Tell a story · Guess the image · Sync minds

How to play Mind Sync

Mind Sync is a party game of imagination and deduction, inspired by classic image-storytelling games. Each round one player is the storyteller and gives a short clue; everyone chooses a card from their hand. After cards are shuffled and revealed, you must work out which image was the storyteller’s—and vote for it.

Quick start (30 seconds)

  • Pick a mode first: online room (4–6 players) or local pass-and-play (4–6 players).
  • Storyteller plays 1 card and gives a clue; everyone else plays 1 card that fits that clue.
  • Shuffle and reveal all played cards, then non-storytellers vote for the storyteller’s card (not their own).
  • Score points, refill hands, pass storyteller, and repeat until the game ends.

Guess mode (local pass-and-play)

In local setup you can start Guess mode: no player count, no scoring—handy for practicing clues and “mind-reading,” or a quick image-deduction round. The idea is to give a clue your target can understand, while making it harder for everyone else to nail the card.

  1. Choose Guess mode in local setup and pick a card set.
  2. The app draws 4 random cards from that set. One player secretly picks 1 answer card and confirms on screen (no time limit—you must confirm to continue).
  3. After confirmation, a short cover countdown runs (e.g. 5 seconds): pass the device to the player who will guess so they cannot see the answer during the cover.
  4. When cover ends, all 4 cards are revealed; the guessing phase begins (e.g. complete your pick within 60 seconds).
  5. A storyteller gives the clue outside the app (spoken aloud, not typed on screen). The guesser taps the card that best fits the clue and confirms.
  6. Results show immediately on the same page. If wrong, the correct card is highlighted. If time runs out before you confirm, it counts as a wrong guess.
  7. After the round you can play again with the same card set (new draw of 4) or go back to pick a different set.
  8. This mode does not use scoring, storyteller rotation, or hand refill from the main rules—it is for casual play and practice.

For a full scored game, use local Normal / Quick setup or an online room.

Goal

You score by fooling others into voting for your card (decoy points) or by correctly identifying the storyteller’s card (guess points). When the deck can no longer refill hands, the game ends and the highest total wins.

Players, deck, and hands

Online play supports 4–6 players. Everyone holds 6 image cards. The deck is built from many unique images; hands refill according to the rules. Local play uses the same player counts and rules, with one device passed between players.

One round (flowchart)

From clue to the next storyteller, the round flows in this order.

  1. The storyteller thinks of a clue that relates to the card they will play (abstract or poetic is fine—avoid describing the picture literally).
  2. The storyteller chooses one hand card and plays it face down (others still do not know which card it is).
  3. Each other player chooses one hand card they feel best fits the clue and plays it face down.
  4. All cards played this round are collected, shuffled, and revealed in a random order—still without revealing who played which.
  5. Everyone except the storyteller votes for the card they believe is the storyteller’s. You cannot vote for your own card; the storyteller does not vote.
  6. Scores are calculated from the votes (see the scoring diagram below). Decoy cards can earn bonus points from votes.
  7. Round cards go to the discard; hands refill as rules say; the storyteller role passes clockwise and the next round begins.

Voting (key rules)

Only non-storytellers vote. Use the clue and the images to pick the card you think is the storyteller’s. If everyone is spot-on—or everyone is way off—scoring switches away from the “partially correct” branch, so clue difficulty is part of the strategy.

  • You may not vote for the card you played.
  • The storyteller never votes.
  • If the app uses timers or a turn order, follow the on-screen steps to submit your vote.

Scoring (decision diagram)

This matches the online server and local app logic. “Did not vote” is handled first; then we branch on how many votes landed on the storyteller’s card.

Did not vote

For each non-storyteller who should vote but does not, the storyteller gains 2 points (to encourage everyone to vote).

After abstentions, look at votes on the storyteller’s card:

Branch: some—but not all—guess the storyteller

The storyteller gains 3 points. Each player who voted for the storyteller’s card also gains 3. In addition, each vote on a non-storyteller’s card gives that card’s owner 1 bonus point (decoy points).

Branch: everyone guesses right, or everyone is wrong

Both cases score the same: each non-storyteller gains 2 points; the storyteller does not earn the “partial match” bonus here. Decoy points from votes on other cards still apply as usual.

Decoy points

If players vote for a card played by a non-storyteller, that card’s owner usually gains 1 point per vote (decoy points), no matter whether the main branch is partial match or all-or-none—rewarding convincing images.

No valid votes

If there are no valid votes, only rules such as “did not vote” apply; the main all-or-partial branch is skipped.

End of the game

When the deck and recycled cards cannot refill everyone to a full hand, the game ends; the highest score wins. Ties follow what the screen shows.

Online vs local

Online: create or join a room, use join codes, one character per login. Local: one device, same rules—set a PIN before your turn to keep hands and scores private on a shared screen.

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