Show & Tell

Call a foul when words, not the picture, would do the telling: writing made for the game (a note, letter tiles), a screen held up to show something, a hint the user types about the word, or your guess is written in the photo. Writing that's already in the world (a label, a logo, a sign) is not a foul unless your guess is written in it. The photo doesn't count and no shot is used. In Get Out & Go, pass the star if you know it. In a friends challenge, pass its challenge code.

Set up a friends challenge. The user gets a code and an invite to paste into their group chat (texts, WhatsApp, anything), and everyone who joins plays the same secret word by the daily's rules: six shots, a hint is a shot, fewest shots wins, ties go to the fastest. The user plays their own round right away, like a daily round, with the challenge code on every call. Joining stays open for 2 hours (or 1 or 3, their pick) for up to 8 players, and the board stays hidden until everyone's done or 24 hours pass. Pass rematch with a finished challenge's code to play the same group again with a new word.

Start or resume today's Show & Tell round. Show & Tell is a daily game you play with the user: they get a secret word you're not allowed to know, they send you photos of the real world, and you guess the word from the photos. Everyone gets the same word each day. Use this when the user wants to play or asks about today's word. The result has the score so far and how the user sees their word: on the Show & Tell card in apps that show it, or through a private link for the user. Only the user opens that link: it reveals the word, and opening it yourself voids the round. You start without the word's category; the user can spend a hint to reveal it. Leave player empty for a first-time player, then pass the returned code on every later call, including in new chats, so the streak carries over. With mode "go" it starts or resumes today's Get Out & Go instead: five words hiding outside, one at each star (1 to 5), open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the user's time zone. The user sees the five words on the card or a private /g/ link, never you. With mode "courses" it starts or resumes a Courses run instead: the result has a private /r/ link where the user checks in at a real place with their location; five words written for that place then start with a clock. With a challenge code it joins that friends challenge instead, or picks the user's round in it back up: the user says "Play Show & Tell challenge K7QFX". Pass name, the first name their friends know them by, for the board.

Lock in exactly one single-word guess for the user's newest photo, or for the hint they just spent, based on all of today's photos together. First describe the photo to the user in one sentence (after a hint, say what it changes). One guess per new photo or hint: otherwise the next guess waits for the next photo. Writing that's already in the world is fine, but the guess can't be a word written in the photo. When writing was made for the game, a screen stands in for the real thing, the user types a hint, or your guess is written in the photo, use call_foul instead. Returns how close the guess is: cold, warm, hot, burning, or correct. In Get Out & Go, pass star: which of the five words the photo is for. Use every photo of that word so far. In a friends challenge, pass its challenge code.

Use this only when the user asks for a hint. Reveals the word's category (after the first photo), its length (after 2 shots), or its first letter (after 4 shots). A hint is a shot of its own: right after it, call submit_guess with your guess, using every photo so far plus the hint; no new photo needed. One hint per shot. Each hint adds a 💡 to the user's share grid, and solving with no hints is the brag. In Get Out & Go, pass the star of the word, and kind "where" (where it's usually found), "letters" or "first_letter"; then guess that word right away with the same star. In a friends challenge, pass its challenge code; the hint shows on the board.

Check the user's Show & Tell day: whether today's word is played, their streak, whether the streak is at risk, and when the next word unlocks. Use it for check-ins and for daily reminders the user asked you to schedule. With mode "go" it checks Get Out & Go instead: whether today's list is open, how far along they are, and after 9 p.m. their results and the photobomb. With a challenge code it checks that friends challenge: who's in, who's done, and the board once it's out. Without one, the daily status also lists the user's challenges in play.