Signal

About this board game

Signal is a cooperative deduction game for 2–6 players that plays in about 20 minutes. Experts must understand an Alien player’s hidden rules and transmit signals that lead to agreement.

On each turn, the Experts arrange black and white pieces on a mat to create a graphical signal. They discuss and debate what to send, then the Alien responds using rules visible only to them. The Alien may add, remove, and adjust pieces while trying to help the Experts understand and reach a target signal.

The challenge is to discover how the Alien responds without knowing the underlying rules. As the Experts analyze each reply, they can make limited guesses and use a few hint-like abilities to identify which signal will produce agreement. The Alien also has some leeway when responding, giving them room to help the group while still following their rules.

• Cooperative play for 2–6 players
• Approximately 20 minutes of play time
• Graphical signals made with black and white pieces
• Hidden response rules that must be deduced
• Three rounds that build on the rules learned previously

After the first successful agreement, the Experts reset and continue with the same Alien. Each new round adds further rules on top of the previous ones, representing a deeper familiarity with the Alien player. Succeed across all three rounds and everyone wins cooperatively.

Signal awards a score based on the guesses and special abilities left unused. Published in 2025, the game also has publisher-issued errata correcting errors on three Alien cards.