Ransom Notes: the base game
$39.99
★ 4.69,048 ratings
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 at our retail partner in September 2026. The live listing has the final say.
See the shelfNot sure? Two questions sort it
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.
- 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.
- Build your note
Two minutes with the magnets in front of you. The word you need is never there, so you make do, badly.
- 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.
9boxes on the shelf
11,336ratings across the line
4.6 of 5average grade
648prompt cards in print
The game and the expansions
Start with the base kit. Add packs to shift the tone of the room or grab a bundle to set the whole shelf at once.
Expansion Pack One
$24.99
★ 4.6376 ratings
NSFW Edition pack
$17.99
★ 4.5268 ratings
Family Edition pack
$17.99
★ 4.6112 ratings
Full Collection bundle
$73.69
★ 5.02 ratings
Abducktion
$29.99
★ 4.81,318 ratings
IntergalacDuck expansion
$19.99
★ 4.6100 ratings
Tiny Laser Heist
$39.99
★ 4.6112 ratings
Great Gift bundle
$133.57
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.
| Pack | What it adds | Best table | Age mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expansion Pack One | 198 new prompt cards | Big groups and regulars | 15+ |
| NSFW Edition pack | 180 new words + 100 prompts, adults only | Late nights, grown company | 17+ |
| Family Edition pack | 180 new words + 100 family prompts | Kids and mixed tables | 12+ |
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
More games from our table
We make quick-start board games with short rule sheets, including our duck logic game Abducktion, its expansion IntergalacDuck, and Tiny Laser Heist.
Very Special Games138 Braselton Pkwy, Bldg. 300Braselton, 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 our retail partner, 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 expansion pack requires the base game. The packs contain extra prompt cards and word magnets, while the base box holds the metal answer cards you build on.
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.
| Kind | On the shelf | The short of it |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone games | 3 | Ransom Notes plus our duck logic and heist tables. Each one plays out of its own box. |
| Expansion packs | 4 | New words and prompt cards that slide into a base game. None of them play alone. |
| Bundles | 2 | Several 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, or pick up a bundle to get the entire collection together.
Find your box
Check the shelf below to pick your starter box or round out your magnet collection.
Open the shelfWho’s coming over?