Alphabet Code
Alphabet Code Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Setup
Deduce and exchange questions to figure out your opponent's 5-letter alphabet code before they figure out yours to win.
Each player prepares one answer sheet and a writing tool. Use a screen to hide your sheet from your opponent. At the top of your answer sheet, secretly create your own 5-letter code using the provided pieces and fill them in with your pen. Do not let your opponent see your code. Follow these rules when creating your code:
- Use only lowercase letters from a to j.
- You may not rotate letters or place them touching each other.
- You may not reuse letters. Each letter can only be used once.
Layout note: the printed rulebook's setup page shows the answer sheet with a questioner's area (a grid labelled A to M across the top and N to R down the side, with the letter pieces beside it) and a solution area (the same A to M by N to R grid, where the code is written). The illustration also shows a rotated piece (marked "X (Rotate)") and two pieces placed touching each other (marked "X (Touching)"), both of which are not allowed.
Playing with More Alphabets
Before starting the game, players can agree to arrange 20 types of alphabets on the sheet, by adding 10 more letters.
The printed rulebook shows the letter pieces as 7-segment digital glyphs. The sheet's piece labels read a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j (k,l), m, n, o, p (q), r, s, t, u (v), w (x), y (z); the additional letters are printed in red beside their base letter.
Even when placing the additional alphabets, you still cannot use the same letter twice, rotate it, or place it touching another.
Advance Rules
Players agree to create codes using only real words. In this case, the placement of letters should follow the most common writing order (left to right, top to bottom, etc.) as much as possible.
Gameplay (2 Players)
Once both players have set their codes, proceed to the decoding phase. Decide who will go first. On your turn, you may ask one of the following two types of questions:
- How many adjacent squares are filled around zone (?, ?)?
- Is the square at (?, ?) filled?
[ Example of a Questions ]
- You may select a single zone (white) and ask how many surrounding squares are filled. Yuna asked how many filled squares there are around zone (O, D), and received the answer that 3 out of the 4 adjacent squares are filled.
- You may select a specific square (gray) and ask whether it is filled. On her next turn, Yuna asked whether the square at (Q, I) is filled, and received the answer that the square is indeed filled.
The answering player checks their code and responds accordingly. You do not need to spend a turn to review previous questions. Use the "question zone" on your sheet to mark your opponent's answers and keep track of the information.
To balance the game, beginners may be allowed to ask 1–3 consecutive questions at the start before taking alternating turns.
Declaring the Answer
If you believe you've decoded your opponent's code, you may use your turn to declare an answer. If your answer is completely correct, say "Correct." If even one letter is wrong, say "Incorrect." The player who correctly guesses the code first wins. You may continue playing after an incorrect guess, but if you make two incorrect guesses, you lose immediately.
If the second player declares a correct answer, they win and the game ends immediately. If the first player declares a correct answer, the second player gets one final chance to declare their answer. If they guess wrong, the first player wins. If correct, the game ends in a draw. In case of a draw, play one more round to determine the winner.
3 or More Players
When three or more players are involved, one player acts as the code creator, generating a five-letter code and not participating in the solving process. The remaining players focus solely on deciphering it. Excluding the code creator, the other players take turns asking questions. In games with three or more players, any answers obtained by one player through questioning are shared with everyone.
If you believe you've correctly deciphered the entire code, you can submit an answer instead of asking a question. This answer is submitted only to the code creator. If it's correct, the remaining players can then submit their own answers, based on the question responses they've heard so far. The game concludes with a victory for the player(s) who guess the correct code. If a submitted answer is incorrect, the game continues. However, if a player's answer is incorrect twice, that player is immediately eliminated from the game.