Rules of the Board Game Word Mastermind

Setting Up

• "Word Mastermind" contains 404 letter tiles that are similar to those used in games such as "Scrabble." In addition, there are black and white pegs that are used to denote when the player has guessed the correct letter and the correct position of the letter.

  One player selects a three- or four-letter word that his opponent will need to guess. He takes the letters that make up his word and places them behind the word shield of the game board. The rest of the letter tiles are given to his opponent. The guessing player is told how many letters are in the word.

Playing the Game

• The guessing player chooses a word and places lettered tiles on the game board to form that word. For example, if she is trying to guess a four-letter word, she might place "ever" on the board as her first guess.

  The player who chose the word compares the guess with the actual word and provides clues in the form of black and white pegs. He places a black peg next to each correct letter that is in the correct location and a white peg next to each correct letter that is in the wrong location. For example, if the actual word is "liar," a black peg would be awarded, since the letter "R" is in the right location.

  The guessing player then puts down her next guess. Because she knows that one of the letters is correct but does not know which one, she might put down "exit." In this case, the other player will place one white peg next to the answer for the letter "I," which is the correct letter but in the wrong location.

Winning

• Play continues for eight turns, with the guessing player trying to narrow down the word using the clues provided to her. If the guessing player puts down the right word by the end of the eighth turn, she wins the round and switches roles with her competitor. If she fails to guess the word by the end of the eighth turn, she must try to guess a new word.