Game Overview – Out of Words by Queen Games

We go on Meeples at Sea cruises to play games, and on one of those trips, my friend Mike Davis happened to bring along a prototype he’d been working on. It was a homebrew version of another game, but after playing it, I saw real promise and offered to work on it with him. We made a number of changes to smooth out the play experience and give it an identity separate from its inspiration.

For a while, that identity involved astronauts trying to communicate in space. We called it Alpha 24. When Queen Games picked it up, they felt a themeless approach would work better and allow for future editions built around different categories. The published game became Out of Words, with Mike and me sharing the design credit. Queen initially published it in German for their audience and released it at Essen in 2025. It finally reached the United States this year.

Out of Words is a cooperative word game for two to ten players, ages 10 and up. Everyone works together to guess as many words as possible before the available letters run out. There’s one clue giver each round, and the rest of the table discusses the clues and agrees on an answer.

To set up, shuffle the letter tiles and arrange twenty-five face up in a five-by-five grid. Keep the remaining letters in a reserve stack nearby. Shuffle the word cards and set out the five numbered arrow markers. The speech bubble identifies the clue giver, while the megaphone goes to a member of the guessing team who has the final say if the group can’t agree.

The clue giver draws a card without showing it to anyone else. Each card has eight words, and the number showing on the back of the next card determines which one they must explain. Look over the letters in the grid and choose one that can start a useful clue. Mark that tile with the first arrow, then give a clue consisting of exactly one word.

Suppose you’re trying to get everyone to say “beach.” If there’s an S available, you might use “sand.” The team talks it over and gives one answer. If they guess incorrectly, you choose another unused letter and give another clue. “Ocean” might help, provided an O is still available. The earlier clues remain part of the discussion, so each new word should help narrow things down.

You have a maximum of five clues to get the answer. A correct guess earns the team that word card as a point. If five clues aren’t enough, the card is set aside without scoring. After at least three clues, the group can also agree to abandon a word instead of spending more letters on it.

At the end of the round, remove every letter tile used for a clue. There’s an important exception: if the team gets the answer from the very first clue, replace that used letter with one from the reserve, as long as any remain. Then pass the clue-giving role and begin again with a new card.

This is where the grid becomes important beyond simply providing starting letters. A clue that seems obvious may no longer be possible because someone used its first letter earlier. You might have a perfectly good way to explain your word, then discover you need another approach. Using fewer clues preserves more of the grid for the people taking their turns after you.

The game ends when the last letter has been removed. Count the word cards your team earned, with thirteen correct answers being the starting goal for a win. There are also variations, including an easier option that lets the clue giver choose any of the eight words on a card and a challenge requiring consecutive clue letters to be adjacent in the grid.

Since this is one of my designs, I’m sharing how it came together and how it plays. The prototype Mike brought on that cruise went through quite a few changes before reaching publication, including the addition and eventual removal of its space setting. It’s interesting to look at the finished game and remember where we started.

Queen’s decision to leave room for category editions has already led to another release, which I can talk about soon. In the meantime, ask for the original Out of Words at your favorite local game store, order directly from Queen Games’ website or look for a copy online.

What’s a one-word clue you would use for “beach” if both S and O were already gone?