"EAT, YELLOW, CIRCLE. Do you mean pancakes? Or pineapple rings?
Oh wait, the CIRCLE is DIVIDED? So it's something that you eat that is yellow and semicircular? Uh, is it, maybe ... a banana?" "Yes, the answer is banana! One point for the Blue Team!"
Components
- 100 Answer cards
- 210 Story word cards
- 210 Story word cards
- Instructions
Note: The symbols at the bottoms of the story word cards are only to help players sort the cards and have no real function in the game.
Some of the story word cards are marked with a ★ in the corners. This is because the card has two words! rotate the card so the word you need is upright.
Setup
Divide up into two teams. It doesn't matter if one team is bigger than the other. The teams should play on opposite sides of a table.
Clarify now with each other how close your guess needs to be to the answer term to qualify. (e.g., exact like "Tyrannosaurus rex", or if close enough like just "Tyrannosaurus" is acceptable).
The oldest player on each team will be the first storyteller for their team.
Each team receives the 105 story word cards in their respective team color, Blue or Orange.
Are you the storytellers? then this applies to you:
Place the two halves of the box in the middle of the table so that the inside of one half of the box is facing toward each team. This is your screen.
Then put a smartphone on each side as shown in the picture.
Sort the story word cards by their colors or the symbols on their front sides. Arrange them in four stacks so that you can access them quickly, or spread them out on the table.
For the Other Team Members:
Sit or position yourselves so that you will be able to read the words on the story word cards that your team's storyteller will be placing on your side of the screen.
Introductory game: Inexperienced players can familiarize themselves with the Word Slam cards and gameplay by playing your first game without the blue, gray, and turquoise categories of answer cards.
Shuffle the answer cards from the red, yellow, green, and pink categories and place them face down (that is with the icons facing up). Then draw the top three answer cards from each category.
These 12 answer cards make up the draw pile. Shuffle them again, and place them face down next to the screen so that they are within reach of the first two storytellers.
Draw one extra answer card and place it face down on the other side of the screen. Remove all remaining answer cards from the game.
Game Play
A game consists of several consecutive rounds. In the introductory game, there are 12 rounds. A round progresses as follow:
The blue team's storyteller pulls the top card from the answer card pile.
This is the active answer card. The number in the square on the front of the next answer card in the pile (now on top) indicates which term from your active answer card you need to get your team members to guess.
The blue team's storyteller looks at the active answer card and then hands it over to the orange team's storyteller. Make sure that only you can see the terms on the answer card, and no one else from your team can see them!
Example: The next answer card shows a 6. In this round, you must get your team to guess the word "Tiger".
Note: Do the storytellers agree that the term is too difficult or unknown? If so, the storytellers can decide to choose a different term.
If you both know the answer term, place the answer card face down next to the draw pile. Now give the command to start: The blue team's storyteller calls out "WORD", and orange team's storyteller responds with "SLAM". Let the guessing begin!
As the storyteller, you tell a story to communicate the answer term to your team with the help of your story word cards. Quickly search through the four stacks of story word cards and pull out the cards that you believe will lead your team to guess the answer term.
Place these cards on your team's side of the screen. Your team members are free to talk and consult aloud with each other.
Rules for the Storytellers
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You may not speak, sing, hum, or make any other sounds. Pantomiming, gesturing, nodding, or acting out words is also forbidden. You may use only the story word cards to communicate.
You may not partially cover words on the story word cards so that letters or word fragments of the answer are revealed.
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You may place cards on your side of the screen in any order. You may reorder them, remove them, and place new cards at any time. You may also point to a story word card if it is particularly important.
If the answer term is a two-part word, you may, for example, explain the first word on one row and the second word on a second row.
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You may use as many story word cards as you want and as can fit behind the screen. If you want, you can also expand your screen through the use of items such as books and other game boxes.
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If no team is successful, end the round and remove the card from the game.
Note: Is the round taking too long? Then the storytellers can decide at any time to limit the remaining time.
Just start the timer on your smartphone for 60 seconds. Now both teams have as much time to guess the answer as it takes until the timer goes off.
Rules for the Guessing Team Members:
Do not start until your team's storyteller has placed the first story word card in front one of your team's screen.
It is forbidden to send spies to the opposing team! Of course, you are allowed to listen to what terms the opposing team calls out. Maybe that will help you to get to the term you are looking for faster.
As soon as a team guesses the answer correctly, the round ends. The winning team receives the answer card and places it face down on their side of the table.
Next Rounds
The storyteller role on each team shifts to the team member who is to the left of the current storyteller (i.e., in a clockwise direction). A new answer term is picked.
The orange team's storyteller calls out "WORD", and blue team's storyteller responds with "SLAM". The round progresses as before.
End of the Game
For the last answer card in the draw pile, use the number in the square on the extra answer card that was set aside at the start of the game to determine which term you use.
The game ends after you have played the last answer card in the draw pile. The team that has collected the most answer cards wins.
If there is a tie, draw a tie-breaker answer card from the answer cards that were removed at the start of the game.
Again, use the number on the extra answer card you set aside at the start of the game to determine which term you use. Play through this tie-breaker round. The team that guesses the answer correctly in this round wins the game.
If you have already played the introductory game, use the following number of answer cards from all seven categories:
- for 3 players: 15 answer cards
- for 4 - 5 players: 21 answer cards
- for 6+ players: 25 answer cards
Detailed Example:
Suppose the answer term is banana. The blue storyteller searches for the EAT story word card, and displays it. The blue team guesses food, pizza, apple, and spaghetti.
The orange storyteller displays the cards YELLOW and PLANT. Because the orange team heard the blue team guessing foods, they suspect that the answer might be a yellow plant that is edible, so they guess pineapple, corn, and lemon.
The blue storyteller then displays CIRCLE and DIVIDED and the orange storyteller displays EAT. The blue team guesses that the item is semicircular and says banana, the correct answer, and wins the round. The next round begins.
Rules for Three Players
The game rules are the same except for the following changes:
You play with only one set of story word cards (blue or orange).
There is only one storyteller.
The storyteller always starts a two-minute timer before he or she starts displaying story word cards.
If the answer is guessed correctly before the time runs out, the player who guessed the answer gets that answer card. In addition, the storyteller takes a card from the draw pile of answer cards that are not being used in the current game.
If the answer is not guessed correctly before the time runs out, remove that answer card from the game. Subsequently, the role of the storyteller shifts in a clockwise direction and a new round begins.
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