How to Play the Wavelength Board Game
Split into equal teams of players. Wavelength works best when you play with at least 4 people, but there’s no limit to how many players can join you. Just try to divide the players into 2 teams as evenly as possible. If you want to play with 2 players, check the cooperative rules below!
Choose a starting team and Psychic. Randomly pick a team to go first by flipping a coin. The team selects one player to be the Psychic, or clue-giver, for the first round. Scoring Note: The starting team begins the game with 0 points while the other team starts with 1 point so they’re less likely to fall behind. Move the scoring markers accordingly.
The Psychic draws a wavelength card. Wavelength cards are double-sided, and each side lists 2 opposite ends of a spectrum, like “Hot - Cold,” “Smells good - Smells bad,” or “Sandwich - Not a sandwich.” The Psychic chooses a random card from the deck and picks whichever side they want. They read the card out loud to both teams before putting it in the game’s card slot.
The Psychic spins the game wheel and peeks at the target area’s position. The Psychic closes the blue screen over the game’s wheel, and spins it as much as they want. Then, the Psychic opens the screen and looks at the target area that’s marked by the colored wedges with numbers. Once they memorize its location, the Psychic closes the screen again. If there’s ever the odd time where numbers and scoring areas are visible on both the left and right side of the wheel, the target area is wherever the 4-point wedge is located.
The Psychic gives a clue for the target area’s position. The Psychic thinks of a clue that will help their team guess the location of the 4-point wedge in the target area. The clue should fit on the spectrum between the 2 concepts listed on the wavelength card and only convey a single thought. After giving the clue, the Psychic cannot speak for the rest of the round. Example: If the wavelength card is “Hot - Cold” and the target area is all the way to the left side, the Psychic may give a clue like “Lava” or “The Sun.” Avoid using multi-part clues, such as “Concrete on a summer day.” Example: For the card “Sandwich - Not a Sandwich” and the target area is perfectly centered on the wheel, the Psychic could give a clue like “Hot dog.” Clues must be on topic, and may not include any words on the wavelength card or their synonyms. Clues also cannot contain numbers.
The team turns the dial to where they think the target area is located. The rest of the Psychic’s team discusses the clue and works together to figure out the target area’s location. Anyone on the team can turn the red dial on the wheel, but everyone must agree on its final position. Wavelength is meant for fun debates and discussions, so take as long as you need to come to a decision. If it starts taking a really long time, have the other team set a timer for 30-60 seconds.
The opposing team decides if the target is left or right of the dial. Once the Psychic’s team chooses the dial’s final position, the other team guesses if the 4-point wedge is to the left or right of the dial. The team places the red guessing token in the slot on the left or right side of the wheel depending on their guess.
Open the wheel’s screen and award points. The Psychic opens the blue screen and reveals the target area’s actual location. If the dial points to any of the colored wedges, the Psychic’s team earns the listed number of points. Then, the opposing team scores 1 point if they correctly guessed if the 4-point wedge was left or right of the dial. If the Psychic’s team turns the dial to the 4-point wedge, the opposing team does not earn any points. If the dial is perfectly in between 2 point wedges, the Psychic’s team earns the higher point value.
Alternate turns between teams. Now the other team takes their turn and chooses a Psychic. The Psychic picks a card, spins the wheel, looks at the target area, and gives a clue to their team. Choose a new Psychic each time a team takes a turn so everyone has a chance to give clues. If the Psychic’s team scores 4 points and they’re still losing, that team immediately takes another turn.
Win the game by earning 10 points as a team. As soon as a team crosses a total of 10 points, they win! If there’s a tie, have each team take one more turn for a sudden death round.
How to Play Wavelength with 2 Players
Pick 7 random wavelength cards to use for your game. Shuffle the deck of wavelength cards and deal out 7 of them into a small pile. Set the 7 cards in the card slot on the game board, and keep the rest of the deck nearby.
Alternate who gives clues and who guesses each round. Choose a player at random to spin the wheel, check the target area, and give a clue for the first card. The second player alone spins the dial, trying to position it on the target area’s center wedge. After the player sets the dial, open the screen and score points. In a 2-player game, the center wedge only counts as 3 points instead of 4. If a player sets the dial exactly on the center wedge, they draw a card from the deck and add it to the back of the stack in the card slot. After a player sets the dial, you do not have to guess if the center wedge is to the left or right of the dial.
End the game when you run out of cards. Keep taking turns giving clues and guessing until the stack of cards runs out. Compare your score to the chart below to find out how well you worked together as a team: 0-3: Are you sure it’s plugged in? 4-6: Try turning it off and back on again 7-9: Blow into the bottom of the device 10-12: Not bad! Not great, but not bad 13-15: So close! 16-18: You won! 19-21: You’re on the same wavelength! 22-24: Galaxy brain 25+: ????????????
How to Use the Wavelength App
Host a room on the Wavelength app. You can download the Wavelength app for free from the App Store or Google Play. When you open the app, click on “Play” and select “Host game” from the top menu. Enter a display name and tap on “Next” to see your room and room code. Every player needs the app on their device. If you’re joining a game that a friend is hosting, click “Play” and select “Join game.” Enter the 4-letter room code for the host room. Up to 10 players can play Wavelength through the app. It’s recommended that all the players hop on a video or audio call so everyone can discuss the clues and come to a decision together.
The Psychic looks at the target area’s position and the category. One player each round gets selected as the Psychic and sees the game wheel on their screen. They also get to select which wavelength card they want to use for giving their clue.
The Psychic types in a clue based on the round’s category. After they select a card, the Psychic thinks of a clue that fits between the concepts on the wavelength card and enters a clue for the rest of the players. The clue should only be a single idea without numbers or words from the card that helps the players find the center of the target area on the wheel.
The other players adjust the dial to where they think the target area is located. Any player can adjust the dial from their device by tapping and dragging it to a new position. The players can discuss and debate the dial’s position as much as they want. When players are happy with the dials position, they tap on the screen to finalize their choice.
Earn points as a team if you guess the correct position. After everyone confirms the dial’s position, the target area is revealed. The entire team earns points if the dial points to any wedge in the target area. After that, a new Psychic is selected and the game continues for as long as players want to keep playing.
How to Play Wavelength without the Game
Choose a person to be the guesser. You can play Wavelength without the game with any number of players, but more people tends to be more fun. Pick anyone at random to be the first guesser, and switch guessers every round so everyone has a chance to play.
The other players decide on a number between 1 and 10. Have the guesser step out of the room or cover their ears so the other players can decide on a number. For the number range, 1 is considered the worst or least, and 10 is considered the best. If you want to create more of a challenge, try setting the range between 1 and 20 instead.
The guesser gives a player a category. The guesser picks any player and tells them a category, such as “foods,” “NFL teams,” “animals,” or anything else you can imagine.
The player gives a clue based on the secret number. The selected player must think of a clue within the category that will help the guesser figure out the secret number. Example: If the number is 10 and the category is “soda,” a player may say “Mountain Dew” if it’s their favorite. Example: If the number is 1 and the category is “candy,” then a good clue may be “black licorice.”
The guesser tries to guess the correct number. The guesser has one shot to guess the number after hearing the clue. If the guesser gets the number right, then they win the round and a different player becomes the guesser. If they get the number wrong, then they ask another player for a clue in a different category. Play the game until everyone has had a chance to be the guesser.
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