Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Set up the Game
Pass out a plastic tile rack to each player.
Turn all the letters face down and mix them up.
Draw one letter tile from the draw pile. Every player should do this. The first player will be the one who draws the letter closest to "A." Play then continues counter-clockwise. The letters are returned to the draw pile and mixed in with the others.
Draw seven letter tiles. Every player draws seven tiles and then stands them up in his rack.
Take a Turn
Play tiles to form a word on your turn. You can make words by adding tiles that connect to a word already on the board or that changes a word already on the board to a different word. You must play all the letters in a single row or column, though it can form more than one word depending on the number of tiles it touches.
Add your score. Announce it so the scorekeeper can record it. See the section on scoring for instructions on how to total your score.
Draw letter tiles from the draw pile to bring the total on your rack back up to seven tiles.
Form Words
Play letters to form a word that reads across or down. The first word to be played must be at least two letters long and must cover one of the four textured game squares in the middle of the board. After the first word, the words played must connect to a word already on the board.
Stack letters on top of other letters to form a new word. For example, if the word "word" is on the board, you could play an O over the R to make the word "wood." You cannot play more than one letter on the same stack during a single turn nor can you stack a duplicate letter on top of the same letter.
Build a new word and change an existing word on the same turn. When you do this, you score both words again.
Score Words
Score two points per tile for any word in which all of its letters are only one tile high.
Score one point per letter tile for any word in which one or more letters are stacked on top of each other. Count every letter in the newly formed word and every tile that is stacked up under the word.
Score two bonus points if the Qu tile is used in a word where all the letters are only one tile high.
Score 20 bonus points when you use all seven of your tiles in one turn.
Score all words that you form during your turn. If a stack of letters is used in more than one word, it is scored for each word.
Subtract five points from your total score at the end of the game for each tile that is left on your rack.
Follow Additional Rules
Challenge an opponent's word if you think that it is an illegal word or that it is spelled wrong. Challenge the word before another word is played. Use the dictionary to determine whether the word is legal. If it is not, the player must remove the letter tiles from the board. He can then play another word or pass.
Pass your turn if you think that you would be better to save your tiles until your next turn or if you have no words you can play.
Exchange one letter tile once per turn. You may not play a word if you exchange a tile.
End the game when all letter tiles have been played or when none of the players can make a word on the board with their remaining tiles. The winner is the player with the highest score.