
- BGG rank
- BGG #17,662
- BGG rating
- 6.4
The Only Word: the Party Word Game
2019
Rules assistance for The Only Word: the Party Word Game
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–12 players
- 10–20 min
- 6+
- Complexity 1.2/5
For 1 player

Rules assistant for The Only Word: the Party Word Game
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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Only Word: the Party Word Game is a board game released in 2019 for 1–12 players, 10–20 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. It was designed by Fedor Korzhenkov and its main mechanics are Deduction, Cooperative Game, and Team-Based Game.
About the game
The Only Word is a vivid party word game that brings your imagination and creativity to a new level and guarantees ultimate fun. Inspired by Codenames, the game features the best advantages of compact travel tabletop games – very easy to explain, very dynamic and can be played even on the way without a table. Other key advantages of the game – all the players are in the game all the time and you get both competitive (each player plays for himself) and cooperative modes in one box. How to play the game: Take your cards in hand as your personal deck, and move the first card slightly down. The numbers of the second card indicate the words of the first card - they are your challenge! Describe (or rather bridge) your challenge words with a one-word clue. The players have an option to choose how many challenge words (2 or 3) they will bridge. Speak out your clue and show your card - other players should rack their brains to be the first who guess all the words you described. The players have only one try to show how shrewd they are. The first player to solve the clue discards one of his cards. The goal of the game is to get rid of all the cards. Why the game is so cute: easy game rules, that can be explained in 1 minute - it’s a perfect family game; you don’t need a table to play the game, so you can take it wherever you want; it is very dynamic, all the players are in the game every turn; the game has both competitive (3+) and cooperative (2+) modes; two difficulty levels; the game is bilingual: the words on the cards are in the English and in the Russian languages (for the Russian edition). You can play in one of the languages or in both; very replayable with the total of 1008 words on the cards. —description from the designer
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Economicus Games
- RUNES Editions
Questions and answers
The Only Word: the Party Word Game supports 1–12 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Only Word: the Party Word Game is 10–20 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Only Word: the Party Word Game for ages 6 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Only Word: the Party Word Game has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Only Word: the Party Word Game belongs to these categories: Word Game, Party Game, and Deduction. Its main mechanics are Deduction, Cooperative Game, and Team-Based Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Only Word: the Party Word Game are: Fedor Korzhenkov. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Only Word: the Party Word Game as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.