Bookworm: The Dice Game
Bookworm: The Dice Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 54 Category cards (each with 3 categories)
- 6 Bookworm cards
- 8 dice (7 white Letter dice, 1 green Special die)
The component page shows the faces of the dice as a chart. Each row gives the number of dice that carry that set of letter faces:
- 2 dice: CK, D, S, E, G, W
- 2 dice: M, P, U, F, R, I
- 2 dice: A, B, T, H, L, Z
- 1 die: N, V, J, O, Q, XY
The Special die carries the faces A–Z, NOT, the "two dots" face, a lock face, a book-card face and a question mark face (see The Special Die below). Each Letter face shows a number of dots, which is used for scoring.
Aim of the Game
In turn order, you have to name words starting with a letter that corresponds to a letter on one of the rolled dice in the display. If you do, you take that die. But beware – others may try to steal your dice by naming words with an equal letter – or they choose other letters and grab dice from the display for themselves. As soon as the last die from the display is taken or someone fails to name a word, the round ends. Whoever scores 21 points first, wins.
Setup
Place the 6 Bookworm cards into the center of the play area. Shuffle the Category cards and place them face down next to the Bookworm cards as the Book stack. Determine who will be the Bookworm in the first round using any method of your choice. (For example, the player who most recently read a book.)
The Bookworm turns over the first Category card from the Book stack and determines the first category of the game by selecting any 1 of the 3 categories on the card. Afterwards, they roll all 8 dice and place them into the center of the play area as the display. Now, the player to their left starts the round by taking their first turn.
Note: When playing with kids, simply use the upper-most (green) category as it is always the simplest. Ignore the other, increasingly difficult categories.
Recommendation: Do not use the Special die in your first games. This way, you can learn the Special die rules after you are already accustomed to the other rules.
Flow of the Game
In each of the rounds you play in clockwise order, each player taking 1 turn at a time.
On your turn, name 1 word that:
- begins with a letter that is currently shown on a die AND
- fits the currently chosen category (and has not been named before, this round).
If both requirements apply, take the corresponding die and place it in front of you. Then, the turn passes to the player on your left.
You may either take a die from the display or from another player.
If you take the die from the display, simply place it in front of you.
If you take the die from another player, you also place it in front of you, effectively stealing it from them. As a compensation, they take 1 Bookworm Card and place it in front of them.
Note: If no Bookworm Card remains in the center of the play area, you cannot take a die from another player. In total, 6 dice can be taken from other players – not more.
From now on you must name a word that begins with a letter that is currently shown on a die in the display and take it from there.
For the sides of the dice labelled CK as well as XY, you may always choose which letter your word begins with, no matter if the die is in front of another player or in the display.
Note: The game is the most fun when played in a fast fashion. Nonetheless, everybody should have sufficient time to think of a word (we recommend 10 seconds). If a player ponders for too long, we advise you to count them down from 5. If they fail to name a word by the count of 0, the round ends (see below).
End of the Round
The round ends by 1 of 2 means:
- EITHER, any player takes the last white Letter die from the display (the green Special die does not count)
- OR any of the players fails to name a word when it is their turn to do so.
At the end of the round, determine your scores and note them on a sheet of paper. To do so, count the number of dots on each die in front of you and add the number of Bookworm cards in front of you. If you failed to name a word, subtract 2 from your score.
If any player now has a total of 21 points or more (sum of the total scores of each round), the game ends.
If no one does, continue with the next round. To do so, return the Category card to the game box and the Bookworm cards to the center of the play area. The player who finished the last round (either by taking the last die or by failing to name a word) becomes the Bookworm. They turn over the next Category card and select a new category as described during Setup. They then roll the dice to start the new round.
Note: If your group cannot agree whether a stated word actually matches the given category, simply vote democratically (excluding the person who said the word). If that doesn't help, the word is valid.
End of the Game
The game ends at the end of the round in which at least 1 player has collected 21 or more total points (the sum of all points from all rounds). The player with the most points wins the game. In case of a tie, all players in the tie share the position.
The Special Die
The Special die adds a new rule to each round, depending on which side gets rolled. The Special die shows the following 6 sides, adding the respective rules to the game:
- Question mark (?): Immediately after rolling the dice, the Bookworm must turn this die to another side. Follow the rules of that side for the given round.
- A–Z: Treat this die as if it showed all letters of the alphabet. (So, you may always take it, irrespective of the word you said.) This die does not award any points at the end of the round. This die cannot be taken from a player.
- NOT: You may take this die whenever you name a word that starts with N, O, or T. Place it in front of you, as usual. If you have only this die at the end of the round, it scores -2 points. If you have at least one other die, it scores 2 points.
- Two dots: You may not take this die, after naming a word. When you take the last Letter die from the display, also take this die. It scores 2 points.
- Lock: This die may not be taken from the display. During this round, whenever you take a die, place it on top of all other dice you already have. Only the topmost die can be taken.
- Book card: Instead of naming a word, you may take this die. If you do, return the Category card to the game box. Turn over the next Category card and select a new category as described during Setup. This ends your turn. This die does not award any points at the end of the round. This die cannot be taken from a player. You may not take this die, after naming a word.
Transcription note: The printed rule for the NOT side reads "If you have at last one other die"; it is transcribed here as "at least one other die".