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80% truth, 20% lie

This mode also builds on the normal Guess Ladder board — 30 squares, the same slides, the same betting squares. The difference happens between rounds. Someone is picked, given a personal question and a secret instruction: either answer honestly or make something up. Everyone else sees only the answer and has to decide what is true.

How an interlude works

  1. One player is picked. This happens shortly after the pieces have moved at the end of a normal round.
  2. Everyone sees the question. It is on screen from the start — everyone knows what is being asked.
  3. Only one person gets the instruction. "Tell the truth" or "lie". The split is deliberately uneven: in four cases out of five the instruction is truth.
  4. The answer is written. Up to 50 words, visible to everyone once it is submitted.
  5. Everyone else votes. Truth or lie, each on their own.
  6. The reveal. The instruction is uncovered, along with every individual vote by name.

Why 80/20 and not 50/50

The uneven ratio is the heart of the mode. At even odds the vote would be a coin flip and the answer would not matter. At 80/20 the sensible default assumption is always "this is probably true" — and that is exactly what you have to argue against when something feels off.

For the player answering, the task inverts as well. In most rounds they are being honest and are watched as though they might be lying anyway. Anyone with a true but implausible story to tell will have the best evening of their life here.

What it costs

Nothing. The interlude moves no pieces — not the writer's and not the voters'. It is a social break between two estimation rounds, not a competition inside the competition. Who wins is still decided on the ladder board.

That is precisely why you can be honest here without risking anything. There is no incentive to hide behind a boring answer.

The board

Play runs on the usual 30 squares with betting squares on 12, 20 and 28 and slides from 9 to 5 and from 27 to 23. Everything on the Guess Ladder page about placements, bets and Split or Steal applies unchanged.

Tips

When lying, stay close to the truth

An invented story made up of 90 per cent real detail is practically undetectable. Invent everything from scratch and you will tangle yourself up in your own account.

When telling the truth, do not be too polished

A very clean, very fitting answer looks constructed. Include the embarrassing details and you are more likely to be believed.

When voting, remember the base rate

Four answers in five are honest. Voting "lie" every other round is statistically wrong most of the time — however right it feels in the moment.

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