Echo Rights

How to play

At a glance

Hide three ordinary nouns inside a tiny fictional scene. You want each noun to be noticed by some listeners, but not all. Compete individually for one storyteller turn per player, about 10–20 minutes.

Set up

Use the 18 private target cards below, paper and pens, and a 30-second timer. Do not read unused cards aloud. Shuffle printed cards face down. Each player draws one when their turn arrives, or privately chooses an unread numbered card on a phone without scrolling past others. Choose the first storyteller randomly, then rotate clockwise. Everyone else listens and guesses.

Tell, claim, reveal

1. The storyteller has 30 seconds to prepare a fictional scene containing all three exact printed nouns. It may be written. Give it a beginning and something that happens; do not just recite a list. Add at least three other different concrete nouns as camouflage. Keep it to 30–60 words; contractions count as one. No mention of the game, target card, guessing, or scores.
2. Read or tell the scene once, in no more than 30 seconds, using each target exactly once. Do not deliberately stress a target or point at an object. Listeners may take notes while listening. All scene words, including targets, must be spoken clearly.
3. Listeners silently write exactly three different words they heard that they think were the targets. No talking or revising after the first reveal. Allow 20 seconds.
4. Reveal all claims together, then reveal the target card. Each listener gets 1 point per correctly claimed target, maximum 3. No penalty for wrong claims.
5. For each target, the storyteller earns 1 point if at least one listener but fewer than all listeners claimed it. A target spotted by nobody or everybody earns the storyteller 0. Maximum 3. Record scores and rotate.

Example with four players

The targets are ladder, lemon, ticket. A scene: “At the station, Mira carried a ladder under one arm and a lemon in her pocket. The guard inspected her ticket, then asked whether the suitcase was hers. A tiny drum rolled out before she could answer.” The three listeners claim: ladder/lemon/drum; ladder/ticket/suitcase; ladder/lemon/ticket. They earn 2, 2, and 3. Everybody claimed ladder, so it gives the storyteller 0; two claimed lemon and two claimed ticket, so the storyteller earns 2.

End, ties, and errors

After every player tells once, highest total wins; tied players share the win. No one sits out. Accept spelling mistakes if the intended word is clear; singular/plural variants count as the same noun, but synonyms do not. Repeated guesses count once; extra guesses beyond the first three are ignored. A target omitted, repeated, or replaced with a different word cannot score for anybody this round. Other targets still score. A storyteller who breaks the scene-length or camouflage rule scores 0 for that round, but listeners can still score correctly spoken targets. Agree calmly on an unclear hearing; let the storyteller reread only the disputed sentence after guesses are locked.

Replay and access

Use fresh cards, then change storytellers’ genres: absurd news, quiet mystery, or travel mishap. Never use real embarrassing stories about another player. For text-first play, show the 30–60-word scene for 30 seconds, then cover it before claims; notes remain allowed. Allow more preparation time as needed. With exactly three players, a target scores for the teller only when exactly one of the two listeners finds it.

Age guide: 12+; younger confident readers can play with help. No personal disclosures, adult themes, physical contact, or elimination. All prompts are fictional or everyday. Estimated duration includes play, not printing. These are original proposed designs; they have not been human-playtested. Scoring targets are suggestions, not measured difficulty ratings.

Printable materials

Print this page or copy the materials onto paper. Use your browser’s Print command to save a PDF.

Private cards: print once, cut, fold, and shuffle. Keep the target side away from listeners. Phone: the storyteller alone opens one unused card, then hides the screen; listeners write claims on paper or private notes. Do not hand over a phone displaying the target card. These cards contain targets only; the scene and camouflage nouns are created at the table.

Score sheet

Player ___ · storyteller points ___ · listening round points ___ / ___ / ___ / ___ / ___ / ___ / ___ · total ___.