Crossed Canvas

How to play

1. 1

   Crossed Canvas supports 5–12 players. A game lasts N rounds, where N is the active player count; two independent secret rotations make everyone Curator exactly once and Distorter exactly once, and those roles never coincide in one round.

2. 2

   Roles and images open for 12 seconds at the start of a round. The Curator does not draw and sees only the public category and closeness level; all other players are artists: Loyal artists see the true target, while the single Distorter sees a different, visually close image.

3. 3

   Every artist receives one neutral signature that remains stable across both pulses. Until the final reveal, the canvas shows only those signatures: their link to player names, each role, and every private image remain secret.

4. 4

   In the first ink pulse, artists have 40 seconds to privately create from one to three continuous strokes. A submitted fragment locks; when everyone has answered or time expires, all fragments appear on the shared composition at the same time.

5. 5

   After a five-second merge, the second pulse begins: artists see the shared composition and have 30 seconds to add from one to two new continuous strokes under the same signature. Letters, digits, prepared images, and clues by voice or outside the app are forbidden.

6. 6

   The group may discuss the drawing for up to 25 seconds without revealing roles or private images. The Curator then receives four shuffled object names and has 15 seconds to lock one privately; option order never marks the true or false target.

7. 7

   After the Curator locks a choice, every participant has 20 seconds to secretly accuse exactly one neutral signature. An artist cannot vote for their own signature; a miss is never replaced by an automatic vote, and only a unique plurality produces an accused artist.

8. 8

   Selecting the true target and catching the Distorter are two independent outcomes. A missed Curator choice, a wrong object, tied accusations, no votes, or accusing another artist counts as Distorter success for the corresponding outcome.

9. 9

   For selecting the true target, each of the N − 1 players other than the Distorter earns 100 points. If the target is not selected, only the Distorter earns (N − 1) × 100 points; choosing the false or a neutral option has no partial reward.

10. 10

    For uniquely accusing the Distorter, each of the N − 1 other players earns another 100 points. For any other accusation result, only the Distorter earns another (N − 1) × 100; a round therefore yields at most 200 per non-Distorter or 2 × (N − 1) × 100 to the Distorter.

11. 11

    During the 12-second reveal, the app shows the true and false targets, the Curator’s choice, votes, signatures mapped to authors, the Distorter’s role, and scoring. Before then spectators see only the public category, closeness level, canvas, timers, and readiness: they receive no role, word, option, or action.

12. 12

    A reconnecting player recovers only their own secrets and accepted actions; retrying a request never creates a second fragment, choice, vote, or award. After N rounds, the highest total wins and tied leaders share the victory.