Components

• 72 cards
• plastic tray
• 6 folders
• 6 gamepads
• timer
• 6 pencils
• Instructions

Object of the Game

Score the most points after 4 rounds of play.

Setup

1. Remove the plastic tray from the box. Take the Wordsters cards from the center of the tray and place them in the card slot as shown in Figure, with the red side facing out.

   
   
   

2. Place the tray so all players can see the 3-letter Wordster showing on the first card.

3. Each player takes a pencil and a folder.

What's a Wordster

A Wordster is a 3-letter combination. Use a Wordster to make a word. Use it at the beginning of a word, the end, or all spread out, with other letters in between!

The 3 letters must always be in the same order. For exam 8 O the Wordster "CAP" appears in CAPTURE. CATNIP, CLAMP, and SCRAP.

What To Write

Each word on your list must be at least 4 letters long. It must include the Wordster in play. The letters must be in the same order as they appear in the Wordster, but they do not have to be next to each other.

The Wordster for this round s OTI. All of these words are Legal.

Legal Words: All words that are a part of speech are Legal (including those of foreign origin, archaic, obsolete, colloquial and slang). Plurals are okay, too!

Illegal Words: Words that are always spelled with a capital letter, words that require an apostrophe or hyphen, prefixes and suffixes stand- ing alone are Illegal.

Game Play

In each round of Wordsters, players create a list of up to 10 words, all from the same Wordster. Each card has 4 Wordsters on it. Since a game is made up of 4 rounds, use one card for each game!

Before beginning, choose 8 players to be the timekeeper. This player may remain the timekeeper for the entire game, or just for one round. It's up to you to decide what works best!

A game turn:

1. Choose a player to start the first round by selecting the first Wordster for everyone to play (start with either Wordster on the red side). All players write the Wordster on the first line at the top of their game sheets.

2. The timekeeper turns over the timer and all players start writing, one word per line. Try to fill every line in that column (10 words) Be sure your opponents don't see your list!

3. When time runs out, all players must stop writing (even if they don't have 10 words). Now it's time to announce your words!

4. Announcing your words

   Each player takes a turn reading aloud a chosen word from his or her list. This is called "announcing" a word. First to announce is the player who selected the Wordster. When it's your turn to announce a word, do the following steps:

   • Choose any word on your list you think at least one other player will have written on his or her list. If so, it'll be worth more points.

   • Read the word aloud and ask the other players if any of them have the same word (see Same or Different?) on their lists. If, for any reason, the legality of a word is in question, feel free to consult a dictionary to resolve the issue.

   • Score your word and write the number next to it according to the rules below. Remember, you score points only when you announce a word.

     • Score I point if no other player has the same word.
     • Score 2 points if one or more players have the same word.

     If your word is determined to be Unacceptable in any way, score no points and therefore lose that turn to announce a word.

     All other players who have the same word as yours must cross that word off their lists. They cannot score any points for it, of course.

   Example: You have just read the word "OPTION" from your list (see Figure 4). Three other players have this word on their lists. You score 2 points for this word and write "2" next to "OPTION" on your list. All 3 players who also have "OPTION" must cross this word off their lists.

   After the first player announces a word and scores, the player to the left announces a word. Play continues clockwise.

5. Play continues with players announcing and scoring points for their words. Some players' word lists will be exhausted before those of others. Just keep announcing words in the same order, skipping over players with no more words.

   At the end of the round, count up your points and enter the total on the TOTAL line at the bottom of your word list. All players do the same.

Start a New Round

For the second, third and fourth rounds, the player with the lowest cumulative score selects a new Wordster from the same card.

He or she arranges the card in the tray so that all players can see it. Now you're ready to start playing a new round! After 4 rounds of play, the game is over.

End of the Game

When the game is over, players add their total scores from each round and enter that number on the GRAND TOTAL line at the lower right of the game sheet. The player with the highest grand total wins.

Same or Different

Upon hearing a word announced, you may see a similar (although not exactly the same) word on your own list. Should you tell the other players you have this word now or wait until it's your turn to announce it?

If you decide to tell the other players, and if the word is really different, you give your secret away to the other players. But if you wait until it's your turn to announce it and the word is really the same, you'll have to cross it off your list and lose your turn. Y our decision rests on whether the word is the SAME or DIFFERENT, as defined below:

• Words that are spelled exactly the same (regardless of the meaning) are judged as being the SAME word. Although the word "fast" has two meanings (speed or not eating), it is considered the SAME word.

• Words that sound the same yet are spelled differently and have different meanings (course/coarse, pair/pare/pear, etc). are DIFFERENT.

• In most cases, words that are forms or tenses of the same word ("start". "starts", "started", "starting", etc). are the SAME. However, a word may contain the announced word and yet be DIFFERENT.

Example: On your turn, you announce the word "start". At this point, Mark says he has the word "startle". Although both words have "start" in them, they are DIFFERENT.

Consider the words "love", "lover", "beloved", "lovable" and "lovely". All of these words have the same root (love), but it's difficult to tell if any 2 of them are the same or different.

If you cannot determine whether your word is the same or different, put it to the group to decide.

Voting: Sometimes, even after group discussion, it's hard to tell if two words are the same. In this case, take a group vote to decide (majority rules). Everyone in the group votes, including those players who have run out of words.

If your word is judged as being the SAME, you must cross it off your list.

If your word is judged as being DIFFERENT, see Protected Words, below

Protected Words

Here's an example of how words can be protected: On Mark's turn, he announces the word "angle". You say you have the word "triangle". The two words are judged to be DIFFERENT, but it's not your turn to announce yet!

Your word "triangle" is protected until it's your turn to announce a word. This means no player with that word on his or her list can announce it before you do. However, you must announce the protected word on your next turn or it is no longer protected.

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