Gemopedia
Party Games🇺🇸United States21st century

Wavelength

Officially Wavelength (CMYK Games / Palm Court)

Cooperative-teamwork party game (2019, CMYK Games / Palm Court) — team guesses where on a spectrum (e.g., 'Cold ↔ Hot') a Psychic teammate's clue falls; scoring based on how close guess is to hidden target dial position. 2-12 players.

⏱~30 min🌤indoor

What is Wavelength?

Wavelength is a party-social deduction team game published by CMYK Games (Palm Court) in 2019, designed by Wolfgang Warsch (also of The Mind + Quacks of Quedlinburg) + Alex Hague + Justin Vickers + Nick Bentley. Uses a rotating physical dial device that shows a hidden 'target zone' to one Psychic each round; the Psychic selects a clue on a spectrum card (e.g., 'Cold ↔ Hot', 'Overrated ↔ Underrated', 'Simple ↔ Complex', 'Boring Movie ↔ Exciting Movie'), and their team tries to guess where on the dial the target zone lies based only on the Psychic's clue. Scoring: 4 points if in bullseye zone; 3 pts if adjacent; 2 pts if next; 0 if miss. Opposing team then bets Left/Right of Team's guess for bonus points. First team to 10 pts wins. Also has coop 'Wavelength Solo' mode. Won 2019 Gen Con Best Party Game + Board Game Quest Party Game of the Year; nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2020 recommendations. Considered modern classic party game with excellent replayability + high skill ceiling in Psychic clue-crafting.

Quick facts

Category

Party Games

Type

Team sport

Players

2–12

Duration

~30 min

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇺🇸 United States

Estimated origin

Published 2019 by CMYK Games (Palm Court imprint)

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

How it works

Objective

First team to 10 points wins.

Match structure

Teams alternate turns as Psychic + Guessers; each round: 4 pts bullseye, 3 pts adj, 2 pts next, 0 miss; opponent Left/Right bet for bonus.

Rules

Basic rules

  • Psychic reveals dial target secretly

    Psychic sees hidden target zone; team + opponent see spectrum but not target.

  • Psychic gives verbal clue on spectrum

    Clue = single word/phrase between the two endpoints.

  • Team guesses dial position

    Team discusses + places physical marker on dial.

  • Opponent Left/Right bet for bonus

    Opposing team bets Left or Right of Team's guess for +1 pt if correct.

Scoring

4 bullseye / 3 adj / 2 next / 0 miss; +1 opponent side-bet.

Win condition · First team to 10 points.

Equipment

  • Wavelength dial device (physical)

    Rotating dial with hidden target zone; central component.

  • 160 spectrum cards

    Two-ended spectrum concepts (Cold-Hot, etc.).

  • Score track + team markers

    Standard scoring track.

Positions & roles

  • Psychic (rotating)

    ×1

    Player who sees target + gives clue.

  • Team member (guesser)

    ×5

    Contributes to guess-discussion.

Major competitions

  • Gen Con Wavelength tournaments

    annual · Indianapolis, USA · since 2019

Governing bodies

  • CMYK Games (publisher, Palm Court imprint)

    Founded 2018 · New York, USA

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • Wolfgang Warsch (co-designer)
  • Alex Hague (co-designer)
  • Justin Vickers (co-designer)
  • Nick Bentley (co-designer)

Records

  • 2019 Gen Con Best Party Game

    CMYK Games — Won 2019 Gen Con Best Party Game award (inaugural release) (2019)

  • 2020 Spiel des Jahres recommended

    CMYK Games — Recommended by 2020 Spiel des Jahres jury (Germany's top board game award) (2020)

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-29.verified