Concept
COOPERATIVE PARTY COMMUNICATION GAME (2013) by ALAIN RIVOLLET + GAËTAN BEAUJANNOT, published by REPOS PRODUCTION. 4-12 players take turns SILENTLY communicating a word/phrase by placing colored pawns on a board of ~110 UNIVERSAL PICTOGRAMS (person, animal, color, size, action, etc.). Teammates guess. NO SPEAKING allowed by the clue-giver. Elegant, language-independent, works internationally. Spiel des Jahres 2014 NOMINEE. Available in Concept + Concept Kids (2018 kid-friendly). 40 min.
What is Concept?
CONCEPT is a COOPERATIVE PARTY COMMUNICATION GAME (2013) designed by ALAIN RIVOLLET + GAËTAN BEAUJANNOT, published by REPOS PRODUCTION (Belgian publisher famous for 7 WONDERS + TIME'S UP!). Widely praised as an ELEGANT + LANGUAGE-INDEPENDENT party game that works across cultures + language barriers. GAMEPLAY: 4-12 players use a game board displaying ~110 UNIVERSAL PICTOGRAMS (icons for: person, animal, color, size, action, emotion, place, tool, direction, count, time, etc.). Players work in PAIRS as CLUE-GIVERS. On your turn, draw a WORD/PHRASE CARD (has 9 possible clues of 3 difficulty levels: easy, medium, hard). Choose one to convey (secret from teammates). Place the MAIN CUBE (green question mark) on the pictogram(s) that represent the CORE CONCEPT of the word. Add EXCLAMATION MARKS on pictograms that add SECONDARY details. Add CUBES + PAWNS in different colors to build additional SUB-CONCEPTS clustering pictograms. GUESSING: The rest of the group SHOUTS OUT guesses based on the pictogram arrangement. NO speaking allowed by the clue-giver. When someone guesses correctly, they + the clue-giver score points. GAME LENGTH: 40 MIN per full game (12 or so rounds). BEST AT 6-10 PLAYERS. SCORING: Correct guessers get 2 VP; clue-givers get 1 VP per successful guess. First to 12 VP (or agreed number) wins. Or play casually without scoring. RECEPTION: SPIEL DES JAHRES 2014 NOMINEE (top German mainstream game of year); AS D'OR (French game of year 2014); universally acclaimed for LANGUAGE-INDEPENDENT design + elegance. Works with mixed-language groups because pictograms are UNIVERSAL. EXPANSIONS + VARIANTS: CONCEPT KIDS: ANIMALS (2018) — kid-friendly version for younger players focused on animals; simpler pictogram board. CONCEPT KIDS variants translated to 20+ languages. INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS: Sold worldwide; often included in ESL/language-learning classroom sets due to language independence.
Quick facts
Category
Party Games
Type
Team sport
Players
4–12
Duration
~40 min
Where played
indoor
Field / court
Concept board with ~110 pictograms
Country of origin
🇧🇪 Belgium
Estimated origin
2013 (Repos Production)
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Cooperatively communicate + guess concepts via pictogram placement; score most VP.
Rules
Basic rules
Clue-giver picks a word from a card (3 difficulty levels)
Secret from others.
Place green main cube on core-concept pictogram(s)
Signal primary meaning.
Add colored cubes/pawns for sub-concepts
Build detail.
Others shout out guesses; correct = points
Guessing phase.
No speaking by clue-giver
Silent visual clue only.
First to target VP wins
Simple scoring.
Scoring
Correct guessers get 2 VP; clue-givers get 1 VP per successful guess.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Correct guess (guesser) | 2 VP |
| Successful clue (clue-giver) | 1 VP per guess |
| Difficulty bonuses (harder words = more VP) | 1-3 VP |
Win condition · First player to reach target VP (usually 12 or agreed number).
Playing area
Called
Concept board with ~110 pictograms
Dimensions
~60x40cm board with pictograms in grid
Central board with universal pictograms; players cluster tokens on pictograms.
Equipment
Concept game board (~110 pictograms)
Universal iconography
Word/phrase cards (~110 cards, 9 clues each)
Prompts to convey
Colored cubes + pawns + main green cube
Placement tokens
Score tokens
Track VP
Concept Kids: Animals variant
Kid-friendly alternate
Strategies
Layer clues from most to least essential
Start with core concept then refine.
Use pictogram opposites for negation
e.g., 'not hot' via cold pictogram.
Cluster colored cubes for sub-groups
Group related sub-concepts.
Adjust difficulty based on team
Easy for warm-up; hard for expert players.
Terminology
- Pictogram
- Universal icon on the board (~110 total).
- Main cube
- Green cube marking the core concept.
- Sub-concept
- Colored cube clustering for a supporting detail.
- Exclamation mark
- Modifier token indicating additional emphasis.
- Card difficulty
- Easy, medium, or hard word options on each card.
Major competitions
Spiel Essen convention play
annual · Germany · since 2013
Concept demos at gaming conventions
periodic · Global · since 2013
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Repos Production (publisher)
Founded 2001 · Belgium
Asmodee (global distribution)
Founded 1995 · France
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Alain Rivollet (co-designer)
- Gaëtan Beaujannot (co-designer)
- Repos Production team
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
Play with easy words first
Warm up with animals + objects.
- 2
Study the pictogram board for 5 min before playing
Familiarity helps.
Frequently asked
What is Concept?+
COOPERATIVE PARTY COMMUNICATION GAME (2013) by ALAIN RIVOLLET + GAËTAN BEAUJANNOT, published by REPOS PRODUCTION. 4-12 players take turns SILENTLY communicating a word/phrase by placing colored pawns on a board of ~110 UNIVERSAL PICTOGRAMS (person, animal, color, size, action, etc.). Teammates guess. NO SPEAKING allowed by the clue-giver. Elegant, language-independent, works internationally. Spiel des Jahres 2014 NOMINEE. Available in Concept + Concept Kids (2018 kid-friendly). 40 min.
Concept vs Codenames vs Just One — which party game is best?+
All 3 are elegant guessing party games; each is DIFFERENT. CONCEPT (2013): SILENT visual pictogram-based; language-independent; works across cultures; requires abstract thinking; 4-12 players; 40 min. CODENAMES (2015): SINGLE-WORD verbal clues + word-grid guessing; TEAM VS TEAM; more strategic; 4-8+ players; 15-30 min; SPIEL DES JAHRES 2016 WINNER. JUST ONE (2019): COOPERATIVE single-word clues on a whiteboard; clues with duplicates get cancelled; ~20 min; SPIEL DES JAHRES 2019 WINNER. All are excellent. CODENAMES + JUST ONE are more accessible; CONCEPT is more visually creative + language-neutral. Modern casual groups → JUST ONE or CODENAMES. Cross-language groups → CONCEPT wins hands down.