Components

• Game Board
• 9 glass beads
• 6 wooden blocks
• 12 cubes
• 240 word cards
• 1 string
• 1 piece of green felt
• 4 wooden people
• timer
• 2 circles
• die
• 4 frog pieces
• Instructions

Object of the Game

Correctly guess the words your teammates build to be the first team to reach the final lily pad.

Setup

Divide the players into teams (fewer teams is better). Each team selects a team frog and places the frog on the starting lily pad.

Decide which words to use: easy or hard, or mix 'em up. (Easy is recommended at first). The team with the youngest player goes first.

Each team selects a Morphologist: the person who will create the first word. This position rotates each round on each team.

Each team starts by playing the first lily pad (labeled Start/Free Play) first. Once your team correctly guesses the word from that lily pad, you roll and move forward.

Fun Option - Before starting a game, players may agree to select one House Piece (an object from around the house). The House Piece is added to the mix of Morphology props for use by all teams.

The first team to get to the Final Lily Pad wins!

Game Play

The Morphologist from the starting team selects a card but does not show the card to his/her team.

Once the Morphologist looks at the word and reads out loud the hint (the hint is listed right under the word), the timer is flipped and the Morphologist begins building the word.

Team members try to guess the word before time expires.

If a team correctly guesses the word in the allotted time, the team moves their frog forward to the next lily pad.

If the team does not guess correctly in the allotted time, the team does not advance.

The die is ALWAYS passed to the left for the next team to play.

Teams can only finish the game by correctly guessing a word on the "Pick 5+1" lily pad to reach the Final Lily Pad.

The Morphologist

When you are the Morphologist, it's your chance to let your creativity shine! A few guidelines:

• The Morphologist cannot spell out words or make the pieces into symbols (i.e. #, $).
• The Morphologist cannot speak, however a certain level of nodding, grunting and encouraging by the Morphologist is allowed.
• The Morphologist is not a piece, and may not interact with the other game pieces like in 'charades'.

Think of yourself as a puppeteer, and the pieces as your puppets. Here are some examples:

The If the word is "jump", the Morphologist cannot jump up and down.

The Morphologist can, however, take a piece and move that piece like it is jumping up and down.

If the word is "toothbrush", the Morphologists can't brush their own teeth, but they can brush the teeth of the little wooden person in the game.

Note: These rules CHANGE when you land on the lily pads that say "Morph" or "Ribbit, Ribbit" (we'll tell you more about that later).

Roll

Refer back to these rules once you start rolling the dice.

1. 

   Free Play

   Build using any, or all, of the pieces.

2. 

   Everybody Plays

   

   Play against the other teams to truly test your skills!

   This is like "Free Play" except everybody guesses. The Morphologist on the building team builds for everyone to guess, and the first team to guess the word gets to move forward!

   Note: if a team is on the last lily pad (Pick 5+1), this team is not allowed to advance forward or win the game from another team's "Interception" or "Everybody Plays" turn. They are still allowed to guess, but if they win, they do not move forward.

3. 

   Morph!

   

   Charades with Props!

   In this round, the Morphologist becomes a piece in the game. Want to jump up and down? Want to brush your own teeth? Go ahead- just don't make any noise! This is the one instance where the Morphologist can be both puppet and the puppeteer! Think of it like charades with props.

4. 

   Interception

   

   Be careful, other teams can steal your word!

   This is like Free Play, only if the building team cannot guess the word during the allotted time, the opposing teams are given a chance to guess the word and advance forward one lily pad.

   The team furthest behind is allowed the first guess. If teams are on the same lily pad, the team with the youngest player guesses

   first. Each team is allowed only one guess and ten seconds to come up with that guess. If a team correctly guesses the word in the allotted time, the team moves their team frog forward to the next lily pad. If no team correctly guesses the word in the allotted time, no one advances. Play continues to the left.

   Note: if a team is on the last lily pad (Pick 5+1), this team is not allowed to advance forward or win the game from another team's "Interception" or "Everybody Plays" turn. They are still allowed to guess, but if they win, they do not move forward.

5. 

   Pick 5

   

   Show off your skill with a limited set of pieces!

   This is like "Free Play", but this time, the Morphologist picks 5 pieces that he/she will use to build.

   The Morphologist can look at the word before choosing 5 pieces; once the Morphologist has selected 5 pieces, he/she reads the hint out loud and the timer is flipped.

6. 

   Ribbit Ribbit!

   

   Make some noise!

   On this lily pad, the Morphologist may also make noises to help his/her teammates to guess the word. The Morphologist can't say words, but he/she can bark, cry and make other kinds of crazy noises!

   
   

Pick 5 + 1

Show off your Morphologist skills in this final challenge!

This is like "Free Play" except the opposing team selects 5 unique pieces for the building team to use.

They make their selection without viewing the word, and the pieces must all be different types (i.e. the string, a glass bead and a wooden stick-NOT three differently colored cubes).

Once the 5 pieces have been chosen, the Morphologist gets to look at the word and select one additional piece to use.

Note: if a team is on the last lily pad (Pick 5+1), this team is not allowed to advance forward or win the game from another team's "Interception" or "Everybody Plays" turn. They are still allowed to guess, but if they win, they do not move forward.

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