How to play
CrossTalk in five steps
Two teams race to guess the same secret keyword. Your clues help your team — but the other team hears them too.
Split into teams
Everyone joins the Blue or Black team, and each team picks a clue-giver for the round. Everyone else guesses.
Agree on a keyword
Both clue-givers see the same card of six keywords and must settle on the same one — or take a random pick. Both teams race to guess the same keyword.
Private clues
Each clue-giver secretly writes a one-word clue that only their own team can see. This is your team's head start.
Public clues & guesses
Clue-givers alternate writing one-word public clues that everyone sees. After each public clue, the opposing team gets one chance to guess (or pass). Each team gets 4 public clues and 5 guesses per round.
Score and repeat
Guess the keyword and your team scores a point; the round ends immediately. If both teams run out of guesses, the round is a draw. First team to 5 points wins.
- One word only — compound words are fine (doorbell), hyphenated phrases are not.
- Real words only — no symbols, sounds, or made-up words.
- No words that are always capitalized (proper nouns).
- No part of the keyword — "trap" is illegal if the keyword is Mousetrap.
- No homophones of the keyword (karat/carrot).
- No acronyms (NASA, CIA).
- No extra communication — your words do all the talking.
Once per round, right after your team guesses or passes, a clue-giver can secretly send their team a hint about the clues and guesses on the board:
For example: "Combine my private clue with their first guess" or "Ignore my next public clue — it's a decoy for the other team." Only your team sees it, and it can't be changed once sent.