How to play Jester Master

Jester Master is a game show you play with friends, each from their own phone. Here is everything you need to know: how to set up a room, how each mode is played and what the power-ups do.

Create a room — free

No download, no sign-up. Share the 4-letter code and play.

Up and running in a minute

Create the roomOpen the game, pick a mode and tap “Create room”. You become the host and get a 4-letter code.
Invite everyoneShare the code or the invite link. Each player joins from their phone or computer — nothing to install, no account.
Pick the topicsThe host ticks categories and playlists. With voting on, everyone votes on what goes in the deck and the room sees which topics won.
PlayThe game deals the words and keeps the clock and the score. At the end you see who won, replay the best moments and can go again.

The eight modes

Who am I?

Players: 2 or more; best with 3

Everyone for themselves. Each player has a secret character that everybody can see except them.

You ask yes-or-no questions and the others answer with buttons.
You guess by typing the name or saying it out loud.
Each character is worth 10 points and loses 1 for every 10 seconds you take, down to a minimum of 3.
Get it right and you’re dealt another character. The first to reach the target score wins.

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Charades

Players: 2 or more; best with 4, in teams

The classic. The player on turn sees the word on their phone and acts it out without talking; their team guesses.

Only the actor sees the word.
They act it out in silence while their team shouts answers.
When the team gets it, the actor taps “Correct”: one point, and a new word comes up.
When the clock runs out, the turn passes on.

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Jester

Players: 2 or more; best with 4, in teams

Charades turned around: the player on turn is the only one who can’t see the word. Their team gives spoken clues without saying it.

The guesser’s screen doesn’t show the word; their team’s screens do.
The team gives clues without saying the word.
The guesser answers out loud. If they’re right, the team marks it and a new word comes up.

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Group Hunt

Players: 2 or more; best with 3

One secret character for the whole room. Nobody sees it — not even the player asking.

Whoever’s turn it is picks a question from the list and the game answers it: the clue is for everyone.
Guessing is free: type your answer the moment you think you know, without waiting for your turn.
The first two score, and the first gets twice as much as the second.

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1 vs 1 Duel

Players: 2; anyone else watches

One against one, in turns. Each player sees their rival’s character and never their own.

On your turn you ask one yes-or-no question, typed or picked from the menu. Your rival answers with buttons.
Taking a guess uses up your turn: miss and your rival plays.
With “the same character” neither of you sees it: the game answers the questions from the menu and it becomes a race.
The first to guess wins the round, and whoever wins the most rounds wins the duel.

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Impostor

Players: 3 or more

Everyone gets the same character — except the impostor, who only knows the category.

In turns, each player types a short clue. The impostor improvises to avoid giving themselves away.
After the clue rounds, everyone votes for who they think the impostor is.
Catch them and the innocents score; if not, the round goes to the impostor.
Even when caught, the impostor can still save themselves by guessing the character.

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Blind Rank

Players: 2 or more; best with 4

An opinion game. Someone sets a prompt, random characters come up and everyone ranks them blind.

Whoever’s turn it is writes the prompt (“who survives a zombie apocalypse?”) or taps one of the examples.
Everyone taps the characters in order, first to last. Nobody sees anyone else’s ranking.
The group’s ranking is revealed, along with the character that split the room and who thought most like everyone else.
You score a point for every character you placed in the same spot as the group. There’s no right answer.

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Build The Team

Players: 2; everyone else watches and votes

A blind auction. Two players bid on characters to build a team of five, without knowing what the teams will be judged on.

Both players start with 100 play coins. A character comes up and each bids in secret.
The highest bid takes it and pays what they bid. If they tie, nobody does. When one team is full, the other gets the rest without bidding.
The goal is one of three the whole room can see from the start, but nobody knows which until the end.
Some goals the game can count (“most villains”); others are opinion and are voted by the watchers. In a tie, whoever kept more money wins.

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Topics, voting and playlists

Words come from categories (movies, video games, anime, music, animals…) and from playlists that build themselves, like “Villains” or “Green characters”.
You can create a playlist by typing what you want, for example “green villains”, and add a missing character by looking it up on Wikipedia.
If the host allows it, each player can veto the topics they don’t want to play before the game starts.

Power-ups

Mid-round there are power-ups to help your side or sabotage your rival. The host can switch them off, and not every one shows up in every mode.

Helps

First letterReveals the first letter to the guesser.
LengthShows how many words and letters it has.
ClueReveals the category and a couple of traits.
Extra timeAdds seconds to the turn, once per turn.
Double pointsThe next correct guess is worth double.
ShieldBlocks the next sabotage this turn.

Sabotages

Steal timeTakes seconds off the rival’s turn.
No handsThe actor can’t use their hands for a few seconds.
Slow motionEverything in slow motion for a few seconds.
SwitcherooSwaps the guesser’s word or character while their clock keeps running.
Fake clueA made-up clue appears on the guesser’s screen.
TradeSwap your character with your rival’s.

Plus the Roulette, which turns into another random power-up when you use it, and the Seat swap, to trade places with whoever you pick on the turn wheel.

Teams, time and scoring

With 4 or more players you can play in teams; otherwise it’s everyone for themselves. Who am I? is always individual.
The time per turn can be set anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
Skipping a word can cost a point, if the host turns that on.
A room holds up to 30 players.

Parties and big groups

Tournament mode builds a bracket of 1-on-1 duels: everyone else watches while they wait for their turn.
The big-screen view is made for putting the game up on a TV or a projector.

Questions

Do I need an account?

No. You play with a name and an avatar. The account is optional and saves your progress and cosmetics.

Does it cost anything?

No. All eight modes are free.

Does it work over a video call?

Yes. Each player joins the room from their own device. In the modes where you act or give spoken clues you need to see or hear each other on the call.

What languages is it in?

English and Spanish. Each player sees the menus in their own language, and the room picks which one the words come up in.

Where do the photos come from?

From Wikimedia Commons and other free-licence collections, each with its author credited. Where there is no free photo, the character gets a hand-drawn clue card.

More ways to play

Create a room — free