THE BASICS

• Use Your Words 2 is played by 3-6 players in 7-round games called “Party Matches.”
• The game is run off of a computer or console, and you'll need an input device with a browser like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
• In each round, players are shown a prompt on the screen and invited to either write a punchline on their device or press the HOUSE DECOY button (pressing the House Decoy button allows players to use one of our pre-written house answers). Once all answers have been shown, players vote for their favorite.
• By default, one HOUSE ANSWER is always thrown in with player answers in every round. If a player votes for a House Answer or a House Decoy, they will lose 250 points.
• Players who write an original answer will earn 1,000 points per vote received. Players who use a HOUSE DECOY will earn 500 points per vote.
• Point values increase in the 7th round, A.K.A. "the lightning round"
• The player with the most points at the end of the lightning round is the winner.
• There are 3 power-ups called "Gizmos" that can be used to potentially grant extra points to a player. They are only available in the first 6 rounds of a Party Match.
• Any individual player can only use a Gizmo once per Party Match, and only one Gizmo can be used in any given round, so once one player uses a Gizmo, no other player may use one for the remainder of the round.

PC/MAC

Menu Navigate: Arrow keys
Menu Accept: Enter, or right click
Menu Cancel: Esc.
Pause: Escape Esc.

When you load up the game, you will first be prompted to press any key. Choose which type of match you want to play. "New Party Match" has our new mini-games, "Classic Party Match" has our original mini-games from the first Use Your Words title, and "Mix n' Match" allows you to create your own playlist for a custom Party Match. NOTE: You must complete one New Party Match and one Classic Party Match to unlock Mix n' Match. Once you click on a type of Party Match, you will be taken to the Lobby screen where you will need at least 3 players with web-enabled devices such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop or other device with a browser. This device will allow you to input answers during gameplay. If you click Mix n' Match after it is unlocked, you will be taken to the Mix n' Match screen where you can choose your custom playlist of mini-games. Upon completing your list, press the green PLAY button and you will advance to the Lobby screen. Upon entering the Lobby screen, a Party Code will be generated for you. On your device’s browser, navigate to www.party.codes and enter the on-screen Party Code. Once all players have joined, press the triangular  "PLAY" button on the bottom right of the screen and your Party Match will begin.

Additional players (up to a maximum of 6) can join during a Party Match by navigating to the website and entering the on-screen Party Code. If more than 6 users wish to participate, see "Spectator Mode" below.

By default, we automatically throw in one HOUSE ANSWER along with player answers for each prompt. House answers are written specifically for their given prompt. They range from hilarious to bland, and are intended to blend in with all kinds of player answers. Every prompt has at least seven house answers. If you vote for a house answer in the first six rounds, you lose 250 points. If you vote for the house answer in the lightning round, you’ll lose 500 points.

If you press the HOUSE DECOY button in any given round, a House Answer for that round’s specific prompt will be selected for you and will act as your answer during that round. Once all answers are shown, you will know which one is your decoy because it will appear greyed out on your device when it is time to vote. If a player votes for your decoy, you will receive 500 points per vote in the first 6 rounds and 1,000 points per vote in the lightning round. Any player who votes for your House Decoy will also lose half the amount of points you gain (250 points in the first six rounds, 500 points in the lightning round). There is no limit to the number of times you can use the House Decoy button over the course of a match. You could even use it in each round if you want!

In the writing period of any round, the timer doesn’t begin ticking down until a player has entered an answer. At that point, the remaining players have 75 seconds. In the lightning round, the timer is shortened to 60 seconds. If "Streamer Mode” is active, additional time is added to cancel out streaming lag. If you haven’t answered by the time the timer runs out, you will automatically be assigned a House Decoy. It will be the same as if you pressed the House Decoy button.

At any time during the game, you can enter the Pause Menu by pressing Esc. on your keyboard.

The Pause Menu offers options, including:

• Settings: takes you to the Settings Menu
• Clear Disconnected: allows you to clear disconnected players, making room for new ones. For example, if one of your players has to leave and another user wants to play.
• Credits: loads the Use Your Words credits, including the names of some of our Kickstarter backers.

The Settings Menu is accessed from the Pause Menu and allows you to customize various elements of gameplay:

• Family Mode: filters out adult prompts and house answers. NOTE: Family Mode does not filter out player answers.
• Streamer Mode: changes the music to a copyright safe soundtrack so you can produce video content of the game without worrying about copyright issues. It also adds additional seconds to the timer in all rounds to account for potential lag during a live stream.
• Spectator Mode: allows up to an additional 1,000 people to participate in a fun meta-game that weaves in and out of directly affecting the main players.
• Password: allows you to create a custom password that users must enter in order to join the game as a player.
• Volume controls: allow you to change the volume of the entire game, or various elements like Voiceover, Sound Effects, and Music.
• House Answers: can be used to make the game stop automatically including a house answer in every round of a Party Match. NOTE: This will not prevent players from using a House Decoy.

Spectator Mode allows up to an additional 1,000 users to participate in a meta-game that affects the main players' scores, tallies votes for special awards at the end of the Party Match, and other fun activities that only Spectators get to do!

To activate Spectator Mode, enter the Settings Menu and toggle Spectator Mode. Spectators will enter the room code and indicate that they are a Spectator rather than a Player

Mix n' Match has to be unlocked by first completing a "New Party Match" and a "Classic Party Match". Once you have played through all 7 rounds of both match types, Mix n' Match will become available  on the main menu.

In every round of play, the game automatically includes one House Answer (one per prompt in the lightning round). House Answers are written specifically for their given prompt. They are intended to range from hilarious to bland, and to blend in with all kinds of player answers. Every prompt has at least seven House Answers. If you vote for a House Answer in the first six rounds, you lose 250 points. If you vote for the House Answer in a lightning round, you’ll lose 500 points.

If you press the “House Decoy” button in any given round, a House Answer for that round’s specific prompt will be selected for you and will act as your answer during that round. You will not know which answer is your House Decoy until after the answers are shown. If a player votes for your House Decoy, you will receive 500 points per vote in the first 6 rounds and 1000 points per vote in lightning rounds. Any player who votes for your House Decoy will also lose half the amount of points you gain (250 points in the first six rounds, 500 points in lightning rounds. There is no limit to the number of times you can press the "House Decoy" button over the course of a game.

You will automatically be assigned a house decoy. It will be the same as if you pressed the “HOUSE DECOY” button.

You can write whatever you want! It’s all a matter of what you think will get votes of your fellow players. And if you don’t want to write anything, you can press the “HOUSE DECOY” button every time and still contribute to the laughs!

Currently, it is recommended that you only use keyboard and mouse on your PC/Mac. Controller support will be added later.

Gizmos are 3 different power-ups that players can activate during the Writing Period of the first six rounds. Each Gizmo has the potential to grant extra points to the player that uses it. Any individual use of a Gizmo effects ONLY the round in which it is activated, though any points added due to a Gizmo will remain a part of the user player’s Total Score going into the following round. 

THE THREE GIZMOS AND WHAT THEY DO:

• USE THEIR WORDS

Choose a player who you think will get votes in the current round. Any points they receive will also be added to your score, though their score and point gains will not be affected by the use of this Gizmo.

• DOUBLE DOWN

In the current round, any votes you receive will raise your score by 2000 points rather than the usual 1000 points.

• ON THE HOUSE

In the current round, you will receive a points bonus if you vote for a House Answer or House Decoy. The amount of points ranges from 1500 to 3000 depending on how many players are currently playing.

No Gizmo guarantees loss or gain of points to any player.  Gizmos may only be activated in the first 6 rounds of any match (i.e. not in the Lightning Round).  A player can only activate a Gizmo AFTER submitting an answer. A player can only use a Gizmo once per match, and only one of the players can use a Gizmo per round. Once a player activates a Gizmo, no other player may activate a Gizmo until the next round (unless they are in round 6, in which case no Gizmos can be activated by any player for the remainder of the match).

No app is required to play. Simply open up a browser and navigate to https://party.codes
Most devices with a web browser work with party.codes, though we recommend the following: iOS 6.1+, Android 4.0+, and latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.

• Ensure that cookies are enabled in your browser. This allows for automatic reconnection if you disconnect.
• Only one user can log in per browser, per device.
• If your phone goes to sleep often, (e.g. on "Power Saving Mode" or with a short number of seconds before your screen goes to sleep), you may experience disconnection and difficulty reconnecting.
• If you get disconnected, refresh your browser and re-enter the Party Code. If you do not see your name listed as an "Inactive Player", refresh your browser one more time and try again. If you are unable to rejoin at that point, another player may have entered the Party Code and chosen your player slot, taking over your Score Flag. At this point, you may want to ask them to disconnect and stop being a jerk.
• Devices that are known to NOT work with Use Your Words 2: Windows Phone 7, PSVITA, Nintendo 3DS, any browser that does not support HTML5
• Make sure that ports 80 and 443 are open on your firewall and router.
• If you experience any issues, make sure that ad/popup blocking software is disabled.

If you simply lose a data connection, the game should reconnect automatically. This can occur when your phone goes to sleep, when you switch to another webpage on your browser, or if you alternate back and forth between multiple phone or tablet apps during gameplay. If it doesn't automatically reconnect upon waking your device, refresh your browser, enter in the Party Code, then press "Join". You should see your player name in the Inactive Users list and be able to rejoin the game.  If you do not see your name listed as an "Inactive Player", refresh your browser one more time and try again. If you are unable to rejoin at that point, another player may have entered the Party Code and chosen your player slot, taking over your Score Flag. At this point, you may want to ask them to disconnect and stop being a jerk. If that doesn't work, double check that you have looked into all tips in the "Overview" section above.

If you encounter this issue, force quit Use Your Words and check your internet connection. You may need to–you guessed it–turn your router off and back on again. Also make sure to disable any network security protocols that may prevent access. Make sure that ports 80 and 443 are open on your firewall and router.

Please ensure that JavaScript and cookies are enabled. Additionally, your browser must support WebSockets. You can check support for WebSockets at: https://www.websocket.org/echo.html

                                                                                      TIPS & TRICKS

Inside jokes among your player group are more likely to get votes since they won’t be mistaken for House Answers.

If you get a short “Sub The Title” prompt, try keeping your answer short so others have time to read it. 

Sometimes, the simplest answer ends up being everyone’s favorite.

Some house Answers are, written with bad grammer; or mispellings

Some emojis work, some don't, and others may add additional symbols like a square next to them. Use at your own risk, but remember, all Emojis will generally display properly on player input browsers devices when it's time to vote.