CROSSWORD GAME GAME RULES FOR 2 TO 4 PLAYERS / AGES 8 TO ADULT CONTENTS: ‘Gameboard, 100 letter tiles. letter pouch, 4 tile racks. OBJECT In the SCRABBLE® game, players form interlocking words, crossword fashion, on the board using letter tiles of different values. Each player competes for high score by taking advantage of the letter tiles, as well as the premium squares on the board. In a 2:player game, a good player scores in the 300-400 point range. SETUP Place al letter tiles in the pouch, or facedown beside the board, and mix them up. Draw for first play, The player with the letter closest to “A” plays first, A blank tile beals any letter, Return the letters to the pool and remix. All players draw seven new letters each tnd place them in their racks. GAMEPLAY 1, The first player combines two or more of his or her letters « form a word, and places the word on the board to read either across or down with one Teter on the center square, Diagonal words are not allowed, 2. Complete your tum by counting and announcing the score for that turn, ‘Then draw ‘as many new leiters as you played, always keeping seven Tetiers on your rack, as Tong as there are enough left in the pouch, 3. Play passes (0 the left: The second player, and then each in turn, adds one or more eters to those already played 10 form new words. All letiers played on a ten must ‘be pliced in one row across or down the hosrd to form at least one complete word If, atthe same time, they touch other letters in adjacent rows, those must fort complete words, crossword fashion, with all such letters, The player gets full credit for all words formed or modified on his or her turn, 4, New words may be formed by: 4 Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board. », Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the board. The new Word must ‘use one of the letters already on the board or must add a letter to it. (See Turns 2, 3 and 4-00 page 6.) ¢. Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so the adjacent letters also form complete words. (See Turn 5 on page 6.) 5. No tile may be shifted or replaced after it has been played and scored. 6, Blanks: The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a blank, you ‘must sate which eter it represents. It remains that letter for the rest of the game. 7, You may use a cum to exchange all, some, or none of your letters, To do this, place your discarded letter(s) facedown. Draw the same number of letters fromthe pool, then mix your discarded letter(s) into the pool, This ends your tura, 8. Before the game begins, players should agree on which dictionary they will use. in tease of a challenge. All words labeled as a part of speech (including those listed of foreign origin, and as archaic, obsolete, colloquial, slang, etc.) are permitted with the exception of the following: words always capitalized, abbreviations, prefixes and suffixes standing alone, words requiring a hyphen or an apostrophe. ‘Any play may’ be challenge! before the next player starts a tir, Ifthe play challenged is unaceeptable, the challenged player takes buck his or her tiles and loses that tur. I the play challenged is accepable, the challenger loses his or hee next rum. All words (aot just one) made in one ple are challenged simultaneausy. If any word is unacceptable, the entire play is unacceptable. Only one tunis los on any challenge Consult the dictionary for challenges only 9.. Bndling the Game: The pame eis when all letters have Been drava ancl one plaver uses his or her last letter, or when all posible plays have been made. SCORING 1. The seorekeeper tallies each player's score, entering it after cach turn. The score value ofeach letter is indicated by a number at the bottom of the tle. The score value of « blank is zero. 2. ‘The score for cach turn is the sum of the leter values in each word(s) formed of modified fn that turn, plus the additional points obtained from placing letters on premium squares. 3, Premium Letter Squares: A light blue square doubles the Score of a letier placed on it; a dark blue square triples the letter score 4, Premium Word Squares: The score for an entire word is doubled when one of its letters is placed on a pink square; itis tripled when one of its letters is placed on a red square, Include premiums for double or triple letter values, if any, before doubling, or tripling the word score, If.4 word covers two premium word squares, he score is doubled and then re-doubled (4 times the letter count), or tripled and then retripled (9 times the letter count) NOTE: The center % square is a pink square, which doubles the score for the frst word.5. Letter and word premiums count only on the turn in which Uiey are played. On later turns, leters already played on premium squares count at face value, 6. When a blank tile is played on a pink or red square, the value of the word is doubled or tripled, even though the blank itself has no score value, 7. When two or more words are formed in the sume play, exch is scored. The common letter is counted (with full premium value, if any) for cach word. (See Turns 3, 4 and 5 on page 4.) 8. BINGO! If you play seven tiles on a tum, it’s a Bingo. You score a premium of 50 points after totaling your score for the tur, 9. Unplayed Letters: When the game ends, each player's score is reduced by the sum of his or her unplayed letters. In addition, if a player used all bis or her letters, the sum of the other players’ unplayed letters is added to that player’s score, HOW TO WIN ‘The player with the highest final score wins the game. In case of a te, the player with the highest score before adding or deducting unplayed letters wins RULES FOR SHORTER GAMEPLAY New SCRABBLE game players should find these versions faster and more inviting than the standard version, 9-TILE SCRABBLE GAME ‘This variant is identical to the original game except players have 9 tiles on their racks instead of the usual 7, You score a $0-point Binge bonus for using 7, 8, or all 9 tiles ‘on your rack. FINISH LINE SCRABBLE GAME In this variant, the game is over when one player reaches a pre-decided score, no ‘matter how many tiles are left. This variant allows mixed play-level groups, as the score needed to. win depends on the level of the player (Beginner, Intermediate, or Expert, Here are the points needed to win the game. Beginner Intermediate Expert Two Players 70 120 200 Three Players 60 100 180 FourPlayers 50 90 160 If players of the same level are playing, each needs to reach the same score, For example, two Intermediate players would be playing to 120 and four Beginners would each be playing to 50.10 Ways to Become an Instant SCRABBLE Game Expert . TWO- AND THREE-LETTER WORDS Learn the 2-letter and 3-letter words. They are the building blocks of expert play and can boost your average score by as much as 50 points per game. . SECRET OF THE “S” Use an $ to form two words at once. Pluralize one word while forming another at the same time, Hint: Use your S wisely Don't add it unless you can earn at least 8 points by doing so. . SHUFFLE TILES ‘hulle the tiles on your rack frequently. Look for some common | ‘ways that leters go together. Some of these are BR, CH,CL,DLE, | ED, BNT, EST, FUL, GHT, ING, NK, KLE, MIS, ISM, IUM,MB, | MP, ND, NT, PR, PL, RE, STR, TH, UN, IVE and OUS. As you | form these combinations, it may surprise you how words will often appear on your rack when you least expect them. 4, BONUS SQUARES Always look for ways to play across premium squares. Check especially for premium squares next to vowels. 5. CONSIDER YOUR NEXT PLAY ‘Make your play with an eye toward your next play. You can do so simply by saving some good tiles on your rack. Your best chance of having a groat next rack is to save some combination of the letters ii ), ideally saving either the same ‘number of vowels and consonants, or just one extra consonant. 6. BINGO'S There's no doubt about it — it takes a stellar vocabulary and super strategies to become a SCRABBLE expert. Looking for instant results? These tips from seasoned SCRABBLE players could fielp you rule the hoard! Always look for Bingo’s (using all 7 tiles at once). Optimism and know-how will mean more 50-point bonuses. Learn common word beginnings and endings and know how to place them on your rack. 7, QWITHOUT U ‘Learn the Q-without-U words. The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary (third edition) lists these: QAT(S), QAIDS), QOPHS), FAQIR(S), QANAT(S), TRANQ(S), QINDAR(S),QINTARG), QWERTY(S), SHEQEL, QINDARKA and SHEQALIM, 8. LOOK FOR HOOKS “Hooks” are single letters that you can add to existing words that form ‘other words. We've already mentioned the “S hook,” but also Took for words you could end with a Y, E, R or D. Example: HAND(Y), PLAN(E), TAME(D, R), 9. CHOICE OF PLAYS After you find a good play, if you have time, look for a better one. Always try to give yourself a choice of plays, By exercising your decision-making abilities, you'll likely develop keener strategie skills 10. ATTITUDE Keep in mind that anyone can beat anyone else with a certain amount of luck. Also remember that everyone draws poor combinations of tiles at times, so when you do, take pleasure in making the best play you can, Finally, don't dwell on your mistakes. Everyone makes them, ‘0 go easy on yourself and just enjoy playing!EXAMPLES OF WORD FORMATION AND SCORING In the following, the words or letters added on five successive turns are shown in bold type. The scores shown reflect the letter R being on the center * squate. In Turn 1, count HORN; in Tum 2, FARM; in Tum 3, PASTE and FARMS; in Turn 4, MOB, NOT and BE; in Turn 5, BIT, PI and AT. ‘Tum 1: Score 14 | Tum 2: Seore9 Turn 3: Score 25 | F iF | fe ah HORN _HOR HORN TM M | PASTE Turn 4: Score 16 Turn 5: Score 16 F FI A A HORN HORN MOB MOB PASTE PASTE BIT ‘Weil be mppy ear your goto comune ali ue. 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