Subliminal Message

In this Main Match, draw on the backs of cards in a deck to indicate what's on the other side, such that it is easy to guess for strangers, but not for your opponents.

Designer(s): ItzShaun Match Type: MM (for 3 players)
Featured in: Community Hosted Genius Game 3
Awards: Best Late Game MM 2023, Most Fun MM 2023

Your 11th Main Match is...


Subliminal Message




This Main Match will be played with three mystery guests.

In Subliminal Message, players will draw on the backs of cards to indicate what’s on the other side, making it easy to guess for a stranger but hard to guess for your fellow players.




Subliminal Message is split into three rounds. At the start of every round, you will be given a new deck of cards. Each round’s deck of cards has a different theme.

For example, you could be given a deck of 15 cards with each card featuring a letter of the alphabet.




A card is visualized by an image showing both sides as seen below. The left side will always have the same backing pattern. The right side will depict what players are attempting to convey.




Using the digital paint program jspaint, players may mark the back of the cards in their deck until 24 hours have elapsed. Any unsubmitted cards will be blank.

There are heavy restrictions on how you may mark your cards. Please check the restrictions under “Clarification and Extra Info” on the official rules document for this game before submitting your decks.


jspaint can be found here: https://jspaint.app/


For example, the card given as an example can be marked like so:




After submissions are closed, all submitted cards will be cropped to only feature the back side of each card.




Along with their marked deck, players must also submit a pre-written message. This message may contain only 50 characters maximum. Any characters that aren't a space or part of the Latin alphabet will be removed.

After any extraneous characters are removed, messages will be formatted in rows of 25 characters.


Players may add one extra character to their message per garnet spent. New rows will be added to the message to compensate.

Any extra character slots purchased only last for one round.




Once cards and messages are submitted, the guessing phase begins.

The guessing phase involves a scheduled gameplay session between ItzShaun (or any other hosts willing to run a session) and one of the players or guests.




In each gameplay session, players and guests must attempt to guess what’s on the front side of each card as they are dealt.

Each player’s marked deck will be shuffled randomly before guessing begins. The deck’s shuffle will be different for all sessions.




The mystery guest sees all three players’ decks but will not know who marked each deck. Players only see their opponents’ decks.

Both guests and players are given a list of every possible card in the given decks before guessing begins.




After each guess, both the guest and the players are immediately informed if it is correct or not. However, they will not know the correct answer to an incorrect guess.

Every correct guess the mystery guest makes earns 2 points for the decks’ owner. Every correct guess a player makes earns 1 point for themselves.




The mystery guest for that round will receive the pre-written message before they begin guessing cards in the players’ deck. The players, however, will not.

Therefore, the goal of the game is to create a system where the front sides of the cards are easy to guess with the message but hard to guess without it.




Subliminal Message lasts for three rounds, where every given deck is more complex than the previous. Additionally, each round will be played with different guests. The guests are:

Round 1: A webshow voice actor

Round 2: A Survivor ORG host

Round 3: A puzzlehunting champion

Further information about a guest is revealed once the round begins. The guests will be fully revealed when the round’s results are posted.




One more thing: players are not allowed to communicate with each other for the duration of the Main Match. That is, this Main Match has Limited Communication.

All pair chats will be closed once Round 1 begins.




The player who earns the most points across all three rounds wins the Main Match and advances to the finals. The other two players automatically enter the Death Match.

The finalist with more garnets earns an additional finals item — this is the only use for garnets in the finals.


The first round of Subliminal Message will begin on . Then, information on the first guest will be revealed and decks will be handed out through your submissions channel.

Use this time as you wish. Good luck.


Subliminal Message Summary

  1. At the start of each round, players are given a deck of cards and information about the incoming mystery guest.
  2. Players must mark the backs of the cards with an image editing program and write a secret message for only the guest to read.
  3. The guest must then guess what is on the other side of a marked card after only seeing the back. Every correct guess is worth two points.
  4. The other players won’t receive the secret message, but will still attempt to guess the other side of your marked cards. Every correct guess is worth one point for themselves.

Clarifications and Extra Info

  • When using jspaint to mark cards, players must only use specific parameters when using certain tools:
  • When using the Paintbrush, you must set the brush size to the biggest circle setting. Using any other brushes is not allowed.
  • When using the Line or Curve tools, the line’s thickness must be on the highest setting. Using any other thickness is not allowed.
  • When using the Rectangle, Circle, Rounded Rectangle, or Polygon tools, only the outline option or filled option may be used. Using the fill-outline option is not allowed. The line thickness must also be on the highest setting which can be set by clicking the option when using the Line tool.
  • Any other tool provided in jspaint that is not mentioned above MAY NOT be used to modify card backs. This includes but is not limited to the eraser, fill bucket, and text tool.

  • Only pure black (#000000) may be used to mark the backs of cards.
  • Do not crop the image yourself. The host will do this themselves.
  • Violation of any of these restrictions above results in your card being submitted as blank. You will be notified if your card violates any of these rules and you will be given an opportunity to change it before the deadline.

  • Guests may not use the internet while guessing.

Tags

Cards    (The game involves cards of any kind.)

Guest    (The game involves guests that can influence the outcome of the match.)

Limited communication    (The game cuts or restricts communications in some way between players.)

Miscellaneous    (The game tests a miscellaneous set of skills.)

Points-based    (The game involves players earning points.)

Puzzle    (The game tests the players' abilities to solve puzzles.)