Quick! Can you think of an animal name that contains L and D? Leopard! A place that contains R and B? Barnyard! A verb that contains P and E? Explode!
Duple challenges you to quickly turn two letters into a word. Players take turns flipping letter cards. When the symbols on two players' cards match, those players race to shout out a word that contains the letters on both cards.
Sound easy? Think again. Correct answers must conform to ever-changing categories, Wild Cards and Revealed Matches create unexpected faceoffs, and the All Play card gets everyone competing at once!
Components
- 64 Letter Cards
- 44 Category Cards
- 8 Wild Cards
- 4 All Play Cards
- Instructions
Setup
Shuffle the orange Letter Cards. Make sure the 8 green Wild Cards are spread throughout the deck. Place the deck facedown in the center of the table.
Shuffle the yellow Category Cards. Make sure the 4 blue All Play Cards are spread throughout the deck. Make sure the top 5 cards do not contain a blue All Play Card. Place the deck faceup next to the Letter Cards.
Game Play
1. Drawing Cards
Dealer goes first. Moving clockwise, players take turns drawing an orange Letter Card.
When it's your turn, draw a Letter Card and flip it over quickly so everyone can see its face. (On subsequent turns, flip your card onto the last card you drew, forming your Play Pile).
2. Faceoffs
After drawing your card, look around at all the Play Piles. Does the symbol on your new Letter Card match the symbol on another player's top Letter Card?
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If no, the next player draws.
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If yes (See Figure 2) you and the matching player face off by racing to shout out a word that:
- Contains the letters on both matching Letter Cards
- Conforms to the current Category Card
- Meets the criteria in Allowable Answers (see below)
The first player to shout out an acceptable word wins the faceoff.
Allowable Answers
- Single-word answers only
- Proper nouns are allowed if they satisfy the current category
- Proper nouns may be two or more words
- The two letters may appear anywhere within the word
- Answers can't be made plural to use up an S
- Answers must conform to the current Category Card
- Answers may be from the real world or a fictional work (book, television, movie, etc).
- If necessary, external reference material and/or group vote may be used to settle disputes.
3. After a Faceoff
The winner takes the top Letter Card from the loser's Play Pile and puts the card facedown in a separate Winning Pile.
Discard the top Category Card. A new category is now in effect.
Revealed Match: Make sure the loser's newly revealed Letter Card (if they have one) is not causing another faceoff. Drawing must not continue until all faceoffs have been played.
Play continues with the next player drawing a Letter Card.
4. Wild Cards
When a Wild Card appears in the Letter Card deck, place it faceup between the Letter and Category decks. (See Figure 3)
Wild Cards allow two unlike symbols to cause a faceoff.
Wild Cards only become active if both symbols on the Wild Card appear on two players' Letter Cards. The matching players then face off.
Wild Cards stay in play until they are replaced by a new Wild Card.
If you draw a Wild Card, allow any faceoffs it causes, then draw a Letter Card to complete your turn.
5. Cascades
Look out! Sometimes, due to a mixture of
Revealed Matches and Wild Cards, a whole series of faceoffs can occur. This is called a Cascade. Remember, drawing must not continue until all possible faceoffs have been played.
6. All Play Cards
When an All Play Card appears in the Category Card deck, all players race to think of a word that uses all the letters currently faceup on the table. (
Allowable Answers for All Play: No category. Single-word answers only. No proper nouns.
If no one thinks of word after about 30 seconds, shuffle the All Play Card back into the Category Cards. Play continues with the next player drawing a Letter Card.
If you win the All Play, take the All Play Card and put it in your Winning Pile. It's worth 2 points at the end of the game.
7. Category Cards
The Category Card changes after each faceoff. But if you get stuck for more than about 10 seconds during a faceoff, you can change the Category Card at will. a.
If an All Play card appears during a tiebreak, place it back into the deck.
8. Tiebreakers
During a faceoff, if two players come up with a valid answer at the same time, they draw a new Category Card and face off again with the same letters.
9. Keeping your Place
Duple can get pretty exciting! Sometimes it's hard to remember whose turn it is. Pass around a coin or salt shaker to help keep track.
End of the Game
When there are no more Letter Cards, players count the number of cards in their Winning Piles. Letter Cards are worth 1 point. All Play Cards are worth 2 points. The player with the most points wins.
Some Friendly Reminders
Card Flipping: Flip your Letter Cards quickly! Make sure that all players can see your card's face at the same time.
You may not peek at your card, and you must keep your hands out of the way. We suggest grasping the card from the far edge and quickly flipping it back toward yourself.
Unnoticed Faceoffs: If there is a match on the table but the matching players do not notice it, another player should prompt them to look more closely.
Urgent murmuring usually does the trick. Poking can be helpful too. Remember, drawing must not continue until all faceoffs have been played.
Two-Player Variant: For a two-player game, we suggest that each player maintain 2 Play Piles simultaneously. This will create a game with 4 Play Piles.
If a match occurs within a player's Play Piles, both players race to come up with an answer for the matching cards. The winner gets the card that was just drawn.
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