Words Are Hard is a series of rapid one-on-one matchups that can be played with any number of players. The dealer faces opponents one at a time until defeated, at which point the deck is handed to the winning opponent who becomes the new dealer.

In each matchup, the dealer faces their opponent and flips over a card to reveal an image. To win the matchup a player must say a word that starts with the first letter of the depicted image and then slap the card. If a player slaps the card before saying a valid word, they lose the matchup.

The winning player collects the card and becomes (or continues to be) the dealer. Play continues clockwise around the table. The goal is to collect the most cards.