Cut straight to the words
Ransom Notes, to the front of the fridge

Words out of place on purpose

Ransom Notes, the magnetic word party game

One player reads a prompt aloud. You have two minutes to build your answer using only the word magnets on your metal card. The judge picks the best note, and the whole table hears why.

  • 840 word magnets
  • 6 metal cards
  • 250 prompts
  • Rules in about a minute
$39.99Noted in October 2026. The live listing has the final say.
See the shelfNot sure? Two questions sort it
Ransom Notes: the base game box lid

Inside the base box

A wall of word magnets, metal answer cards for the table, and a thick stack of prompts ready to deal.

  • 840 word magnetsThe pool everyone grabs from. Never the words you want, always the words you get.
  • 6 metal cardsOne per player. Your answer gets built here, magnet by magnet.
  • 250 promptsQuestions nobody should have to answer, dealt one per round.

How a round works

Learn the loop in about a minute. The words never say what you want them to say, and that is where the round happens.

  1. Flip a prompt

    One card off the top, read aloud. Something out there has gone wrong, and the whole table has to answer for it.

  2. Build your note

    Two minutes with the magnets in front of you. The word you need is never there, so you make do, badly.

  3. Read and judge

    Every note gets read aloud, the judge crowns one, and the prompt card goes to the winner. Five cards takes the game.

Read the full rules on the pinboard

16boxes on the shelf
13,084ratings across the line
4.6 of 5average grade
648prompt cards in print

The game and the expansions

Start with the base kit, or with the two-player edition if the table is just the pair of you. Add packs to shift the tone of the room, or take a combo and set the whole shelf at once.

Couples Edition

Standalone game2+ players17+Ransom Notes
$24.97
★ 4.333 ratings

Abducktion

Standalone game2–4 players12+Very Special Games
$34.99
★ 4.81,170 ratings

Tiny Laser Heist

Standalone game3–6 players12+Very Special Games
$39.99
★ 4.1114 ratings

Packs for different tables

Each pack adds new words or new prompt cards, but all three packs need the base game underneath them to play. The base kit brings the metal cards and the main magnet pool. Pick the expansion that matches who sits across from you.

PackWhat it addsBest tableAge mark
Expansion Pack One198 new prompt cardsBig groups and regulars15+
NSFW Edition pack180 new words + 100 prompts, adults onlyLate nights, grown company17+
Family Edition pack180 new words + 100 family promptsKids and mixed tables12+

Prompts that break sentences

A neat sentence rarely wins. The table rewards the desperate line you assembled with four seconds left on the clock.

“Tell someone you’ve clogged their toilet at a party”From the base deck
“Write a cheer for your high school chess team”From Expansion Pack One
“What’s wrong with this soup?”From the Full Collection
Very Special Games publisher seal

More games from our table

We make quick-start board games with short rule sheets: our duck logic game Abducktion with its IntergalacDuck expansion, the Tiny Laser Heist with its Double Cross pack, and combos that put two of our boxes in one order.

AbducktionAbducktion bundleTiny Laser HeistIntergalacDuck expansionTiny Laser Heist bundleDouble Cross expansionAbducktion and Ransom Notes bundleAbducktion and Yamma bundle
Very Special Games138 Braselton Pkwy, Bldg. 300
Braselton, GA 30517

Letters reach us there, and that is the whole of it. It is where we work, not a shop: no shelf to browse, no counter, nothing to open and try. A box that has to go back belongs with the store that shipped it, never in our mailbox.

Why we build games this way

We believe rules should take about a minute to explain so people can start playing right away. We design our magnet packs to force awkward, funny phrasing because the gap between what you want to write and what you can build is where the table comes alive.

Questions from the table

Do the expansion packs work on their own?

No. Every pack needs its own base box underneath it: the Ransom Notes packs need the magnet kit for the metal answer cards, and the Double Cross pack needs the Tiny Laser Heist frame. The packs carry new cards and pieces, never the board underneath.

Is the base game fine for younger players?

The base box carries an older age mark on the side. Hosts can pull out the spicier cards beforehand, or swap in the Family Edition pack for kid-friendly slang and prompts.

How do large groups play?

Form small teams. Two or three players can share a single metal answer card, arguing over the magnet pile and building one line together before time runs out.

Do we play on the refrigerator door?

The magnets work on fridges between game nights, but round play happens on the flat metal answer cards right in your lap or on the table.

Choosing the right box for game night

The base kit is the core of everything on this shelf. It holds the full set of metal answer cards, the main magnet trays, and a thick stack of prompt cards. Expansion packs do not duplicate these pieces; they slide into the base game to refresh the pool with fresh vocabulary and prompt angles.

Consider who sits at the table before picking an add-on. If younger players are joining, the Family Edition pack swaps in gentle prompts and current slang. For late evenings with grown groups, the NSFW Edition pack keeps things blunt. Large gatherings running low on cards can add Expansion Pack One for fresh prompts, and a couch for two has its own standalone box in the Couples Edition.

Alongside the magnet line the shelf holds our other tables: Abducktion with its ducks and UFO, the Tiny Laser Heist with its padlocks and lasers, and the expansions that make each of them meaner. Combo boxes pair a base game with its pack, or put two different games in a single order for a shelf starting from nothing.

KindOn the shelfThe short of it
Standalone games4Ransom Notes plus our duck logic and heist tables. Each one plays out of its own box.
Expansion packs5New words and prompt cards that slide into a base game. None of them play alone.
Bundles7Several boxes in one order, for shelves starting from zero.

Where to begin

Grab the base game first. It gives you the full kit needed to seat a table, deal prompt cards, and start building answers on metal cards right away.

If you already own the base box, choose the expansion pack that fits your crowd. If the shelf is empty, a combo or a collection box covers the base game and its packs in one go, and the mixed bundles add a quieter logic game next to the loud one.

Find your box

Check the shelf below to pick your starter box or round out your magnet collection.

Open the shelfWho’s coming over?