Alpha Playing Cards
Alpha Playing Cards Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Cards
Before you start playing some games, first take some time to look at the deck of cards. Alpha Playing Cards is a deck of 74 cards with the letters of the alphabet on them. There are three types of cards: the consonant cards, the vowel cards, and the wild cards. Every card has a point value assigned to it that is based on the frequency with which the letter on that card is used in the English language. How many times a letter appears in the deck is also based on its frequency in English.
There are 42 consonant cards. The consonant cards have one consonant per card. The point values range from 1 to 10. The most often used letters, like T, have a lower value and a higher card count. There are three T's in the deck. Letters like Z have a higher point value but a lower card count. There is only one Z in the deck.
There are 30 vowel cards. The vowel cards differ from the consonant cards in that each card contains two vowels; the vowel cards are semi-wild. When playing a card, you can play the card as either one of the two vowels, but not both. Since there are two vowels on each card and 30 vowel cards, there is a total of 60 vowels in the deck, 12 of each vowel. All vowels are worth one point except for the U, which is worth two points. You simply rotate the card so the vowel you want is in the top-right corner.
There are two wild cards. The wild card (designated by a ?) can be used as any letter. The point value of a wild card is zero. In most games, once a wild card has been played as a letter, it must remain as that letter until the next deal.
Letter Distribution and Points (as printed; heading reads "Distrubution" in the original)
Consonants
| Card | Qty. | Points | Card | Qty. | Points | Card | Qty. | Points | Card | Qty. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B | 2 | 8 | C | 2 | 4 | D | 2 | 4 | F | 2 | 5 |
| G | 2 | 6 | H | 3 | 3 | J | 1 |
Vowels
| Card | Qty. | Card | Qty. | Card | Qty. | Card | Qty. | Card | Qty. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A/E | 3 | A/I | 3 | A/O | 3 | A/U | 3 | E/I | 3 |
| E/O | 3 | E/U | 3 | I/O | 3 | I/U | 3 | O/U | 3 |
All vowels are worth one point except for the U, which is worth two points.
Word Games
In most word games, for a word to qualify, it must be in a current dictionary and at least two letters long. Words may not be abbreviated, proper nouns, or a foreign language. How strictly you enforce these rules depends on the players.
One of the ways I like to play is that you can either challenge a word played or question the word played. In a challenge, if the word is not found in the dictionary (or is misspelled), the player doesn't score for that word, the word is removed, and the next player goes. However, if the word is in the dictionary, then the player who made the challenge loses their next turn. If you question the word played, then you may look it up in the dictionary (and its meaning), but the word remains in play and is scored even if it's not a word (or misspelled). And for the rest of the game, it is now a legal word.
Tip: I like to rearrange the consonants in my hand while looking for a word, then check whether I have the vowels needed. Remember, there are two vowels per vowel card when you look through them.
Alpha Rummy 500
2 to 4 players.
The Deal
- Deal each player 7 cards.
- Place the rest of the deck face down in the center as the stock.
- The top card of the stock is placed face up next to the stock to start the discard pile. As cards are added to the discard pile, keep it spread so all the cards can be read.
Basic Play
- Pick up a card at the beginning of your turn. You may pick up one card from the top of the stock, or as many cards from the discard pile as you need to get to the letter you want. However, there are 3 rules to picking up from the discard pile. You must (A) pick up all the cards on top of the card that you want, (B) lay down a word (meld) in that turn, and (C) use the bottom card picked from the pile in that word (the letter you wanted).
- Play a meld. After you pick up a card, you may lay down a meld. A meld can be 1 or more words (4 letters or more) or letters can be added onto any player's existing word to form a new word.
- Keeping Score. After you lay down a meld, the points on the cards are added up and then depending on the size of the word, are multiplied. Scores are recorded as soon as you lay down a meld.
- Pick up bonus cards. When you lay down a meld, you are awarded bonus cards. You take the bonus cards from the stock pile. The number of bonus cards awarded depends on the size of the word(s) made. You should take the bonus card(s) before you discard, unless you are going to go out.
- Discard or Go Out. You must either discard one card onto the discard pile or go out to end your turn.
- Next player's turn. The next player plays his hand and play continues until the end of the game.
Rules
Add-ons: Add-ons are letters used to make a different word out of a word that has already been played. EXAMPLE: Fiend + r = friend or friend + s = friends. A player can add-on to any other player's word, or one of his own. The player only scores on the letters used in the add-on, but gets the bonus cards and the score multiplier for the full word.
Bonus Cards: Bonus cards are awarded when a player makes a meld. Bonus cards are taken from the stock pile and added to a player's hand. Players should take the bonus card(s) before they discard, unless they are going to go out. The number of bonus cards awarded depends on the size of the word. (See scoring section.) If a player has only one card left in his hand after melding, he may go out instead of picking up bonus cards.
Going Out: A player goes out when he lays down a meld and has no cards left in his hand. He may also go out if he has one card left to discard after making a meld. Players can not receive bonus cards when they go out. Instead they receive 7 new cards from the stock.
Meld: In order for a word to qualify, it must be in a current dictionary and be 4 or more letters in length. Words may not be abbreviated, proper nouns, or a foreign language. Slang words may be used, as long as it is found in the dictionary. Players may also lay down more than one word in a turn. Players don't have to meld every turn.
End of the Round: Once the stock is depleted, play continues as long as each player can draw off the discard pile and make a meld. All rules for drawing off the discard pile still apply. Once the round has ended the next player to deal collects the cards and deals the next round.
Scoring: Total the points on the cards and multiply according to the size of the word.
| Size of Word | Score Multiplier | Number of Bonus Cards |
|---|---|---|
| 4 letters | Score x 1 | 1 Bonus Card |
| 5 letters | Score x 2 | 2 Bonus Cards |
| 6 letters | Score x 3 | 3 Bonus Cards |
| 7 or more | Score x 4 | 4 Bonus Cards |
Challenge: If a word is challenged and found not to be legal, then there are no points scored for that word and that player loses their turn. The illegal word is removed and the letters are placed back into the player's hand. If the player took cards from the discard pile then those cards are placed back into the discard pile. If a word is found to be legal then the player that made the challenge loses their next turn.
Winning the Game: The first player to score 500 points or more wins.
Consonants
3 to 6 players. 60 to 90 minutes. Requires one deck of Alpha Playing Cards.
Introduction
Consonants is the Alpha Playing Cards counterpart of the standard playing-card game Hearts. The name comes from the fact that in Consonants, consonant cards score, just as in Hearts, Hearts cards score.
Object
The object of the game is to score the fewest points. The game ends after a hand in which at least one player has reached 150 points. (This number may be changed by player agreement.)
The Deal
One player is chosen randomly to be the dealer. After that, the role of dealer passes to the left.
All cards in the full Alpha deck are dealt out evenly among the players. If any are left over, they are placed face-down into a kitty, which goes to the player who takes the last trick of the hand.
After the deal, each player passes four cards to a neighbour. Use the standard Hearts passing rules for different numbers of players.
The Play
The player with the J card leads it to the first trick. Each successive player must then play a card according to the following rules:
- If you can follow the letter led by playing the same letter, you must do so.
- If you cannot follow the letter led, you must play a letter alphabetically greater than or equal to any letter on the table, if you can. (Example: if the greatest card in the trick is now a P, you must play a P, Q, R, or greater if you can.)
- Otherwise, you may play any card in your hand.
If you play a vowel card, you must declare which side of the card you are playing. Wild cards may represent any letter, but it must be declared which. It is never mandatory to play a wild card, unless you only have wilds in your hand.
Taking a Trick
- The alphabetically greatest card played takes the trick. (For example, a T beats a P and an R.)
- In the case of a tie among vowels, the other side of the card breaks the tie. (For example, an A/U beats an A/O and an A/E.)
- If there is still a tie among vowels, or if there is a tie among consonants, the first tied card played breaks the tie. (For example, if two A/U cards are tied, the first one played breaks the tie; the same goes for two T cards.)
The player who took the trick leads to the next trick. After you take a trick, you place it face down in a pile in front of you; you may not examine your pile of taken cards until the scoring phase.
Players continue playing tricks until all cards are played; this is the end of the hand, and its scoring phase occurs.
Flying by Night
There are six "singleton" cards in an Alpha deck: J, K, Q, V, X, and Z. Each of these cards occurs only once in the deck.
Each singleton is worth 20 points rather than its face value. However, anyone who takes all six singletons in a single hand scores nothing; in addition, she may choose between decreasing her own score by 50 points and increasing the scores of all other players by 50 points.
Hint: a mnemonic for remembering the singletons in an Alpha deck: Jack, Queen, King, VwXyZ. Note also that 'w' and 'y' are sometimes vowels in English.
Scoring
The points taken on a hand are the sum of the point values for the consonant cards taken. However, see Flying by Night for exceptions.
During a hand's scoring phase, you may attempt to make words (of four or more letters only) with the cards you took. Any words you make do not count toward your score. You may use either side of a vowel card to make a word. Wild cards cannot be used to make words.
Challenges
Any player may challenge the validity of a word made by another player. The winner in the challenge subtracts the points in the challenged word from her score; the loser of the challenge then adds these points to his score.
Challenges are settled with any standard dictionary on which the players agree, such as The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary.
Note: the designer's Credits, version History and License blocks are not transcribed here; they are attribution and changelog text, not rules.
Lost for Words
2 players. Loosely based on the game Lost Cities by Reiner Knizia.
Overview
Each turn a player plays or discards a card, trying to build words of five or more letters in up to five columns. However, starting a column costs points so the player must judge whether they will be able to make enough points from the word to make the column worthwhile. Players can also use vowel cards as multipliers to a column's value, but these can only be laid before the word is started. Bonuses are scored for longer words. Play halts when the draw deck is exhausted. The player with the most points wins the game.
Preparation
Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player. Put the rest of the cards to the side as the draw deck. Choose a player to start; players then alternate turns.
Playing the Game
On your turn you must (a) play or discard a card, then (b) draw a card.
a) Play a Card. You must either play a card to one of your columns or discard a card. You may have up to five columns in front of you. A column scores 0 if it has no cards in it. As soon as a card is played into a column, that column's base score is –10. Usually a player will open a new column by playing a letter card (which will be the first letter of the word in that column); subsequent plays to that column are added to the end of the word. It is not allowed to insert letters at the beginning or in the middle of a word.
A player may also play a vowel card sideways (to show it is not part of the word) to act as a multiplier for the column, but multipliers may only be played before that column's word has been started. The player may play more than one multiplier card in a column, but all multiplier cards within a particular column must be exact copies (i.e. all A/E cards). One multiplier card doubles the score of the column, two multiplier cards treble the score and three quadruple it. So, a column which contains just three multiplier cards is worth –40.
If you choose to discard a card instead of playing, you must discard it onto the appropriate pile (either the red/vowel pile or black/consonant pile).
b) Draw a Card. You must draw the top card from either the draw deck or one of the discard piles. It is not permitted to take a card from the discard pile if you discarded it this turn.
Game End and Scoring
The game ends immediately when the last card is taken from the draw deck.
Score each column as follows:
- An empty column scores 0.
- A column with cards in scores –10, plus the total point value of the cards in a complete word. If the word in a column is less than five letters, illegal or incomplete, it scores no points and the base value of the column is simply –10.
- Now multiply this value according to the multiplier cards in this column (if any): one, two or three cards multiply the column by x2, x3 or x4 respectively.
- Finally, score a bonus of +10 if the word is seven letters or more in length.
Adding the totals for each column together gives the final score.
Example (as printed): The sheet shows a sample finished layout of five columns. Its printed column figures are:
| Column | Base Value | Points | Sub-Total | Multiplier | Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | -10 | 23 | 13 | x2 | 0 | 26 |
| 2nd | -10 | 7 | -3 | none | 0 | -3 |
| 3rd | -10 | 21 | 11 | x3 | 10 | 43 |
| 4th | -10 | 0 |
Adding the totals for each column together gives a final score of 46 (26 - 3 + 43 - 20 + 0 = 46).
Game Variant
In order to increase the interaction, a player must play a card and discard a card each turn. They must pick up two cards. The player may take both cards from the draw deck, both from the discard piles, or one from the draw deck and one from the discard piles.
Alternative Scoring Method
Instead of a column having a base value of –10, it has a value of 0. However, if a column contains a word which is illegal, incomplete or less than five letters, that column scores negative the points value of the letters in the column (times any multiplier). Using this scheme, the previous layout would score 46 + 7 + 73 – 24 = 102.
New Word
2 to 4 players.
The Deal
- Deal each player 6 cards, face down in a clockwise direction.
- Place 5 cards face up in the middle of the table. These cards represent the first word played, even though they probably don't spell a word. This is just a starting point for the game.
- Place the rest of the deck to the side as the stock.
- Begin play in a clockwise direction from the dealer.
Basic Play
- Make a new word using some or all of the 6 cards in your hand and the cards face up on the table. The new word must use at least 1 card from the cards in your hand and at least 1 card from the word on the table. Words must be 4 or more letters in length.
- Place the new word on the table face up. Place the unused cards from old word in the discard pile.
- Replenish the cards in your hand. Take enough cards from the stock pile so you have 6 cards in your hand again. Example: If you used 4 cards from your hand to make the new word, take 4 cards from the stock.
- Record the score. See scoring.
- The next player takes a turn. Using some or all of the 6 cards in his hand and the cards in the word you placed down, he makes a new word.
Vowels and wild cards: Except on the first play, a vowel or a wild card can not be changed to another letter once it has been played. Example: If you play a wild card as a G, the next player has to use it as a G.
Passing: If you can't make a word you have to pass. You may discard some of the cards from your hand and get new cards to replenish the cards you discarded.
Challenge: If a word is challenged and found not to be legal, then there are no points scored for that word and that player loses their turn. The illegal word is removed and the original word is placed back on the table. If the word is found to be legal then the player that made the challenge loses their next turn.
Scoring: Total the points on the cards and multiply according to the size of the word.
| Size of Word | Score Multiplier |
|---|---|
| 5 letters | Score x 2 |
| 6 letters | Score x 3 |
| 7 or more | Score x 4 |
End of Game: The game is over when the stock is depleted and one of the players has no more cards left in their hand or no more words can be made.
Winning the Game: The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
New Word Jr.
New Word Jr. is played like New Word except with some minor changes.
- Words can be any length.
- There is no score multiplier used.
Reserves
A solitaire game for Alpha Playing Cards. By Marty Hale-Evans.
In Reserves, you will play with a three-section field: one three-line tableau, a three-stack reserve area, and a three-card "kill area". You will also have a draw deck, and a discard pile. The object is to move as many cards as possible into the discard pile by forming words on the tableau lines; if you can empty the draw deck, then the object is to get the lowest score possible. The score is the sum of the values of all the cards left on the tableau, in the reserves, and in the kill spaces.
Diagram (not reproduced): the sheet shows the playing field, labelled Tableau, Reserve and Kill.
To begin, shuffle the deck. Turn over the top card. With this card, you have three options:
- Play it to one line of the tableau. If you play it in a line of the tableau, you will be using it to begin or continue forming a word on that line.
- Place it in a reserve stack. If you place it in the reserve area, you can pick it up later to play into the tableau. However, there are only three spaces for reserve stacks, and you can only play the card on the top of each reserve stack. When you play a reserve card, you reveal the card under it and make it available for play, and if you empty a stack, you can use another card from the draw deck or another reserve stack to begin a new stack in that space.
- Place it face-down in a kill space. If you place it in the kill area, the card is out of the game, and the point value of the card will be added to your score at the end. The spaces in the kill area are not stacks; they hold only one card, so you may only kill three cards in the game.
Continue turning over the top card of the draw deck and placing it in one of the areas. You may rearrange the letters in a line to form a word, but all the letters must stay in that line until you finish a word of at least four letters. When a word is formed, remove all the letters in that line and place them face-down in the discard pile. You may now begin a new word in that line. Lines can be any length up to nine letters, but if a line reaches nine letters without forming a word, that line is blocked and may no longer be used.
Reserve letters can be used at any time, and a reserve card from any stack can be played into any line.
Vowels may be used from reserve stacks or the draw deck either way up, but they cannot be rotated once they are placed in a line.
Wild cards need NOT be declared when they are placed.
If you cannot make any more plays on the board and the deck still has cards in it, you have lost the game. If you use up the deck, you may then use all the letters still showing to remove as many words as you can, of any length. Your score in a winning game is the sum of the point values of all cards still showing, plus all cards in the kill area. Play for the lowest possible score.
War of Words
2 players. Loosely based on the games Shotten-Totten/Battleline by Reiner Knizia.
Overview
Each turn a player plays to one of nine locations, then draws a card. At the end of the game, when all cards have been played, the player with the longest word at a location wins the counter for that location. However, a player may win a counter before the end of the game by forming a seven-letter word. The player who wins five or more counters wins the game. A player may win the game before the end by winning three adjacent counters.
Preparation
Put a line of nine counters or pawns in a row between the players; you need to space these at least one card's width apart. These mark the nine locations (columns) where players will play their cards.
Shuffle the deck and deal 7 cards to each player. Put the rest of the cards to the side as the draw deck. Choose a player to start; players then alternate turns.
Playing the Game
On your turn you must play a card to a location, then draw a card from the draw deck.
You play a card to any one of the columns; the card is played to your side of the line of counters. You are attempting to build a word at each location. Cards cannot be moved or reordered once played. If you complete a word of two letters or more at a location and that word is longer than your opponent's at that location, then you should move the counter there slightly towards you as a reminder that you formed the longest word there first (this may become important at the end of the game if the words at a location are of equal length).
If a location is won during the game, neither player may play any more cards at that location. Once the draw deck is exhausted, players no longer draw cards but must still play one card each turn (this may mean that they are forced to play cards to a location even when this means that they are ruining a word by doing so) until all cards are played.
Winning a Location
A location can be won in one of three ways:
- At the end of the game, if you have a longer word at a location than your opponent, or a word of the same length as your opponent where you completed your word first, you may take the counter for that location.
- During the game if you complete a seven-letter word at a location, you may immediately take the counter for that location.
- During the game if you complete a word at a location, you may claim the counter for that location. If your opponent cannot prove that they could possibly beat your word, then you may take the counter for that location. This is a risky strategy, and is explained fully below.
Claiming a location: You may take the counter for a location mid-game without making a seven-letter word by claiming that location. By doing this you are asserting that it is impossible for your opponent to create a longer word at that location than the one that you have already laid. If your opponent can show that it is possible (by suggesting a possible word that they could complete and showing that there are sufficient unplayed cards to complete it), then they immediately win that location, and take the counter for it.
Note that they only have to make reference to cards that are visible on the table, so you cannot use the fact that you hold particular cards in your hand. For example, suppose you lay down an 'R' to complete the word 'BADGER'. Your opponent has already played the letters 'RAB', and the two '?' cards have already been played elsewhere. You claim the location, reasoning that your opponent can no longer make the word 'RABBITS'. You will win the counter for the location unless your opponent realizes that they could make the word 'RABIDLY' and show that there are the necessary unplayed cards to do so (in which case they will win the counter). It is not permitted for a player to consult a dictionary in order to find a word that they could make, although a dictionary can be used to decide the validity of a word once it has been decided on. You will also often claim a location if an opponent is 'dumping' cards there – it is fairly safe to claim the location where your opponent has laid the cards 'EASPX'!
Winning the Game
The game can end in one of three ways:
- If a player successfully claims three adjacent counters during the game, they win.
- If a player successfully claims any five counters during the game, they win.
- If all the cards are played, the game is over. Any undecided locations are won by the player who has the longest word at that location. In the case of a tie, the location is won by the player who finished the word first. Words may be challenged during this scoring process; if a word is challenged successfully the challenger will win the location if they themselves have a legal word at that location. The player with the most counters wins.
Word Snake
2 to 5 players.
Overview
Each player lays down letters to form their own "word snake" (the last letter in one word must be the first letter in the next word). Each player's word snake is scored according to the number of points on its cards. The player with the most points after five hands wins.
Dealing a Hand
Deal each player 13 cards face down. Players may not look at their cards until play starts. Deal nine cards face-up to the center of the table in the pattern shown on the sheet (diagram not reproduced). Any cards left in the deck are placed to the side and are not used during this hand.
Making Word Snakes
After the cards have been dealt, the dealer calls "1, 2, 3, GO!" On the word "GO!", all players flip their cards face-up. Each player makes her own word snake. Players lay down cards to form words of at least three letters in length. The last letter in one word must be the first letter in the next word. You may add letters to any part of your word snake, but remember your goal is to create a snake similar to the one in the example.
Example: the sheet shows a sample word snake (diagram not reproduced).
Cards in the Center
Players may take any of the cards in the center of the table to make words, but they may only take one card at a time, and must use it in a word immediately. Players may not return cards to the center.
Rearranging Your Snake
You may rearrange letters and words that you have already placed down in your snake, as long as you form a complete snake; for example, you may swap vowels when you need to. However, if you are in the middle of rearranging a snake and someone calls "Stop!", then any incomplete word in your word snake and all of the words that follow it are invalid.
It is risky but legal to pick up all of the cards in your snake to form a different snake.
Passing
Players may pass. Once a player passes, he may not touch his cards. The other players continue the hand.
Example: Chuck has managed to put all of the letters from his hand into his snake except for a "T" and a "C". He decides he can't find a way to squeeze them in and doesn't mind losing the 5 points from his score. He places his remaining cards (the "T" and "C") face-down below the end of his snake and says, "Pass". Play continues without him.
"Stop!"
The first player to use all of her letters calls "Stop!". Everyone else must put down their cards and stop playing. Before doing anything else, the other players verify that the words in her snake are legal. If another player decides to challenge a word in her snake, he may do so. (See the rules for challenges, below.) If the challenged word is found illegal, the hand resumes without her.
If a player was in the middle of placing down a word before a valid "Stop!", the cards in that word are removed from his snake and returned to his hand and all other words after that point are also removed.
Example: If Bob was laying down the "A" in the word "SNAKE" in the example when Alice called "Stop!", he must pick up the "N", the "K", and the word "ENJOY", and return them to his hand.
End of the Hand
The hand ends when one player calls "Stop!" without being successfully challenged, or all of the players have passed. The points in a player's word snake are added up starting at the head of the snake (the first letter in the first word) and are then added to his score. The points from the cards still in his hand are subtracted from his score. (Only one point is subtracted for each vowel card left in his hand, including cards with a "U" on them.)
Challenges
After the hand has ended, players may challenge words in other players' snakes. If a word is found to be illegal, the illegal word and all words after it are removed from the snake, and that player receives points only for her shortened snake, with the cards removed from the snake and the letters in her hand subtracted from her score. If her word is found to be legal, however, then the challenger subtracts the value of the challenged word from his score.
Game Over
The game is played for a total of 5 hands. High score wins.
Timer Variant
Requires a sand timer of approximately 60 to 90 seconds. The first player to pass in a hand says "Pass" and then turns over the sand timer. The rest of the players now have until the timer runs out or until another player says "Stop" (whichever comes first) to complete their Word Snake.
Alphabet Bang
A letter recognition game. 2 players.
Alphabet Bang is loosely based on the card game Slapjack. The goal is to be the player with the most cards at the end of the game. Players take turns placing a card from their face-down stack of cards, face up to the line of cards in the center. The first person to slap their hand on the matching letter card already in the line while saying the letter (or "bang") wins the current line of cards.
Set Up
Shuffle and split the deck of cards so each player has a stack of 37 face-down cards. Players aren't allowed to see the cards in their stack. Decide who goes first.
Playing the Game
Players should sit across from each other and be able to reach the center of the play area easily. Players place their stack of cards face down in front of them so that the long side of the stack is horizontal to them. Cards will be played to a line that will go from the left side of the play area to the right side (or vice versa, depending on your view). The first card played should start near the left edge of the play area.
The starting player (player 1) places the top card from their stack face up to the left side of the play area. Player 2 then places the top card from their stack, face up, on top of the first card, so that the letters can still be seen, creating a line of cards that show one of the letters on that card. Players take turns placing a card from their stack onto the line. Don't look at your card until you flip it over; it's only fair if everyone sees it at the same time.
Diagram (not reproduced): player 2 at the top, a line of cards running left to right with an arrow labeled "line of cards", player 1 at the bottom.
When two letters match, the first player to slap their hand on top of the matching card already in the line while saying the name of the matching letter (or "Bang") wins all the cards in the line.
Note: The vowel cards have two different vowels on each card. The vowel on the top of the card determines what vowel it is. In the diagram below, the first player who slaps the "O", not the "E", wins the cards.
Diagram (not reproduced): a line of played cards with the top vowel showing "O" on one card.
When the wild-card (question mark card) appears, the first player to slap the first card played and yell "AlphabetBang" wins the stack.
Cards that you win are placed face up at the bottom of your stack of cards. The player who won the stack starts the next round by placing the top card from their stack face up to the left side of the play area.
The game ends when, on a player's turn, they no longer have any face-down cards in their stack to play. Any unplayed cards that a player may have and any cards still in the line are discarded. The player who won the most cards is the winner.
TakeTwo
A letter recognition game. 2 to 4 players.
TakeTwo is loosely based on the card game Crazy Eights. The object of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all the cards in your hand. Players take turns playing a single card from their hand to the top of the face-up discard pile in a vowel, consonant, vowel, consonant pattern. If a player can't play a card from his hand to continue the pattern, he draws two cards into his hand. You can also force players to take two cards if you play the same exact card that is currently the top card on the discard pile.
Set-up
Select someone to deal. Deal each player 6 cards face down, and players may look at their own cards. Place the rest of the deck face down in the center to be the draw deck. Take the top card off the top of the draw deck and place it face up next to the deck to start the discard pile.
Playing the Game
The player to the dealer's left starts, and turn order continues clockwise. On your turn, you play a card from your hand to the top of the discard pile. The card you play is placed face up on top of the card that is currently on top of the discard to create a single pile. The card you can play depends on the card that is currently the top card of the discard.
- If it is a vowel card, you can play any consonant card, and if it is a consonant card, you can play any vowel card.
- You can also play the same exact card that is currently the top card of the discard. Example: If the top card is the A/E* card, you can play a A/E card on top of that card. If you play the same card that is currently on top of the discard, then the player (you are not included) that presently has the least amount of cards must draw two cards from the deck and place them into his hand, if two or more players are tied for least amount of cards; then all players tied for the least amount of cards draw two cards each.
- The Y card can be played as a vowel or a consonant.
- The wild card can be played as a vowel, a consonant, or as the same card that is currently the top discard card (causing the player with the least amount of cards to draw two cards).
If you can't play a card from your hand (or choose not to), then you draw two cards from the draw deck and place them in your hand. If you can play one of the cards you just drew, you may if you want to. Then the next player takes his turn.
If during the game the draw deck becomes depleted, all the cards from the discard pile (except for the top card, which remains face up) are shuffled to create a new draw deck.
The game ends when one player has no more cards in his hand, and that player wins the game.
Note: Since there are two vowels on the vowel cards, when referencing a vowel card, there is a / between the two letters that would be on that card. For example, an A/E would mean the card has the letters A and E on it.
Alphabet Bang and TakeTwo are great letter recognition games for those who are just learning the alphabet. A fun and educational way to play is to call out the letters or to make the sound of the letters as they are played.
AlphaGrams
An anagram word game. 2 to 6 players.
AlphaGrams is the classic game of Anagrams adapted to Alpha Playing Cards. Players take turns making words using the cards in their hand and the cards in the center of the table (the pool). You can also steal an existing word from another player or protect one of your words by adding at least one letter to the word and anagramming it to make a new word.
Set-Up
Each player is dealt three cards from the deck; the rest of the deck is placed face down near the center of the play area to be used as the stock. Flip over one card from the stock and place it face up in the center to start the pool.
How to Play
Start your turn by flipping over the top card from the stock and placing it face up in the middle of the table into the pool. You can now either make a new word by using the cards in your hand and/or the cards in the pool, or you can anagram an existing word by adding at least one card from your hand and/or the cards in the pool; or you can pass and not make a word. If you anagram a word, you must use all the letters in the word you anagram, plus the card(s) you add.
After you have made a word, place it on the table in front of you, facing your opponents. If you used any cards from your hand to make an anagram of a word, draw cards from the stock to bring your hand size back up to 3 cards. You are allowed to discard one extra card from your hand to the pool before drawing cards from the stock to your hand.
The Game Ends
Once the stock is depleted, the game continues without players flipping over a card at the start of their turn or drawing cards at the end of their turn. You can still play using the cards from your hand and/or any cards that might be left in the pool. The game ends when all players have passed. Everyone agrees that no more words can be made. Once the game has ended, discard any cards you have left over in your hand; these cards will not be used to score.
Scoring
Once the game has ended, players add up their scores using the chart below, and the player with the highest score wins.
- Each letter card is worth 1 point.
- Each letter card with a point value of 7 or 8 is worth an additional 1 point.
- Each letter card with a point value of 9 or 10 is worth an additional 2 points.
In the case of a tie, the player who had the longest word wins the tie. If there is still a tie, go to the next longest word.
Note: the sheet refers to "the chart below"; the point values are given as printed above, and no separate chart appears on the sheet.
Additional Rules
- Vowel cards are semi-wild when they are in the pool or in your hand, but once they are played into a word, they cannot be changed.
- The wild cards are wild when they are in the pool or in your hand, but once they are played into a word, they cannot be changed.
- Words must be at least two letters in length.
- Adding S to make a word plural (or ED or ING) does not change the meaning of a word and cannot be used to anagram a word. Any letters at all, however, can be used to anagram a word if the new word formed is entirely changed in meaning.
- Challenge: Any player may challenge a word. If a word is found to be illegal, then the cards in that word are returned to where they came from, and the player who played the word loses that turn. If the word is found to be legal, then the player who made the challenge loses their next turn.
Cross Words
2 to 4 players.
Crossed Words is a word game where you attach your word to your opponent's word in a crossword puzzle style. There are 4 ways to do this.
Criss Cross by cutting through your opponent's word and using one of the letters.
Example (diagram not reproduced): using the Q in QAT to score AQUA.
Endcap by placing your word 90 degrees at one of the two ends of your opponent's word and changing their word.
Example (diagram not reproduced): PASTA placed at the end AQUA scores PASTA & AQUAS.
Place your word parallel above or below your opponent's word so they share some letters and words.
Example (diagram not reproduced): FAITH placed under PASTA also scores FAITH, PI, AT and SH.
Engulf by placing at least 2 of your cards in front of and/or behind your opponent's word.
Example (diagram not reproduced): EN+S engulfs GULF and scores ENGULFS.
Now that you know how to play your words (cards), let's continue with the deal and the actual rules to play the game.
Deal
Deal out 7 cards face down to each player (it's best to keep your cards to yourself). Place the rest of the deck face down to the side to be the draw. Randomly choose a player to start.
Playing a Turn
Play your word (cards) onto the current word on the table in one of the four ways possible. (Note: There is no current word for the starting player, just place the first word down and then score on it.) Words must be at least 2 letters long. Score your word(s) according to scoring. Remove the required cards from the table (see Remove Cards) and draw back up to 7 cards from the draw (you always draw back up to 7 at the end of your turn, unless the draw is depleted). The next player starts and plays their cards to the word on the table. Feel free to move the word (the cards) to give you a better perspective before you start your turn.
Remove cards that are not part of the word you played, and place them into the discard. Examples: In "Criss Cross" the AT in QAT are discarded leaving AQUA. In "Endcap" AQUA is removed leaving PASTA. In "Place parallel" PASTA is removed leaving just FAITH. If you engulf a word there should only be one word there, so remove nothing.
Scoring
Scoring is very important, since to win you want the most points. Add up all the points of the letters in the word (or words if you made several) and then multiply the total points by the multiplier based on the size of the word you added. Examples: In "Criss Cross" you would score just AQUA. In "Endcap" you would score AQUAS and PASTA with the multiplier based on PASTA. "Parallel Place" would score for FAITH, PI, AT, and SH with the multiplier based on FAITH. And "Engulf" would score ENGULFS and get a nice big multiplier since it's 7 letters long.
The Multiplier is based on the letter length of the word you played. 2-4 letters long score 1x the total, 5 or 6 letters long 2x the total, 7 or more letters long is 3x the total. There is also a 7 card bonus. If you play all 7 cards from your hand you get a 25 point bonus.
Ending the Game
The game ends when all the cards have been drawn from the draw and one player uses his or her last card; or when all possible plays have been made. The winner is the player with the highest score.
If you can't make a word (or choose not to) you can pass. If you pass you can discard as many cards from your hand as you want, then redraw back up to 7 and the next player gets their turn.
Find A Word
2 or 6 players.
Find A Word is a simple word search game. Players take turns looking at the current face-up letter/cards, looking for words (usually there is more than one). Once you find a word you like, you pick up the letter/cards you need to spell the word and place them into your score pile. The object is to collect as many cards as possible.
Set Up
Deal out eight cards face up in the center play area. Place the rest of the deck face down off to the side to be the draw deck. Players take turns, so decide who goes first.
Diagram (not reproduced): eight face-up cards in the center play area, with the draw deck to one side.
Playing the Game
On your turn, you search for words using the current letter/cards in the center play area. You are allowed to touch and move the cards around while you search for words. If you can't find a word (or don't like the words you found), you can request that one more letter/card be added to the current letter/cards.
Once you have decided on what word you like to play, collect up the cards needed, and spell out the word with the cards so that everyone can see the word. If everyone agrees that it is a real word, then place those cards face down in a stack in front of you to create your score pile. If it turns out not to be a real word, the cards are returned to the center play area. (If it's a simple misspelling of a word, someone can point it out and let you score the word.) Either way, the next player now gets their turn. If the cards were scored, then add more cards from the draw deck so that there are eight cards in the center play area again.
The Game Ends
The game ends when there are no more cards in the draw deck, and either all the cards in the center play area are gone, or everyone has decided no more words can be made. The player who has the most cards in their score pile wins the game.
An alternative win condition would be that the player with the most card points (Z=10, T=1, etc.) wins the game. It does require additional math skills this way, though. Note: All vowel cards are only worth one point when scoring this way.
Solitary Word
Solitaire played one word at a time.
Note: You will need 5 or so tokens to play. The designer suggests pennies.
Objective
The objective is to get all the cards from the draw pile, into the discard pile, by finding a word with the face-up cards currently in the line of cards.
Setup
Deal out a line of 6 cards face up and then place the rest of the deck face down, off to the side to be the draw. The designer usually places the draw on their left below the line of cards. Place 3 of the pennies slightly above the line of cards (this is your penny purse) and the rest next to the draw (this is the bank, "they love pennies").
Diagram (not reproduced): a line of six face-up cards labeled "Line of Cards", the draw pile, the bank of pennies, the discard pile, and the penny purse above the line.
Playing the Game
Using the line of face-up cards, look for a word, and then remove the cards in that word. Place those cards face up into the discard pile. The designer usually places the discard to their right, below the line of cards. Replace the cards you removed with cards from the draw. Repeat.
Words must be 2 or more letters long (sorry, no one letter words), but 2 or 3 letter words cost you one penny (if you don't have a penny you can't play a short word), 4 or more letters cost nothing, and if you play all the cards in the line of cards you earn 1 penny. Pennies are paid to the bank from your purse and vice versa. Note: It's possible to still win if you are penniless, but it's a lot harder.
The Game Ends
The game ends when a word can't be made (possibly because you're penniless) or all of the cards are in the discard pile. And... if all the cards are in the discard pile, you win.
The sheet's example note reads: "Part way through my game and it looks like I'm about to obtain another penny."
Variations
Want to make it harder. Start with fewer pennies in your penny purse. Try zero if you dare.
If you want to make it easier, start and play with seven cards instead of six. But you need a 7 letter word to earn a penny.
Cooperative Solitaire
A variant described on the same sheet by the designer.
A fun game the designer played with their young daughters was cooperative solitaire. It was us against the cards, a battle of words. You won as a team or lost as a team. Cooperative solitaire is played just like regular solitaire, except you and your teammates look for words, and if you spot one you say it out loud. Once all the possible words are found, then everyone votes on which one of the words to play (it must be a unanimous choice). It can take a few votes, but in the end you will stand together to face the consequences... even though you're more likely sitting.
Another fun thing to do is write down the words as you play them, and then create a short story about your journey with those words in it.
Stack 'em
A word solitaire game.
Stack 'em is the first word solitaire game that the designer created for Alpha Playing Cards. The object of the game is to get all 74 cards from the draw stack into one discard stack by creating words from 2 to 6 letters long.
Set Up
Shuffle the deck, then deal out six cards face up in the center play area. Place the rest of the deck face down off to the side as the draw stack.
Diagram (not reproduced): the draw stack and six face-up cards in the center play area.
Playing the Game
Using the letters available on the six face-up cards, look for a word. (You usually can find several words; choose one to play.) Take the cards needed to spell the word (in the diagram on the sheet, the word WORLD is played) and place them so the word is spread out (the designer likes to look at the words played), then slide them together so the cards form a single stack and the last letter in the word is on top of the stack. Deal out from the draw stack the number of cards needed so that there are six face-up cards again. Start looking for another word.
Diagram (not reproduced): the sheet shows the word played from the face-up cards, the resulting stack, and the draw stack being dealt back up to six face-up cards.
A letter/card with a stack of cards under it moves as if it were one card when used in a future word. Moving the stacks of cards can be cumbersome, so at any time during the game, and as often as you want, you can take the cards under the current face-up cards and place them face up on the bottom of the draw stack, moving the stacks to a stack. In the example above, all the cards under the D card can be moved to the bottom of the draw stack.
The Game Ends
The game ends if you get stuck and can't make a word with the current face-up letter/cards, in which case the deck wins, and you lose. However, if the draw stack only has face-up cards in it (because you moved all the stacks there and played all the face-down cards on top), and you can get all the current face-up cards in the play area into one stack by making words, place that stack on top of the face-up discard stack, and you win.
6x6
1 player.
6x6 is a word solitaire game that only uses half of the deck of Alpha Playing Cards (which half depends on the shuffle and deal). The goal is to turn the 36 cards into words that are 2 to 6 letters long, resulting in 6 to 18 words. Cards not turned into words are worth one point each, and zero points wins the game.
Set Up
Shuffle the deck and then deal out the cards (face down) so that you have 6 stacks with 6 cards in each stack (6x6). Then flip over the top card on each of the 6 stacks to reveal the letters.
Diagram (not reproduced): six face-down stacks of six cards, then the top card of each stack flipped face up.
Make a Word
Using the letters available on the 6 face-up cards, find a word and then remove the letters/cards that make that word from the top of the stacks. (You might find several words; choose one to play.) Flip over the cards that were under those cards to reveal new letters and look for a word with the 6 cards now showing. Continue making words and removing the cards. Words must be at least 2 letters long.
Filling Empty Spaces
As you remove cards, you will eventually have emptied a stack (or stacks) and left an empty space (or spaces). You can fill the empty spaces with cards in stacks that have not been flipped yet, but you can only use the top card of the stack, and the next card must be flipped onto the original stack.
Example (as printed): a 3-letter word has been played, leaving 2 empty spaces and 1 stack yet to be flipped. The top card from that stack is placed in 1 of the empty spaces, and the next card has to be flipped onto the original stack.
Diagram (not reproduced): the before and after of the example above.
Where to Place the Letter/Cards Played
As you play, you may like to place the words next to the stacks so you can see what words you have found. You don't have to do this; you can simply discard the letter/cards if you choose.
Did You Win?
Cards not turned into words are worth 1 point each, and 0 points wins the game. Playing "phonies" (words that aren't real) can be kind of fun, but you're only cheating yourself!
Strategy Tip
One simple tip is to keep track of the number of cards currently in each stack, so as not to end up with one or two big stacks of cards at the end of the game. If the letter you need is available in one or more different stacks, it's usually better to pick the taller stack. Is there a stack you've been ignoring? Maybe you should play that letter in a word soon! Does one of the currently available words reduce the stacks more evenly? Choose your words wisely.
Variants
If you want, you can increase or decrease the number of stacks and/or the number of cards in each stack. Try 5x5 or 7x7. You can even do 8x9, which would use 72 of the 74 cards. More starting stacks do make the game easier to win.
The Cooperative Game
2 or more players.
6x6 (or any word solitaire game) can easily be played as a cooperative game. Something the designer used to do when their daughters were young and still learning their words was to have them play a word solitaire game with them. They would look for words together, the designer would let them find some words, and the designer would point out some other possible words. Then, they would choose which word to play. They would win (or sometimes lose) the game together. It was us against the Alpha cards.
The rules are simple: everyone looks at the cards, and as you find a word, you say it out loud. There are no turns. Once you have found all the possible words (or care to find for now), discuss the best word option that will help win the game. If everyone agrees, go forth and conquer; if not, then everyone votes on the way forward (everyone gets one vote). If there is still a deadlock, the die of destiny is rolled (a d6 die). Roll once for each of the choices; the highest number wins. Ties are a reroll. Continue until you all win (or lose).