Strategy guide
How to give clues the table understands
Nobody wins alone in ito: a good clue is one that makes everyone else hang your card in the right spot. Here is what works in practice, with a full round walked through.
The scale belongs to the table, not to you
Your number is secret, but the scale is shared. Every theme says what 1 and 100 mean: in “Things that scare you”, 1 is “not a shiver” and 100 is “pure terror”. Before thinking of a clue, look at both ends and picture the whole line between them.
The right question is not “what goes with 72?” but “if I say this, where will the table hang me?”. A clue works when the group places you roughly where your number is, without knowing what it is.
From number to clue, in three steps
1. Find your zone
Split the scale into five parts: right by 1, low, middle, high and right by 100. An 8 calls for something with almost no effect; a 93, for something at the limit. Knowing your zone already rules out half the ideas.
2. Pick an example everyone knows
The clue has to work for the whole table, not just for you. Everyday things, famous places and situations everyone has lived through beat your favorite band or an inside joke shared by three people.
3. Test it before sending
Read the clue as if someone else wrote it and guess a number. If your guess lands more than about 15 points away from the real number, change the clue or make it stronger or weaker.
A round walked through
Four friends, one card each, theme “Things that scare you” (1 not a shiver · 100 pure terror). These were the cards and clues, already in the order the table hung them:
- Ana8Butterfly
Ana got a very low number and chose something almost nobody fears. The card went to the start without any debate.
- Ben34Pop quiz
Ben wanted a small but real fear: it makes your stomach drop, but nobody loses sleep over it.
- Cai61Stuck elevator
Cai landed in the upper middle: genuinely scary, but almost everyone walks out fine.
- Dee93Heavy turbulence on a plane
Dee got a number near the end and chose a fear nearly everyone shares.
What the table talked about
The ends were easy: butterfly at the start, turbulence at the end. The whole conversation happened in the middle. Ben asked whether a stuck elevator was scarier than a pop quiz, Cai said yes, and the thread went 8, 34, 61, 93. The whole table won.
Notice that nobody said a number. Comparing clues (“is mine milder than yours?”) is allowed, and it is where the game happens. What is not allowed is saying “mine is around 60”.
What if the clue were different?
Imagine Ben, holding the 34, had said “cockroach”. For half the table a cockroach is a 5; for the other half, a 95. A clue that depends on personal taste can send the card anywhere on the thread. When a fear is very much yours, say so: “for me this is pretty high, but I know it isn’t for you”.
The mistakes that break the thread most often
Too personal
Your fear of clowns is not the table’s. In opinion themes, pick something most people feel the same about, or make it clear the scale is yours.
A number in disguise
“A 7 out of 10”, “half” and “almost the max” are numbers wearing a costume. They break the rules and take the fun out of the round.
Lukewarm clues
“Normal”, “so-so” and “average” help nobody decide anything. Even in the middle of the scale you can pick something concrete.
Niche references
A meme only two people know or a third-division player forces half the table to guess.
Forgetting the ends
In “Places you'd like to live”, 1 is “not even if paid”. A neutral clue like “small town” can land anywhere if you ignore the scale.
Following the first card
Whoever gives the first clue becomes the yardstick by accident, and everyone adjusts to it. If your clue doesn’t fit with the first one, speak up before the thread is closed.
When your number lands in the middle
Numbers between 40 and 60 are the hardest, because almost everything feels “average”. Two ways out work well: pick something everyone knows that sits clearly in the middle (for fear, “a roller coaster at a small fair”), or compare it with something else (“a bit more than riding a bike in traffic”).
When two numbers are close, talking it out solves it: ask each other which clue weighs more. If nobody is sure, the order the group agrees on is as good as any other. The game is made of these bets.
Campaign strategy
The campaign has three stages and three lives. In stage 1 everyone has one card; in stage 2, two; in stage 3, three. Each break in the thread (two neighboring cards out of order) costs a life, and losing all three restarts the campaign from stage 1.
With several cards, think about the distance between them. If you hold 12 and 15, both clues will sound alike, so tell the table they are neighbors. If you hold 12 and 80, make the gap obvious in your clues.
If the drawn theme doesn’t suit the group, whoever created the room can end the round and change the theme. It costs no life: in a cooperative game nobody gains anything by sticking with a bad theme.
Adjust to your group
- Families with kids: go for knowledge themes (famous foods, places, sports) and very concrete clues.
- Old friends: opinion themes spark the best debates, because you know each other’s tastes.
- Big tables (up to 16 people): short clues and someone steering the conversation keep the round moving.
- Playing remotely: start a voice call alongside. You can play just by reading clues, but the conversation is what closes the thread.
Ready to try?
Create a room, send the link to your friends and see if the thread closes on the first try.
Create a room