Alpha Blitz
Alpha Blitz Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Alpha (2 Players)
Objective: Collect points by making words using the letters in play. Make the longest words you can before you get Blitzed!
Components: 98 Alpha (letter) cards, including 5 red-bordered cards (J, K, Qu, X, and Z), and 10 Blitz cards. Blitz cards don't count as letters, but can be used to remove letters from play (see Blitzing a Pile, below).
Players: 2
Overview: You both take turns trying to make the longest word you can from the Alpha cards in play. Each turn, before making a word, you play an Alpha card to build a longer word or a Blitz card to limit your opponent's options.
Set-up
Both players draw a card at random (redraw if you pull a Blitz card). The first person to play is the one whose Alpha card shows the letter closest to the start of the alphabet.
Shuffle all the Alpha and Blitz cards together into one deck. Deal six cards face up in the middle of the table, starting six different "piles." If you deal any Blitz cards, leave them on the table. A pile started with a Blitz card is "Blitzed" and out of play (see Blitzing a Pile, below).
Deal three cards face down to each player. Put the rest of the deck face down on the table within easy reach of both players.
Playing the Game
You each take turns playing cards and making words.
On Your Turn
- Play either an Alpha or a Blitz card from your hand onto one of the letter piles. You have to play a card, but you can do so before or after you make your word. The card has to completely cover the Alpha card beneath it, so that no letter is showing.
- Make the longest valid word you can from the Alpha cards in play, ignoring Blitz cards. (See "Valid Words" below.) Only Alpha cards currently on top of letter piles are considered to be in play. You do not have to use all the Alpha cards currently showing. You can use any available letter as often as you like.
- Write down your word and the number of points you scored (see Scoring below).
- If you can't make a word, you pass and score 0 points. You still have to play a card that turn.
- At the end of your turn, draw a card from the deck to replace the one you played.
Blitzing a Pile
Once someone plays a Blitz card on a letter pile, that pile is out of the game. This is called "Blitzing." You can't play any more cards - not even Blitz cards - on a Blitzed pile. For example, if there are six letter piles in play at the start of your turn and you Blitz one of them, there are only five piles left to use on future turns.
Ending the Game
The game ends as soon as there are only two letter piles left on the table. Both players count up their points, and whoever has the highest score wins.
Scoring
You score 1 point for making a word, plus 1 point for every letter in the word more than the number of letter piles. If you can't make a word, you get no points.
You score 1 bonus point every time you use a red Alpha card in a word.
For example, if you make the word ESQUIRES when there are six piles in play, you score 1 bonus point (for the red Qu) in addition to the 3 points you would normally score, giving you a total of 4 points.
Example of Play
Peter and Mary are playing Alpha.
It's Peter's turn. He sees that the six piles have the following letters showing: T, R, I, N, G, A. Peter calls out TRAINING, an eight-letter word. He scores 3 points: 1 point for the word and 2 points because it is two letters longer than the number of letter piles. Peter writes down his score, then plays an F card on the R pile so that the piles show the letters T, F, I, N, G, A.
Now, it's Mary's turn. She calls out FAINTING, writes her score (3) down, and Blitzes the G pile by playing a Blitz card on it. This leaves five letters showing: T, F, I, N, A.
On his turn, Peter plays a P on the F pile before making a word. The available letters are now T, P, I, N, A. Peter then calls out the word PAINT and scores 1 point.
Valid Words
A valid word must be an unabbreviated, common English word of four or more letters. (You may want to have a dictionary handy.) In the first game you play, you may use words of three or more letters.
Plurals and past tenses are allowed. Hyphenated words, contractions (like "don't"), and capitalized words, such as the names of people (Aaron, Bob, Jane) and places (Mississippi, Washington), are not allowed.
No player may repeat a word that's already been scored in that game, or any variation on the same word.
Example: If one player scores CARD, no one else may play CARDS or CARDING.
Challenges
If you don't believe your opponent has made a valid word, then you may challenge it. If the word isn't in a standard dictionary, or doesn't follow the rules for valid words, that player scores no points. However, the player must still play a card if he or she hasn't yet done so that turn.
Optional Rules
- Try playing Alpha with three or four players. This can really change the game!
- Make the minimum word length three letters for easier games, or five letters for more difficult games.
- Play until you're down to one letter pile. (This works best with a three-letter minimum word length.)
- Allow players to use words normally not allowed (such as names). You might need to limit the categories of words (like cities, for example) and have a reference book handy (such as an atlas).
Blitz (3 to 6 Players)
Players: 3 to 6
Overview: Blitz is played in rounds. Every round, players call out words they make using the Alpha cards in play. But be careful! Your word has to be longer than any others made that round - if you wait too long, you may not be able to get any points at all! The game ends when a player Blitzes out.
Setup
Shuffle all the Alpha and Blitz cards together into one deck. Deal a hand of three cards to each player. Place an additional two cards on the table in front of each player, face down. These will form the players' two letter piles. Put the rest of the deck face down on the table within easy reach of all players.
When everyone's ready, they turn over their two face-down cards at the same time.
Playing the Game
First Round
As soon as the face-down cards get flipped, everybody starts trying to spell words with the Alpha cards in play, ignoring Blitz cards.
Only Alpha cards currently on top of letter piles are considered to be in play. You do not have to use all the Alpha cards currently showing on the table. You can use any available letter on top of a pile as often as you like.
When you call out a valid word, write it down along with the number of points you scored (see "Valid Words" and "Scoring," below). Each word can only be used once in a game, so its important to keep track!
You only get to call out one word in a round. If your word isn't valid, you're out of luck! You can't play again until the next round.
The round continues until all players have either scored points or given up.
If you find rounds drag on for too long, you might wish to set a time limit.
Example of Play: Belton, Mary, and Peter are playing Blitz. They've all just turned over their first two cards. Mary's letter piles have L and R showing, Peter's have A and S; and Belton's have F and E. Peter concentrates for a moment and calls out: FEEL. Now Belton and Mary have to call out words with more than four letters. After a few seconds, Belton says FEARS (five letters). After studying the letters a bit longer, Mary triumphantly shouts ERASERS (seven letters) and wins the round. (See "Scoring" below).
Now the three players study the cards in their hands and get ready to lay down one new card apiece (on top of one of their two letter piles). Note that both Belton and Mary used the letter E more than once, even though there was only one E showing.
New Rounds
To start the next round, all players choose a card from their hands to play on top of one of their two letter piles. Everybody plays their card at the same time.
If you play an Alpha card, it replaces the old Alpha card. You can only make words using the Alpha cards currently on top of letter piles. If you play a Blitz card on a pile, that pile is out of the game (see "Blitzing a Pile" below).
As soon as the cards have been played, players start calling out words and scoring points using the Alpha cards in play.
When you score a word, or even if you cannot make a word, draw a card to replace the one you played at the start of the round. You should always have a hand of three cards.
Blitzing a Pile
Once someone plays a Blitz card on a pile, that pile is out of the game. This is called "Blitzing." You can't play any more cards - not even Blitz cards - on a Blitzed pile.
Ending the Game
The game ends the moment someone Blitzes both their letter piles. All players count up their points, and the player with the highest score wins.
Scoring
The first player in a round to make a valid word scores 1 point, the second player to do so scores 2 points, and so on.
You score 1 bonus point for being the last player to make a valid word in a round.
You score 1 bonus point every time you use a red-bordered Alpha card in a word.
Example of Scoring: In the example game above, Peter scores 1 point for FEEL. Belton scores 2 points when he makes FEARS. Finally, Mary scores 3 points for ERASERS and 1 bonus point for being the last to make a word, so she gets a total score of 4 points.
Ties
If several players call out valid words at the same time, each scores as though no one else had called out a word. Other players must consider the longest of those words when trying to make words of their own. So if two players call out FROG (four letters) and GROVE (five letters) at the same time, they each score 1 point and the next player to score must call out at least a six-letter word. If they both called out FROG, they would each score 1 point and the next player would have to make at least a five-letter word.
Valid Words
A valid word must be an unabbreviated, common English word of four or more letters. (You may want to have a dictionary handy.) In the first game you play, you may use words of three or more letters.
Plurals and past tenses are allowed. Hyphenated words, contractions (like "don't"), and capitalized words, such as the names of people (Aaron, Bob, Jane) and places (Mississippi, Washington), are not allowed.
No player may repeat a word that's already been scored in that game, or any variation on the same word.
Example: If one player scores CARD, no one else may play CARDS or CARDING.
Challenges
If you believe that a player did not make a valid word, you may challenge it. That player must look the word up in a dictionary. Everyone else may still call out words in the meantime. If the challenged word is not valid, that player can't play again in the round, and scores 0 points. However, if it is valid, nobody scores points for any words made in the interim that were shorter or the same length.
Strategy Hint
Once you're out of a round (you've called a word or given up), look at the cards in your hand and the cards on the table and start looking for words that might be on the table next round. Remember, everyone's going to change one letter, but your word might still be there!