Chrono-Mots Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Idea and Goal of the Game
• Setup
• Playing a Round
  • Passing a Card
  • Rules for Clues
• End of a Round
• End of the Game and Scoring
• Tip
• Rule for 2 or 3 Players

Components

• 20 Letter cards (cartes Lettre)
• 80 Word cards (cartes Mots)
• 1 hourglass (sablier)

Idea and Goal of the Game

The players play together against the game, trying to validate as many words as possible before the Letter card pile is exhausted.

Setup

1. Shuffle the two types of cards separately, then form two piles: a Letter card pile and a Word card pile.
2. The players choose which colour they want to play with for this game. The colours are the colours of the framed words on the Word cards: Purple, Green and Blue.
   • Example: the players agree to play with the green words. Each time they draw a Word card, they only consider the words in the green part of the card.
3. Two players sitting side by side are chosen at random. They form the first team, which will make the others guess (see the rule for 2 or 3 players below).
4. The first 4 Letter cards of the pile are laid face up in a row in the centre of the table, for example: M, C, D, P.

Playing a Round

1. The guessing team takes the first Word card from the pile and reads the 3 words printed in the colour chosen at the start of the game. The hourglass is then turned over immediately.
   • Example: the players have decided to play with the purple words for this round. They draw the card and must make the others guess one of these three words to validate the card: Table, Acid or Ant.
2. The team secretly agrees on one of the 3 words that they will try to get the others to guess. To make this word guessed, the team must give clues that begin with one of the letters available in the centre of the table.
   • Example: the team decides to make the others guess the word Table and must give clues starting with the letters M, C, D, P. One team member announces: "Furniture..." (Meuble...).
   • The illustration also shows the further hints "Kitchen..." (Cuisine...) and "Multiplication..." (Multiplication...), which both start with letters on the table.
3. As soon as a clue is given, the player who gave it slides the letter forward to show that it has been used. This letter remains available and can still be used as the initial of clues, but it will be discarded at the end of the round.
   • Note: once a player has given a clue on a word, it is no longer possible to change the word, except by changing the card (see "Passing a card" below).
4. The players who are guessing may propose as many answers as they wish.
5. As soon as a word has been found, the guessing team draws a new Word card, and so on until the hourglass runs out.
6. The 4 Letter cards are not realigned between words. If the players use a letter that has not been used before, they advance the corresponding letter as explained above.

Passing a Card

If the guessing team is in difficulty and wishes to pass a Word card, it may do so, but it must then turn over one of the 4 Letter cards on the table. This letter can no longer be used until the end of the round, whether or not it was used previously. The team then draws a new Word card.

Rules for Clues

• The clues used must not be from the same family as the word to be guessed. Example: you cannot say "fourche" (fork) to make the others guess "fourchette" (cutlery fork).
• It is also forbidden to use as a clue the translation of the word into a foreign language.
• Proper nouns are allowed. Example: Louis XIV for Sun (Soleil).
• The only compound words accepted are those written as a single word and those linked by a hyphen: "portefeuille" (wallet) and "porte-monnaie" (purse) are accepted, but "pomme de terre" (potato) is not.
• The guessing team may communicate discreetly in a low voice, but the other team must not hear any exchange.
• The only words the guessing team is allowed to say after a proposal from the other players are: "Yes" (Oui), "No" (Non), or "Almost" (Presque).

End of a Round

1. When the hourglass has run out, all Word cards that have been guessed are set aside. If the team passed one or more Word cards, those are returned to the box.
2. All Letter cards that have been advanced and/or turned over, and that have therefore been used at least once, are also returned to the box.
   • Warning: if no word was guessed during the time of the hourglass, all 4 Letter cards are discarded.
3. Before starting a new round, the discarded Letter cards are replaced by the same number of Letter cards from the Letter card pile.
4. The 2 players to the left of the team that has just made the others guess form the new guessing team for the round. They take a Word card and a new round begins.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game continues in this way until there are not enough Letter cards left to replace the discarded cards at the end of a round. For this reason, players should try to save as many Letter cards as possible during the game: the game then lasts longer, giving the players the opportunity to increase their score.

The players then count the number of Word cards they succeeded in having guessed during the whole game.

The game is considered won if the players reach at least 30 points.

Cards guessed	Result
0 - 9 cards	Erm... how can I put it without offending you? You can only improve!
10 - 19 cards	There is still work to do, but don't be discouraged; the greatest have been through it too... or not!
20 - 24 cards	It's getting pretty good; the next one will be the one.
25 - 29 cards	You're almost there! If it's a first game, it's practically a victory.
30 cards and more	Well done, you are champions; try to beat your record!

Tip

Try to find as many clues as possible that start with the same letter. For example: Maison (house) + Médor (the name of a dog) to make the others guess Niche (dog kennel).

Do not hesitate to use all the meanings of a word to increase your chances of making it guessed. For example, to make the word Souris (mouse) guessed, you can refer to the animal and to the computer tool.

Rule for 2 or 3 Players

• With 2 players: each player in turn makes the other guess words.
• With 3 players: 2 players, who rotate each round, make the third player guess.