Components

• Scoring Gameboard
• Card Stacking Gameboard
• 230 Subject Cards
• 56 Letter Cards
• 8 Colored Pawns
• Electronic Random-Interval Timer
• Instructions

Object of the Game

Be the first player to move your pawn from Start to finish by racing opponents - and the random timer - to say the last word.

All players shout out words that fit Subject and Letter Cards in each round. The last player to call out a correct item before the timer buzzes scores!

Setup

• Place the two gameboards and timer in the center of the playing area so they are equally accessible to all players.

• Switch the timer to the "ON" position located on the underside of the unit.

• Have each player choose a colored pawn and place it on the Start space of the Scoring Gameboard.

• Separate the Letter and Subject Cards, shuffle each deck separately, and place them face-down on their respective areas of the Card Stacking Gameboard. These piles form the Letter draw pile and Subject draw pile.

• Have all players take one card from the top of the Subject Card draw pile. Each player reads his card silently and keeps the content of the card hidden from other players.

Game Play

1. 

   To start a round, any player turns over the top Letter Card, reads it aloud, and places it face-up on the space provided. 7//? is a Hot POTdTO card, skip to the next section to see how to play those rounds.

2. ALL PLAYERS now try to come up with a word that starts with the letter and fits the category of the Subject Card they are holding.

3. The first person who sets their Subject Card face-up on the Card Stacking Gameboard reads it aloud and calls out something that starts with the current letter and fits the subject.

   That player then IMMEDIATELY starts the random-interval timer by pressing the button!

   
   
   

4. There are no turns. All players (including the one who pressed the timer) now simultaneously blurt out any other words starting with the letter and fitting the subject.

5. Players continue saying words until the timer buzzes. Repeat words do not count.

   
   
   

6. The last player to completely finish saying a valid word before the timer buzzes wins the round and advances their pawn one space on the gameboard, towards Finish. If the timer buzzes while someone is in the middle of a word, that response does not count and the previous valid word scores.

7. The player who played his or her Subject Card draws a new one.

8. A new round begins with any player turning over the next Letter Card. If this draw pile runs out. shuffle all face-up Letter Cards to form a new one.

The first player to advance to the Finish space wins the game!

Hot Potato Cards;

When a Letter Card appears, play changes for that round.

How to Play a Hot Potato Round:

1. When a Letter Card marked HOT POTATO is turned over. ALL PLAYERS still try to play the Subject Card they are holding as in a normal round.

2. Also as in a normal round, the first person who sets their Subject Card face-up on the Card Stacking Gameboard reads it aloud and calls out a word that starts with the current letter and fits the subject.

   That player then IMMEDIATELY starts the random-interval timer by pressing the button - the game of HOT POTATO begins!

3. Players now take turns in a clockwise order! The player to the left of whoever started the HOT POTATO round now quickly says a valid word that fits the current letter and subject.

   After that person says something valid, play IMMEDIATELY passes to the next player on the left.

   
   
   

4. Play continues to move clockwise until time expires.

5. When the timer buzzes, whosever turn it was losing the round and moves their pawn backward one space on the gameboard, towards Start. Players can never move back past the Start space.

6. Play returns to normal when the next Letter Card is turned over - unless it is also a Hot Potato card.

Challenges

Inevitably, one of your friends will try to pull a fast one and slip in a completely bogus word or play a Subject Card without already having an item in mind. It is the group's job to keep them in line.

Don't believe "Somewhere with Tall Buildings" is a valid U.S. city? Speak up! Any response can be challenged by the group and majority rules. If the bogus word was the Last Word, the last valid response wins the round.

Strategy

There isn't any! If you knew how much time you had each round, you could try to wait until the last moment to blurt out words in hopes of winning. BUT the Last Word timer is unpredictable, so just keep blurting out words and hope for the best!

Difficult Subject Card

Sometimes a player will end up with a Subject Card that just isn't hitting the spot.

If someone is holding on to a card for a long time and can't come up with a word during a bunch of rounds, take pity on them and let them draw a new Subject Card.

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