Round & Revel / Cooperative Logic
Compass Code
Four directions, two exact clues, and one crew making sense of the signal.
Original printable party game. Rules and examples checked; estimated timing has not had a live group playtest.
What you need
- The 24 hidden-route cards below, printed and cut apart, or copied onto identical slips
- One compass reference showing the clockwise cycle N → E → S → W → N
- Three blank clue logs, one for each leg of the voyage
- Paper and pencils, including a small private checking sheet for the keeper
- One bearing-check token, such as a button
- Optional: a 45-second discussion timer and a copy of the candidate list for each player
How to play
Your shared mission
The crew must decode three four-position compass routes. Every route uses N, E, S, and W exactly once. One openly appointed keeper sees the route and gives mechanical feedback; all other players are navigators solving it together. There are no secret teams, bluffing roles, or invented clues. Each leg permits four full-route guesses and one optional yes-or-no bearing check. Solve at least two of the three legs to complete the voyage. Solve all three for a perfect voyage. Everybody shares the outcome, including the keepers.
Set up the first leg
Seat players in a circle. Choose the first keeper and the first captain, who sits immediately clockwise from the keeper. Shuffle all 24 route cards face down. The keeper privately draws one and keeps the entire face hidden, including its identifying number. Put the compass reference in the center, start a new clue log, and place the bearing-check token beside it. Label the four code positions 1, 2, 3, and 4 from left to right. Position numbers never refer to compass points: position one can contain any direction. All navigators may write, draw, or cross out candidates.
Submit one complete route
The captain leads a short discussion and writes one proposed route in the clue log. It must contain all four directions exactly once, such as N E S W. Everyone can contribute, but the captain resolves disagreements and says 'send' to lock the guess. Before feedback, the keeper checks only that the guess is legal. A repeated direction or missing position is corrected without using a guess. Once legal feedback has been given, that transmission counts even if the crew later regrets its choice. A guess need not be a remaining possible answer; it may be chosen because its feedback would separate several candidates.
The first clue: anchors
The keeper compares the guess with the hidden route one position at a time. Count one anchor whenever the guessed direction exactly matches the hidden direction in the same position. Announce only the total, from zero to four. Do not identify the matching positions. Four anchors means the whole route is correct, so that leg is immediately solved. Directions appearing elsewhere in the route do not count as anchors.
The second clue: clockwise steps
At each position, count one clockwise step if the hidden direction is exactly one step clockwise from the guessed direction: guessed N with hidden E; guessed E with hidden S; guessed S with hidden W; or guessed W with hidden N. Announce the total, from zero to four. An exact match, an opposite direction, or a direction one step counterclockwise contributes zero to this clue. A position cannot be both an anchor and a clockwise step. These are separate totals, not markings assigned to particular positions. Always give both numbers together, for example 'one anchor, two clockwise steps.'
Use the feedback and rotate the captain
Write both totals next to the guess. A candidate survives only if it would produce both recorded totals for every guess so far. Do not cross out a direction everywhere just because one position was wrong; each route still uses all four directions. For every new guess, the captain is the first eligible navigator clockwise from the previous captain. Continue this rotation across legs: choose the new keeper first, then skip that person when assigning the next captain. A successful guess does not reset the speaking order. The keeper may explain the public rules and correct arithmetic, but may not suggest guesses, emphasize a particular position, or offer extra hints.
The optional bearing check
Once per leg, before submitting the fourth and final guess, the captain may spend the bearing-check token to ask one question in this exact form: 'Is [direction] in position [number]?' For example: 'Is W in position three?' The keeper answers only yes or no, and the crew records the question and answer. This does not consume a full-route guess. It may be used before the first guess or between guesses. A question about several positions, two directions, or anything else must be rewritten before the token is spent. Once the fourth guess receives feedback, no further check or guess is allowed.
Finish a leg and the voyage
A leg succeeds only when a submitted full-route guess receives four anchors. Merely announcing that the crew has deduced the answer is not enough; use a remaining guess to confirm it. If all four guesses are used without success, the keeper reveals the route and the leg fails. Record success or failure, then pass the keeper job one seat clockwise. Return the route card to the full deck and reshuffle; a route may appear again, so previous answers cannot be excluded automatically. Reset the bearing-check token and start a fresh log. After three legs, finish: two or three solved routes is a shared win; zero or one is an incomplete voyage. There are no individual scores or tie-breakers.
A complete worked solution
Suppose the hidden route is E S N W. The crew first submits N E S W. Only position four matches, giving one anchor. At positions one and two, the hidden directions are one clockwise step beyond the guesses, giving two clockwise steps. The surviving candidates are N S W E, E S N W, E W S N, and S E W N. Next the crew submits N E W S. This earns zero anchors and four clockwise steps. Four clockwise steps tells the crew to rotate each guessed direction once: N becomes E, E becomes S, W becomes N, and S becomes W. The third guess is E S N W, receives four anchors and zero clockwise steps, and solves the leg. The bearing check was never needed.
A keeper's checking routine
For every transmission, write four tiny private comparisons before announcing the totals. At each position mark A for an exact match, C for a one-step clockwise match, or a dash for neither. Count the As and Cs independently, then check once more. If a feedback error is found, correct the affected log entry and allow the crew to restore wrongly eliminated candidates. The mistaken transmission does not use a guess: keep its corrected information as a free clue and repeat that guess number with a new proposal. Do not reveal the route unless the leg has ended. If the secret is accidentally exposed, or a feedback error is discovered after the answer was revealed, replace it with a new shuffled route and restart that leg without penalty.
Host notes and difficulty choices
The two counts can feel similar at first, so demonstrate that N guessed against hidden W is neither an anchor nor a clockwise step. N to W is counterclockwise, despite both being neighbors on the compass. Print the candidate list for a first game; this is a logic puzzle, not a memory test. With six to eight players, ask the captain to invite quieter voices and keep discussion to roughly 45 seconds per transmission. Anyone may pass. At three players, everyone serves once as keeper during a voyage. At larger tables, begin the next voyage with the seat after the last keeper, so the checking role rotates fairly over repeated games.
Two variants
For a gentler introduction, allow five guesses per leg and permit the bearing check until just before guess five. Everything else stays the same. For a tighter voyage, keep four guesses but remove the bearing-check token. Decide the mode before drawing the first route. Do not add repeated directions or longer codes without replacing the supplied deck and candidate list; the 24-card puzzle set depends on each of N, E, S, and W appearing exactly once.
All 24 possible routes — copy for the crew
N E S W · N E W S · N S E W · N S W E · N W E S · N W S E E N S W · E N W S · E S N W · E S W N · E W N S · E W S N S N E W · S N W E · S E N W · S E W N · S W N E · S W E N W N E S · W N S E · W E N S · W E S N · W S N E · W S E N Start with every route possible on each new leg. Cross out a route only when its predicted feedback or bearing-check answer conflicts with the log.
Printable play cards
Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.
Hidden Route 01
N E S W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 02
N E W S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 03
N S E W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 04
N S W E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 05
N W E S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 06
N W S E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 07
E N S W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 08
E N W S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 09
E S N W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 10
E S W N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 11
E W N S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 12
E W S N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 13
S N E W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 14
S N W E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 15
S E N W Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 16
S E W N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 17
S W N E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 18
S W E N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 19
W N E S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 20
W N S E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 21
W E N S Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 22
W E S N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 23
W S N E Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Hidden Route 24
W S E N Positions 1, 2, 3, 4. Keeper only: keep this entire face hidden.
Public Compass Reference — Keep Out of the Secret Deck
Clockwise cycle: N → E → S → W → N. ANCHOR: guessed direction equals hidden direction in the same position. CLOCKWISE STEP: hidden direction is one step clockwise from guessed direction in the same position. Announce only the two totals. An anchor never also counts as a clockwise step.
Clue Log — Copy Three Times
Leg: ___ | Keeper: __________ Columns: Guess number | Route in positions 1–4 | Anchors | Clockwise steps 1 | ___ ___ ___ ___ | ___ | ___ 2 | ___ ___ ___ ___ | ___ | ___ 3 | ___ ___ ___ ___ | ___ | ___ 4 | ___ ___ ___ ___ | ___ | ___ Bearing check: Is ___ in position ___? Answer: YES / NO Result: SOLVED / UNSOLVED Keep this reference out of the hidden-route deck.
Bearing Check — Keep Out of the Secret Deck
Once per leg, before the final guess: ask 'Is [direction] in position [1, 2, 3, or 4]?' Keeper answers only YES or NO. Record the answer. This does not use a full-route guess. Flip this token after use.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.