Constellation

What is Constellation?

Constellation is a cooperative word-association game set in the night sky. Every star on the board has a word written on it — ember, blaze, riddle, crown, marble, and so on. The Lead Astronomer secretly picks a group of stars whose words share a hidden connection, then gives the rest of the group a single clue to find them. Same itch as Codenames, but the grid is a night sky and the cards are stars.

It's a game about reading each other's minds. The Lead Astronomer can't explain, point, or give extra hints — just one clue to connect the dots. The group has to think creatively, debate the options, and commit to their selections before time runs out.

The Point of the Game

This is a cooperative game: everyone wins or loses together. The group earns points based on how accurately the apprentice astronomers identify the hidden constellation. Over five rounds, you're trying to build the highest collective score possible.

Each player takes a turn as the Lead Astronomer, so everyone creates constellations and guesses them. The challenge is crafting the perfect clue: specific enough to guide your team to the right stars, but not so obvious it makes the game trivial. Pick a clue that connects six stars and you score big — if they find them. Pick too many and you risk leading the group toward the Black Holes.

How It Works

1. Configuration: Choose a difficulty (easy, medium, or hard) and a language for the word pool. Higher difficulty adds more stars to the board and more traps to avoid.
2. Charting the constellation: The Lead Astronomer sees a target word and selects stars whose labels share a connection with it. They then give the group a single clue to hint at that connection.
3. Finding the constellation: The apprentice astronomers have 5 minutes to discuss and select the stars they think belong to the constellation. They can see each other's selections updating in real time.
4. Reveal: Stars are revealed one by one. Correct stars earn points; wrong selections lose points. North Stars are worth a bonus if selected correctly. Black Holes cost you heavily if you stumble into them.
5. Next round: A new Lead Astronomer takes over. After five rounds, the group gets a final rating based on their total score.

Rules at a Glance