Discard Pile).
Playing the Game
To start the round, both Guessers close their eyes. Then, any one of the other players flips over a single shared card so that all players on both teams can see it (except obviously the 2 Guessers with their eyes closed). Now, the 2 teams will try to think of clues to get their respective Guessers to guess that secret word (but only one team will get to give a clue)!
Giving Clues
All clues must consist of two words. The first letter of each word in your 2-word clue must be on the Board.
For example, if the secret word was "Penguin," and you wanted to give the 2-word clue "Waddling Tuxedo," the "W" (for "Waddling") and "T" (for "Tuxedo") Letter Tiles must be on the Board. Letters will be removed from the Board as the game progresses.
Your clues CAN:
- Be any two words.
- Be words in any language.
- Be sung or said in any cadence.
Your clues CAN'T:
- Contain the word, part of the word, or any form of the word that is on the card (in any language).
- Be accompanied by any gestures.
Remember: if it feels like cheating, it's cheating!
Who Gives the Clue?
Your team can discuss 2-word clues all you want (following "The Clue Discussion" rules in Cooperative Mode on the other side). When you're ready to give a clue, quickly flip over the card (before the other team) so the secret word is face down. Now all talking must stop, and only YOU will give your clue to the Guesser on your team.
BUT WAIT! Even though you flipped the card first, you will fail if:
- You can't give your clue within 5(ish) SECONDS of flipping the card.
- ANYONE else on your team speaks after you flip the card.
If you fail to give a valid clue, the other team gets to change 1 Letter Tile to their team's color by either flipping or removing it. Then start a new round.
Guessing
Only one team gets to guess and their Guesser can only make one guess. The guess can only be a single word.
Remember: All secret words on all the cards are simple, single-word nouns.
IF THE GUESSER IS RIGHT:
Change the 2 Letter Tiles to the Guesser's team color by either flipping them (for yellow), or removing them (for pink).
IF THE GUESSER IS WRONG:
Change the 2 Letter Tiles to the other team's color by either flipping them (for yellow), or removing them (for pink).
If the secret word was "Nose" and the yellow Clue Giver says "Sneeze" and "Face", but the Yellow Guesser mistakenly guessed "Tissue", remove the S and F Letter Tiles to make those spaces pink.
ONCE A LETTER TILE HAS BEEN FLIPPED OR REMOVED, YOU CAN'T USE IT AGAIN! (This means the game gets harder as you continue.)
1-Word Clues
You CAN give 1-word clues, however:
IF THE GUESSER IS RIGHT:
Change the Letter Tile to the Guesser's team color by either flipping it (for yellow) or removing it (for pink), PLUS any adjacent Letter Tile you'd like.
If the 1-word clue was "Princess", and the guesser got it right, you'd get to flip over or remove the P Letter Tile, plus any one of these tiles.
If there are no adjacent Letter Tiles available, then you don't get an additional Letter Tile.
IF THE GUESSER IS WRONG:
Change the Letter Tile to the other team's color by either flipping it (for yellow) or removing it (for pink), PLUS any adjacent Letter Tile you'd like. If there are no adjacent Letter Tiles available, then you don't get an additional Letter Tile.
Ending Your Turn
After flipping or removing the Letter Tiles, it's time to start a new round with a new Guesser on each team and a new card.
Winning
The first team to get any 5 spaces of your team's color in a row (vertically, horizontally, or diagonally) wins!
Ties
If it's not possible to get 5 spaces in-a-row for both teams, the team with the most spaces on the Board wins.
Still tied? Play again!