Word Tilt: Charades & Imposter

Word Tilt turns one phone into two party games: charades, with the word held to your forehead, and Imposter, where one player has to bluff.

Both games share one shelf of decks, twenty in all, from animals and food to school, travel and gaming words. A few, like Actions, are made for charades alone. Every deck is written separately for English, German and Spanish, not translated, and you choose the language of the words apart from the language of the app.

If you are holding the phone
Raise it to your forehead with the screen facing the room. A five-second countdown gives you time to get it up there. Then the word fills the screen and your friends do the explaining. Tilt the phone down for Got it and up for Pass, or tap the right or left half of the screen. Both work at once, and the Tilt Check screen lets you try the angle, the flash and the buzz before the round starts.

If you are doing the explaining
Everybody in the room sees the word. A green flash means Got it, an amber flash means Pass, with a buzz and a short tone to match. Pick 30, 60 or 90 seconds a turn. Two to twelve players go in turn, with a set number of turns each or no end at all. After every turn the words sit in two lists, and a tap moves a word across if the tilt got it wrong.

If you are playing Imposter
Every player gets a secret card: hold to see it, let go to hide it, pass the phone on. Everyone has the same word except the Imposter, who sees just the category or, if you prefer, a different word from the same deck. Go round the table with a one-word hint each, talk it over, then count to three and all point at your suspect. Three to twelve players, up to three Imposters in bigger groups, and the phone keeps the score over the rounds.

If you are setting up the evening
Pick one deck or mix several. The shelf shows how many words are left in your mix. The phone remembers every word it has shown, even after you close the app, and a word does not come back until you have been through all the decks you picked. Make your own decks by typing words or pasting a list; they work in both games and mix with the built-in ones. The app is available in English, German and Spanish.

If you wonder what it keeps
Word Tilt has no account, no sign-in and no tracking, and it needs no internet connection. Player names, your own decks and the list of words you have seen stay on your phone.

The decks are made for mixed company, from family dinners to friends on a long drive.