the complete season 2 rulebook
Think you can guess an album from just a few notes?
Every Thursday, over the course of 24 hours, I play three short instrumental snippets from separate tracks on the same studio album. The first tune might be tricky, but by the third you’ll probably recognize the big hit that gives it away.
Your job? Name That Album and DM me the correct title before Friday’s reveal. The faster you solve it, the more points you rack up.
Here’s the twist! Early in the week (Mon-Wed), I hide up to three Easter Eggs ➡️ sly visual, audio, or text clues tucked into random videos. Do your detective work, crack those eggs, and you just might figure out the mystery album before the music even drops!
The coolest part? Weekly winners get the option to steer the game by choosing the next mystery album for everyone to chase.
🌟 Official NTA Seasons add running leaderboards, power‑ups, and even a grand prize. At its core, NTA is exactly what it sounds like: hear a clue and solve the musical mystery. Play as much or as little detective as you want!
🗓️ Season 2 of NTA runs Aug 7 - Sept 11!
📜 HOW TO PLAY
Each week runs like this:
•Mon–Wed: Teaser Reels may pop up early in the week. Sometimes you’ll see a Quickie (a one‑time bonus game that’s usually unrelated to the mystery album). Other Reels might feature random performances that also aren’t from the album. Don’t assume the music you hear is a clue!
On Wednesday, the Pre‑Check Reel drops. This is the one guaranteed midweek post, and it lists up to 3 Easter Eggs hidden so far (from Mon, Tue, or the Pre‑Check itself). These Eggs reference the week’s mystery album or artist, but it’s up to you to research (use the internet) and connect the dots.
• Thu & Fri: Three Music Clues from the mystery album are released over 24 hours, ending with Friday’s Reveal.
8AM THU - music clue #1 (more obscure track from album, or done in a slightly different musical style…)
8PM THU - music clue #2 (probably more recognizable)
8AM FRI - music clue #3 (the ‘big hit’)
8PM FRI - album REVEAL and fastest 3 guessers recognized. All album guesses and Egg IDs must be in by then to score points!
• Weekend: The Recap Reel is released, breaking down all the music clues, easter eggs, and leaderboard updates.
The Goal: Guess the weekly mystery album!
• These are always original studio albums by a single artist or group, released between 1950 and today. No live albums, “best of” compilations, or soundtracks (unless I say otherwise).
• Each album will include at least one well‑known track (roughly 30M Spotify plays or a US Top 40 hit).
How to guess: DM me on Instagram or Facebook with the album title! Same goes for Quickies and Easter Egg IDs.
• ❌ Comments don’t count.
• ✅ Your first DM is your official guess and only chance to score album points (see Scoring), unless you’ve used a Mulligan (see Power‑Ups).
New players can jump in any week. The game is always free to play!
🗓️ Season 2 of NTA runs Aug 7 - Sept 11!
📈 SCORING SYSTEM
Here’s how you rack up points each week. The earlier your guess, the bigger your haul.
Main Album Points (you only get one chance to guess for points, so choose wisely!)
✅ 15 pts — Guess correctly before the Music Clues (Wed/early guess)
✅ 10 pts — After Music Clue 1, but before Clue 2
✅ 7 pts — After Clue 2, before Clue 3
✅ 5 pts — After Clue 3, before the Reveal
❌ 0 pts — After the Reveal (or for incorrect guesses)
Top 3 Bonus Points (fastest to guess correctly)
🥇 1st place: +5 pts
🥈 2nd place: +2 pts
🥉 3rd place: +1 pt
Easter Egg Identification (explain the references listed in the Wednesday Pre-check)
+1 pt each (maximum of 3 hidden per week. DM your Egg IDs anytime before the Friday Reveal)
Early-week Quickies (Mon–Wed one-off games)
+2 pts for a correct answer (+2 more if you’re first. DM your answer to score)
🥚 EASTER EGGS & WED PRE-CHECK
Your chance to live out your detective fantasy in a low‑risk way.
Easter Eggs are sly nods to the mystery album or artist. Sometimes a visual flash, sometimes a sound, sometimes even a riddle. They might hint at the album’s release year, recording location, track titles, or cover art. At first they’ll feel random, but every Wednesday the Pre‑Check Reel drops and spells out exactly which references are “in play” that week (up to 3 total).
From there, you choose your strategy:
🎲 Guess early and risk it all for maximum points.
🔍 Or collect the eggs, connect the dots, and wait for the music clues to confirm your hunch.
✅ You can DM me your egg IDs anytime before Friday’s Reveal for +1 point each.
🚨 Only eggs listed in the Pre‑Check count for points.
🎹 Hints in the Music Clues don’t score you points. They just help you figure out which song you’re hearing. By Clue 3, it should be pretty obvious!
🎮 QUICKIES (BONUS GAMES)
Quickies are occasional one‑off puzzles that pop up early in the week.
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They might ask for an album title, artist, year, or another music fact.
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Follow the instructions/caption and DM your answer!
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All correct answers earn +2 points.
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The first correct answer earns an extra +2 points.
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Just like all early-week Teasers, this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the mystery album!
Quickies aren’t guaranteed every week. They’re surprise bonus rounds that keep you on your toes!
🏆 GOLDEN RIGHT OF SELECTION
Every week’s fastest mystery album guesser earns the Golden Right of Selection.
They can choose to:
🎵 Pick next week’s Teaser song (stay in the game)
💿 Pick next week’s mystery album (but sit out guessing that week*)
❌ Do nothing and let me pick everything next week!
✨This game is shaped by YOU!
*If you pick the next mystery album, you’ll start the following week with a +10 point baseline, the same as guessing correctly after the first music clue. You can still earn points by spotting Easter Eggs and playing Quickies, so you won’t feel penalized for being a winner!
SUMMER BREAK POINTS ➡️ TOKENS
All those Summer Break points you earned? They didn’t disappear, they turned into tokens for Season 2:
• 0–50 pts → 2 tokens
• 51–100 pts → 3 tokens
• 101–150 pts → 4 tokens
• 151–200 pts → 5 tokens
• 201–250 pts → 6 tokens
🎟 Tokens buy Power‑Ups for Season 2 only. Use them wisely!
🛠 THE POWER-UPS
Power-ups are super helpful… but here’s the catch:
• You can ONLY purchase/use one (1) power‑up per week.
• You MUST lock in your power‑up by Wednesday @10PM ET. Yes, even the Mulligan!
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🕵️ EGG FINDER – 1 token
• I reveal one Easter Egg and its meaning (you also earn that egg’s point).
• 📩 Delivered Thursday @ 7:30 AM ET via DM (30 mins before Music Clue #1)
⏰ EARLY ACCESS – 2 tokens
• Get Music Clue 1 one hour early (AUDIO ONLY).
• 📩 Delivered Thursday @ 7:00 AM ET via DM (60 mins before Music Clue #1)
🔁 MULLIGAN – 2 tokens
• If your first album guess is wrong, you get a do‑over and can still earn points. But you MUST lock it in early!
⚠️ Used whether your first guess is wrong OR right.
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📜 POWER‑UP RULES
✅ Only ONE power‑up can be used per week.
✅ Lock in your choice by Wednesday 10PM ET (send me a DM).
✅ Power‑ups are delivered in batches:
• 7:00 AM – Early Access audio via DM
• 7:30 AM – Egg Finder reveal via DM
✅ Mulligan is “on call”:
• If you declared it, you’ll automatically get a second guess if your first is wrong, but it’s spent whether you use that second guess or not!
🏆 FAST PASS NOTE
Fezzik, Summer Break’s top scorer, holds the one‑of‑a‑kind Fast Pass:
🎯 Allows one automatic jump to 2nd place in any chosen week, regardless of album guess timing. This bumps everyone else (other than 1st place) down a rung.
⏰ Must be locked in by Wednesday 10PM ET, just like all power‑ups.
✅ Only works if Fezzik’s album guess is correct.
🚫 Not purchasable, this was a unique reward.
🗓 WEEKLy SCHEDULE (SEASON 2)
•Mon & Tue — (optional) Teaser videos
•Wed — Pre-check Reel w/Easter Egg list
•Thu 8 AM — Music Clue #1
•Thu 8 PM — Music Clue #2
•Fri 8 AM — Music Clue #3
•Fri 8 PM — Album Reveal + cut‑off for all guesses & eggs
•Weekend — Recap Reel
🗓️ Season 2 of NTA runs Aug 7 - Sept 11!
❓FAQs❓
Q. What if my first guess for the mystery album is incorrect?
A. Unless you used a Mulligan, you’re sadly out of the running for main album points. But you can still ID Easter Eggs for bonus points before the Friday Reveal!
Q. How do I use my tokens for power-ups?
A. DM me your choice by Wednesday 10PM ET.
Q. What if I don’t DM my power-up choice by Wednesday?
A. Then you can’t use a power‑up that week, sorry!
Q. How do Quickies work?
A. Quickies are one-time bonus games that may appear Mon–Wed. Follow the instructions (they aren’t always “Name That Album”) and DM your answer to earn bonus points.
Q. How difficult are these Easter Eggs?
A. Most, if not all, information tied to Eggs can be verified on Wikipedia, usually within the album, artist, or song title pages. But finding the connections to lead you there is on you, detective!
Q. What if I have a question that’s not listed here?
A. Send me a DM, I’m happy to help!