Click letters to select your guesses. All scientists share this console. Select 3 for Trust, 2 for Amplify, 1 for Suspicion — any order within each group.
👾 GUESS THE CIPHER RULES
Vote on which rule was active for each section. All scientists must agree before submitting.
TRANSMISSION COMPLETE
0
OUT OF 12 POINTS
TRANSMISSION ENDED
Thanks for playing A Message From Afar!
👾 HOSTILE ALIEN — RULE GUIDE
The Alien is using one rule from each section. Vote on what you think each rule is. Votes during the game are informational only — you'll lock in officially at the final guess.
TRUST — How positive letters score
TRUST +1
+1 point for each Trust letter in the word.
BATCH (B=Trust) → +1 BUBBLE → +2
TRUST +2
+2 points for each Trust letter in the word.
BATCH → +2 BUBBLE → +4
TRUST T=2
If the word has any Trust letter, Trust score is exactly 2 (not per letter).
BATCH → 2 BUBBLE → 2 CRACK (no Trust) → 0
AMPLIFY — How the score is multiplied
AMPLIFY ×2
Score ×2 for each Amplify letter present.
Trust=2, R=Amp → 2×2=4 Two R's → 2×2×2=8
AMPLIFY +3
+3 points for each Amplify letter present.
Trust=2, R=Amp → 2+3=5 Two R's → 2+3+3=8
AMPLIFY ×(−2)
Score ×(−2) for each Amplify letter. Can flip sign.
Trust=2, R=Amp → 2×−2=−4 Two R's → 2×−2×−2=8
SUSPICION — What happens if the Suspicion letter appears
SUSP. (−)
Score becomes negative if any Suspicion letter present (0 stays 0).
Score=4, M=Susp → −4 Score=−4 → stays −4
SUSP. −2
−2 for each Suspicion letter present in the word.
Score=4, one M → 4−2=2 MAMMOTH (2×M) → 4−4=0
SUSP. =0
Score becomes exactly 0 if any Suspicion letter present.
One player is the Alien. Everyone else is the Scientists. The Alien must communicate 4 secret words to the Scientists using only a limited alien cipher — and the Scientists must decode them.
🔑 THE CIPHER
At game start, a cipher is generated with three sections:
TRUST letters — score +1 per letter present in the word
AMPLIFY letters — multiply score ×2 per letter present
SUSPICION letter — negates the total score if present (0 stays 0)
Letters come in three rarities: Common, Uncommon, and Tough. The cipher has 1 common + 2 uncommon/tough Trust letters, 1 common + 1 uncommon/tough Amplify letter, and 1 Suspicion letter.
📻 GAMEPLAY — 4 ROUNDS
Each round has two transmissions:
The Alien sends a word. The Scientists see its cipher score and can use their deduction console to track what they learn.
The Scientists send a reply word. The Alien sees its score and uses it to help communicate.
Both sides have a secret message card with a thematic sentence and a word list. You must choose words from your list that score well with the cipher.
🎯 FINAL GUESS
After 4 rounds, both teams guess simultaneously:
Scientists vote on which 3 words the Alien was trying to say (from the Alien's word list). All scientists must agree before locking in.
Alien guesses which 3 words the Scientists were trying to say.
Then both teams try to guess the full cipher (Trust, Amplify, and Suspicion letters).
🏆 SCORING
+1 per correct word guess (max 6 from words, 6 from cipher = 12 total)
Variable Cipher mode adds cipher rule guesses for up to 15 points