LTRPC is a new kind of word puzzle that you solve based on the shapes that create letters.
In LTRPC you discover the current secret word by paying attention to four shapes in the 26 letters in the alphabet.
Press & Reviews
Decipher is the second game in the Letter Piece series which reimplements one of my favorite old-time games, Runes, from EON. The main concept behind these Letter Piece games is that all of the 26 letters in the alphabet can be constructed using some combination of four different basic shapes (the red long straight, the yellow small straight, the blue half moon and the green tight curve). Read Full Review
“The box and components are neat. I like the way that you use the board as a screen while you make your word and fish out the pieces, and the little foldable screen to hide your word works perfectly. ”
Decipher is a very special word deduction game for 2-4 players. You use letter parts in four different shapes to build and guess words. In each round a different player builds a secret word. The others only know the parts that make it up and, through questions, gradually gather information about their position in the Word. Who will find the secret word first? (Source: HeidelBär Games)
A really beautifully designed game that encourages the children to search for words, regardless of whether they are thinking up or guessing the word, the enthusiasm and cheering was immediately there, not least because of the simple rules. Read Full Review
“I like this game A LOT!” - Tom Vasel
Decipher by HeidelBÄR Games
PIECE MY WORD TOGETHER!
This game is all about thinking up clever words that will be hard to decipher and cleverly combining letter pieces to guess secret words.
Decipher is a different kind of word game for 2–4 players. Players use 4 different letter pieces to create and solve word puzzles.
In each round a different player builds a secret word puzzle. The others only know which letter pieces are in the secret word and gather clues and points by asking about where letter pieces go. Can you decipher the secret word?
5 Letter Decipher Board
6 Letter Decipher Board
Press & Reviews
“Dice Tower Judgement - Approved!" - Tom Vasel
“If you enjoy word games… definitely check out Wordsmith.” - Kevin Delp, Tantrum House
“If you’re looking for ideas for games to play to supplement online learning, Wordsmith not only works on spelling, but can also help younger kids learn about forming letters.” - Nicole Brady, SAHMReviews.com
“Wordsmith is an extremely clever mash up of spatial puzzle, time pressure, and classic word game. It comes to us from the team who also designed Cosmic Encounter, Dune, and Hoax in the 1980s. These games were groundbreaking then and have influenced several generations of designers since. It’s no exaggeration to say their imagination and innovation laid the groundwork for the board game renaissance we all enjoy today. It’s wonderful and encouraging to see this team is at it again, breathing life and energy into the word game genre.” - Stephen Conway, Major Fun
How to play Wordsmith
Wordsmith by HeidelBÄR Games
PIECE THE WORD TOGETHER!
Wordsmith is all about discovering words, but instead of whole letters, you just have letter pieces in four different shapes. This brain tickling game for 1 to 4 players is a fast-paced, real-time word building frenzy!
All players create words simultaneously from their letter pieces. Each word can only be made and scored once, so a thrilling challenge of word discovery begins.
Which words will you discover in your letter pieces? Longer words earn you more points, but you also want to make all six words before the round is over.
And of course there is a twist: Although you can discard letter pieces to make a word, you get bonus points when you can limit the number of pieces you have to discard.
The idea for this “Letter Piece Game” comes from game designers Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Greg Olotka, and Peter Olotka, whose credits include Comic Encounter, Dune, Hoax and more.
The game provides a single player mode as well as special rules for advanced players.
Wordsmith includes semitransparent plastic letter pieces that are playful and easy to manipulate. A special plastic insert turns the game box into a game component. You get your letter pieces from the insert as part of game play and everyone also has their own corner of the insert to roll their dice in.
Wordsmith letter pieces, game tray, and scoresheets
Gaming Media Coverage
Bill Eberle demos Wordsmith for W. Eric Martin at GenCon 2019. Learn more about Wordsmith on BoardGameGeek page.
W. Eric Martin of Boardgame Geek and Heiko Eller-Bilz discuss Wordsmith
W. Eric Martin of Boardgame Geek interviews Heiko Eller-Bilz about HeidelBÄR Games
Designer's Diary - Origins of the Letter Piece Games
Runes box cover 1981 - Eon Products Inc
Selected: Games 100 "Best Games -word games" 1982 Games Magazine
Runes box back
Buzzle - German variant 1995
Nominated: Game of the Year Germany 1995
Decipher and Wordsmith’s unique 4 letter piece system was first seen in Runes, a different kind of word game designed by Future Pastimes and published by Eon Products in 1981. The original design team of Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, and Peter Olotka figured out how to deconstruct every letter of the alphabet into 4 pieces, and crafted a game system around this idea.
The current Future Pastimes team of Bill, Peter, and Greg brought the original idea back to life, and pitched it to HeidelBÄR Games. HeidelBÄR liked it enough to create two completely different games from the 4 letter piece system, and the line of Letter Piece Games was born.
Runes game board
note - letter pieces were all one color…
…but the concept was the same