Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Set Up
Ensure you have 14 game cubes, a shaking cup and a timer that can be set to 3 minutes. Have paper and pencil handy for keeping score.
Determine the number of players. The game can be played alone, with others or in teams. One player keeps score.
Establish a standard dictionary. Only words contained in that dictionary are eligible for play in the game.
Commit to play either Game One or Game Two. In Game One, each turn is timed, and players make as many words of any length that they can before the timer runs out. In Game Two, players have more than one try to complete at least one word of seven different lengths. Game one will finish more quickly.
Play to a score limit, or a turn or round limit. If score is used, the original game suggests 200 points for Game One and 300 for Game Two. Each time the letters are spilled onto the table is considered a turn. In Game Two, players are entitled to between two and four turns (a round) to earn a better score. You can limit the number of turns each player takes in either Game One or Game Two. You can limit the number of rounds each player takes in Game Two.
Shake all cubes in the Shaking Cup and roll onto the table. Add up the value of the face-up letters (point values are by the letters). Each player does the same; the one with the highest letter value goes first. If playing in teams, one player from the team shakes to determine order of play.
Game One
Place all cubes in the Shaking Cup and the first player shakes and rolls the cubes onto the table. The scorekeeper starts the timer.
Create as many words as possible in an across or up-and-down pattern. Begin with Player One. Words can be of any length. All words must connect. Proper nouns, contractions requiring apostrophes, foreign words or words requiring hyphens are not allowed. Blank tiles may be designated as any letter but, once designated, must remain the same for the course of the turn.
Tally Player One's score when the timer runs out by adding the letter score for each word Player One created. If a cube appears in two words, it will be counted twice -- once for word one, and once for word two. Add the total of the face value of the cubes not used. Subtract from the first total and record the result on paper as Player One's score for his first turn.
Pass the cubes to Player Two. Continue play as in Step 3, passing the cubes to the next player when the turn is complete. The game continues in this way either until the predetermined score is reached, or until each player has had the predetermined number of turns.The winner is the individual or team with the highest score.
Game Two
Place all cubes in the Shaking Cup and the first player shakes and rolls the cubes onto the table to begin his turn.
Create up to seven words in an across and up-and-down pattern, using the face-up letters of the cubes. Create just one word of each word length, from two letters to eight. All words must connect. Proper nouns, contractions requiring apostrophes, foreign words or words requiring hyphens are not allowed. Blank tiles can be designated as any letter, but once designated, must remain the same for the course of the turn. While any number of word lengths can be created, only one of each word length will be counted.
Count Player One's score when he can make no more words. Include only one two-letter word, one three-letter, one four-letter, one five-letter, one six-letter, one seven-letter and one eight-letter word over the course of a round. Once a player has created a word of one of these lengths, he cannot count a word of the same length during that round. If he does, the higher scoring of the two words is discounted and the value of the word deducted from the player's score.
Add the letter score for each word. If a cube appears in two words, it will be counted twice -- once for word one, and once for word two. Add the total of the face value of the cubes not used. Subtract that total from the first total. Record the result on paper. The scorekeeper then ticks off the number of words of two, three, four, five, six and seven letters Player One created and records this next to Player One's name.
Pass the cubes to Player Two; player one's second turn occurs once all players have had their first turn. A round can continue for up to four shakes (turns). All players must take two turns. A player can pass over his third and fourth turns if he feels he cannot better his score.
Shake, roll, spell, and pass the cubes until all players create a word of each length. The round also ends for a player if they pass their turn, or reach the maximum of four turns.
Score a player on each word length they create; ideally each player should have seven words to add by the time a round is finished.
Score a Grand Slam, or 50 extra points, for any player that completes all seven word lengths within two turns. Add 50 points to his word score. Score a Small Grand Slam, or 25 extra points, for any player that completes all seven word lengths within three turns.
End the game after an agreed number of rounds or a certain score is reached.