Emoji Decoder
Six emoji. One meaning. Good luck.
- Players
- 2+ players
- Length
- 10–30 min
- Cost
- Free · no signup
- Long distance
- Works long distance
Ready?
Six emoji. One meaning. Good luck.
- Players
- 2+ players
- Length
- 10–30 min
- Intensity
- Sweet
Free · No signup · Nothing you answer is saved
How do you play Emoji Decoder?
Emoji Decoder has one partner convey a film, memory, song or feeling using a maximum of six emoji with no words, letters or numbers. The other gets three guesses plus one bonus emoji as a hint. It works in person, on a call, or asynchronously over text.
How to play
- One of you draws a category and sends or shows the emoji.
- Six maximum. No words, no letters, no number emoji.
- Your partner gets three guesses.
- One extra emoji is allowed as a hint after the second miss.
- Reveal, then swap.
Why couples love this game
The "how you feel right now" card is the one that surprises people. Asked directly, most people say fine; asked to pick six emoji, they produce something considerably more accurate and much easier to say — which is a genuinely useful side effect of a silly game.
Emoji are a terrible medium for anything precise, which is exactly what makes this work. Six pictures is enough to be nearly clear and never quite, so the guessing is genuinely hard.
The categories are mixed — films, songs, memories from your own relationship, and how you are feeling right now. The last of those turns a party game into something unexpectedly useful.
It works in person, on a call, and asynchronously over text, which is a range almost nothing else here has.
Example openings
- A film we have both seen.
- A memory from our first year.
- Your day today.
- A song we have both danced to.
- How you feel right now.
- Something you want this weekend.
The full game has 16 of these, shuffled every time you play.
Who this game is best for
- Texting through the day
- Long distance with a bad time difference
- Ten minutes anywhere
- Groups, where everyone guesses
Tips to make it better
- Six maximum. Twenty emoji is not a puzzle, it is a wall.
- No letter or number emoji. Everybody tries it.
- The feelings cards are worth taking seriously.
- Screenshot the good ones.
Frequently asked questions
How many emoji are allowed?
Six. Beyond that it stops being a puzzle and becomes a wall of pictures that nobody can parse.
Can I use letter emoji as a hint?
No, and that includes number emoji. One extra picture after the second wrong guess is the only help available.
Is this good for long distance?
It is one of the best formats for it, because it works asynchronously — send six emoji and get the guess whenever they see it.