Der wahre Walter

About this board game

Der wahre Walter is a social guessing game for 4–10 players, played in about 60 minutes. In each round, one player becomes the Sphinx, while everyone creates answers designed to match that player’s personality.

The game includes 156 cards, each printed on both sides with three sentences containing a missing phrase replaced by “WALTER.” Prompts might ask what the Sphinx would name a dog or what form they would choose for a second life. For each sentence, players write their own proposed answer, while the Sphinx records their genuine choice.

Once all answers are collected, the Sphinx reads the proposals aloud in a different order for each sentence. Players then decide which answers they believe truly belong to the Sphinx—the “Wahre Walter”, or true Walter.

• Write answers to three personality-based sentence prompts.
• Listen as the Sphinx mixes genuine and invented proposals.
• Choose which answers you think are the Sphinx’s.
• Score points for correct guesses and for successfully fooling other players.

Players score for every true answer they identify. The Sphinx also gains points whenever someone selects one of their proposals, while players earn points when others mistake their inventions for the Sphinx’s answers. The Sphinx therefore has an incentive to answer in a way that is both personal and difficult to imitate.

Der wahre Walter is best suited to groups who know one another, though the description notes that strangers can receive some points in advance. It also calls for plenty of paper, making the game a direct, conversation-driven test of how well the players understand each other.