Skip to main content
Master Word box art

Master Word

Game ID: GID0203844
Game Info
Year
2020
Players
3-6
Age
12+
Playtime
15 min
Collection
Your Tier
Loading…
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description

Are you as clever as a fox? As dogged as a bloodhound? Do you have an eagle-eye for details? Pool your team's resources together to seek out the master word!

Master Word is a co-operative word-based deduction game in which players have to work together to try to find a secret word from a single starting hint.

Each game, a guide selects a card, looks at the master word, then shows the other players (seekers) the starting hint. The seekers then have 90 seconds to discuss and each write a clue on a card, which they place in a row. Once this is done, the guide places a number of tokens at the end of the row equal to the number of clues that are "on the right track" toward the master word. The only catch: The seekers don't know which clues the tokens refer to!

If the seekers write the master word on a solution card before the end of seven rounds, everyone wins! If they fail to do this or if they accidentally write the master word on a clue card, everyone loses!

Description

Are you as clever as a fox? As dogged as a bloodhound? Do you have an eagle-eye for details? Pool your team's resources together to seek out the master word!

Master Word is a co-operative word-based deduction game in which players have to work together to try to find a secret word from a single starting hint.

Each game, a guide selects a card, looks at the master word, then shows the other players (seekers) the starting hint. The seekers then have 90 seconds to discuss and each write a clue on a card, which they place in a row. Once this is done, the guide places a number of tokens at the end of the row equal to the number of clues that are "on the right track" toward the master word. The only catch: The seekers don't know which clues the tokens refer to!

If the seekers write the master word on a solution card before the end of seven rounds, everyone wins! If they fail to do this or if they accidentally write the master word on a clue card, everyone loses!

Ask a Rules Question
All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 1 · neu 2 · neg 0
Mentions per page
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video tLncdhJj5jw The Command Zone Other at 53:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85381 · mention_pk 218620
The Command Zone - Master Word video thumbnail
Click to watch at 53:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Provides a significant power boost.
  • Grants card draw upon dealing combat damage.
  • Allows casting spells for free.
  • Good synergy with creatures that have evasion.
Cons
  • Lacks built-in evasion.
  • Requires the equipped creature to deal combat damage to a player.
  • The free spellcasting is limited by the damage dealt.
  • The cost reduction for equipment is less impactful than protection from Swords.
Thematic elements
  • Final Fantasy 7 weapon
Comparison games
  • Sword of Feast and Famine
  • Sword of Fire and Ice
  • Sword of the Animist
  • Sword of Hearth and Home
  • Fire and Ice
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card draw — Draw a card when the equipped creature deals combat damage to a player.
  • Equipment — Equip creature gets +3/+2. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, draw a card, then you may cast a spell from your hand with mana value less than or equal to that damage without paying its mana cost.
  • Free spellcasting — Allows casting a spell without paying its mana cost based on combat damage dealt.
  • Power Boost — Grants +3/+2 to the equipped creature.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • if you're not a lifeg deck, you probably don't run it.
  • This is the ancient green warden text for lands, but also birds.
  • This card is sort of like Panharmonicon stapled to a conjurer's closet
  • It feels like it just instantly goes in all landfall decks.
  • It's very interesting card that I am kind of having trouble evaluating
  • This is the only one where the activated ability doesn't work unless the static ability has.
  • I think this is probably I don't know. It's the blue one's very raw powerful in mill as well. It's this is a very powerful effect in a very powerful strategy being plus one plus one counter decks.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video jCa1YdMqPG4 Review at 1:58 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 72309 · mention_pk 170533
Master Word video thumbnail
Click to watch at 1:58 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • The scenario has an interesting thematic link to the X-Men story.
  • Some hero abilities like piercing and abilities that bypass toughness are very useful.
  • The feeling of overcoming the difficult scenario at the end was satisfying.
Cons
  • The scenario can feel overwhelming with the constant influx of powerful minions.
  • Certain mechanics, like guard and toughness on many enemies, can make the game slow and challenging.
  • Encounter cards can be very punishing and feel difficult to overcome.
  • The game felt like a grind at times due to the difficulty and repetitive nature of dealing with minions.
Thematic elements
  • Fighting against a sentient AI and its robotic army.
  • A rogue Sentinel factory creating robots to subjugate humanity.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Bomb Counters — A mechanic involving bomb counters that trigger damage to enemies when removed.
  • guard — Sentinel minions have guard, requiring them to be defeated before damage can be dealt to the main villain, unless overkill is used.
  • overkill — A mechanic that allows excess damage dealt to a minion to carry over to the villain.
  • Piercing — A mechanic that allows attacks to ignore tough status cards.
  • retaliate — Some enemies have retaliate, dealing damage back to attackers.
  • Scheme — The Master Mold's ability to scheme, which involves discarding cards from the encounter deck until a sentinel minion is revealed and then engaging the player.
  • Stunned — Players can become stunned, preventing them from taking actions or changing form.
  • Toughness — Some minions and the villain gain toughness, which negates the first instance of damage each turn.
  • Tuck Cards — Silk's ability to tuck cards under her, which is a core part of her gameplay but can be hindered by certain encounter cards.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I'm pretty much convinced that these are designed around the two heroes that come in the in the in the box, which I guess makes sense uh to a certain degree, but we shall keep pushing forward with Silk and Thor.
  • So, be careful how often you allow Master Mold to scheme.
  • God, these [ __ ] upgrades suck. Why are they so restrictive? It's insane.
  • Who [ __ ] designs this [ __ ]?
  • Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. You know what? [ __ ] it. [ __ ] it. Mulligan. Mulligan.
  • Boom. We actually won.
  • That is insane.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video fcFMql6zdO0 Meeple University Rules Teach at 0:09 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 70536 · mention_pk 227298
Meeple University - Master Word video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • art valuation and bidding
  • potato-inspired artworks in an art gallery auction
  • hidden value bidding
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Action cards — On your turn you may play an action card from your hand and resolve its printed text effect; fast effects allow chaining additional actions.
  • Auction / Bidding — Start a gallery auction by taking the gavel as auctioneer, reveal the next painting, and have players bid using their hand cards; the winner pays their bid value in hand cards.
  • draw action cards — End of your turn you draw two action cards up to a maximum of five; you can draw if you are short on cards.
  • End game and scoring — Game ends when the last painting in the gallery deck has been auctioned; final scores are calculated after revealing value cards and applying modifiers.
  • End Game Bonuses — Game ends when the last painting in the gallery deck has been auctioned; final scores are calculated after revealing value cards and applying modifiers.
  • gallery auction — Start a gallery auction by taking the gavel as auctioneer, reveal the next painting, and have players bid using their hand cards; the winner pays their bid value in hand cards.
  • Modifier cards — Modifier cards are played face up to any painting in play and stay with that painting unless discarded by another effect.
  • Multi-Use Cards — Modifier cards are played face up to any painting in play and stay with that painting unless discarded by another effect.
  • private auction / other auction elements — Cards include private auctions and stop cards that can interrupt actions; stealing or exchanging paintings is possible.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • the Great Potato Art Auction
  • the game end is triggered once the last painting in the gallery deck has been auctioned
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ryZFm4B1LJY watch it played Rules Teach at 0:16 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 64567 · mention_pk 158035
watch it played - Master Word video thumbnail
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
  • word guessing with clues
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • clue drafting — seekers write clues on their clue cards within the round
  • Compound Scoring — guide assigns thumbs up tokens to indicate helpful clues
  • deck progression — cards increase in difficulty across the deck and new cards are introduced after each game
  • Deduction — seekers' clues are analyzed across rounds to narrow down possibilities
  • end-of-round reveal and scoring — after each round, clue tokens are revealed and used to control progress
  • master word placement rule — the master word can only be written on a solution card and not on a clue card
  • per-game special token reveal — the guide can move a token to reveal a clue as a one-time aid
  • round-based deduction — seekers' clues are analyzed across rounds to narrow down possibilities
  • solution cards gambit — players may place a guess on one of three red-bordered solution cards
  • team-based roles — one player as guide, others as seekers
  • thumbs up scoring — guide assigns thumbs up tokens to indicate helpful clues
  • timed rounds — each round uses a 90-second timer
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • the seekers will win or lose as a team
  • the master word can only ever be written on one of the three solution cards
  • if they cannot figure it out after the seventh round everyone loses
  • the guide cannot give any indication about which specific clues they're for
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video E4TspRHTlRw Meeple University Playthrough at 1:42 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64469 · mention_pk 157931
Meeple University - Master Word video thumbnail
Click to watch at 1:42 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Cooperative play encourages teamwork and friendly collaboration
  • Audience participation adds energy and engagement
  • Challenging word-deduction mechanics offer puzzle appeal
  • Live-stream format enables interactive learning
Cons
  • Ambiguity in certain clues (e.g., edible category) can cause confusion
  • Some rounds can be time-consuming and require Google for clarification
  • Long sessions risk fatigue if not paced well
Thematic elements
Comparison games
  • Mastermind
  • 20 Questions
  • Decrypto
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • audience_interaction — Viewers can influence gameplay by offering clues or feedback.
  • category_guessing — The game uses categories (e.g., edible, purple) to guide guessing through clues.
  • clue_writing_rounds — One player writes three clues while the other writes one; matching clues can unlock additional information.
  • Deduction — Three rounds of clue-creation and guessing with scoring reveals per round.
  • round_based_deduction — Three rounds of clue-creation and guessing with scoring reveals per round.
  • secret_clue_reveal — A secret clue can be revealed if it matches another player's clue.
  • two_player_roles — In two-player mode, a seeker (guesser) and a guide (clue writer) interact to identify the target word.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's kind of like mastermind isn't it
  • it's a word guessing game you just ask questions and go yes or no basically
  • cooperative game yes we work together
  • Saving Mr Banks
  • lion king
  • beef jerky
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Top
Showing 1–5 of 5
View on BoardGameGeek