Color Words Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Course of the Game
  • 1. Draw 3 Letter Cards and 1 Bonus Card
  • 2. Write a Word and Circle It
  • 3. Score the Points of Your Word
    • Scoring Example
• End of the Game
• Special Rules of the Grids
  • Grid A: Filling
  • Grid B: Race for the Stars
• Solo Mode
• Bonus Cards
  • Themed Bonus (3 points)
  • First Letter Bonus
  • Last Letter Bonus (2 points)
  • Straight Line Bonus (2 points)
  • Turn Bonus (2 points)
  • Size Bonus
  • Spaces Bonus

Components

• 3 colored boards (blue, yellow and red)
• 1 sand timer of 90 seconds
• 18 Letter cards
• 36 Bonus cards
• 6 erasable grids: A on the front / B on the back
• 6 erasable markers
• 4 cleaning cloths

Setup

1. Place the sand timer and the 3 colored boards in the center of the table.
2. Shuffle the Letter cards and form a draw pile, face down, near the boards.
3. Shuffle the Bonus cards and form a draw pile, face down, near the boards.
4. Give each person a marker and a grid. Choose together which side of the grid to use. For your first game, play with grid A.

Course of the Game

A game is played over 6 rounds. During a round, everyone plays simultaneously. Each round, carry out the following 3 steps in order:

1. DRAW 3 LETTER CARDS AND 1 BONUS CARD (COLLECTIVE)
2. WRITE A WORD AND CIRCLE IT (INDIVIDUAL)
3. SCORE THE POINTS OF YOUR WORD (INDIVIDUAL)

1. Draw 3 Letter Cards and 1 Bonus Card

Someone draws 3 Letter cards, one by one, and places them at random on the 3 colored boards. Each letter is thus associated with a color. This person also draws 1 Bonus card and places it in the center of the table. This card indicates a condition that earns points if it is met.

After the first round, the newly drawn cards are placed on top of the previous ones.

2. Write a Word and Circle It

Turn the sand timer over. Everyone now has 90 seconds to write a word on their grid!

• In the first round: you must place the first letter of your word in the Start space, at the top left of your grid.
• In the following rounds: you must place the first letter of your word in a space adjacent to an already filled space.

Also respect the following rules:

• Write a single letter per space.
• You may write in a straight line to the right or downward.
• You may also write in a staircase, but always toward the right and downward, and never toward the left or upward.
• Allowed: plurals, feminine forms and conjugated verbs.
• Forbidden: abbreviations and compound words (with hyphens or apostrophes). Proper nouns are forbidden, except when a themed Bonus card is in play (see Bonus Cards).

ATTENTION: Color Words is not a crossword game! You cannot write a word using the letters of a word written in a previous round. To help you remember, CIRCLE your word before scoring its points.

Using the drawn letters is not mandatory, but it earns you a lot of points! Try to use as many as possible and to place them on the right colors to maximize your score.

3. Score the Points of Your Word

Count the points of your word as follows:

• The 3 Letter cards: each Letter card is associated with the color of its board. For each of these letters in your word, you earn points according to the associated color. You do not score points for the other letters.
  • 1 point if the letter is in a space of a different color than its board.
  • 2 points if the letter is in a space of the same color as its board.
  • The Start space has no color and therefore can only earn 1 point.
• The Bonus card: if you fulfil the condition of the Bonus card, you earn the points indicated (2, 3 or 4 points).

Write your score for the round in a score bubble at the top of your grid.

Tip: As in the illustration (page 6), tick the small circles at the top left of each space to count the points of the letters of your word.

Scoring Example

In the second round, you wrote the word "slaloms".

• The first L earns 1 point.
• The second L earns 2 points because it is in a red space, like the board of the L card.
• The O earns 2 points because it is placed in a blue space, like the board of the O card.
• You did not use the letter D.
• The other letters earn no points.
• Your word ends in a yellow space. The condition of the Bonus card is therefore fulfilled and earns 2 additional points, for a total of 7 points (5 + 2).

End of the Game

At the end of the sixth round, everyone will have written 6 words and filled the 6 score bubbles at the top of their grid. The game is then over. Calculate your total score by adding the points of your 6 score bubbles and of the Star space (see Special Rules of the Grids).

The person with the highest total score wins the game. In case of a tie, the victory is shared among the tied persons.

Special Rules of the Grids

Grid A: Filling

At the end of the game, the person or persons with the fewest empty spaces in their grid circle and win the 5 points of the Star space. The others cross out the Star space and do not get its points.

Grid B: Race for the Stars

At the end of each round, if you have one or more lines and/or columns completely filled, announce it. For example: "I finished column D!" or: "I finished line 4!" You may then circle the star of that row, and your opponents must cross out that star on their grid. It is now impossible for them to obtain it.

If several people complete the same line or column during the same round, they may all circle the corresponding star. At the end of the game, each circled star earns 2 points. Add them up and write the total in the Star space at the top of your grid.

Solo Mode

To play solo, follow the basic rules as well as the following additional rules:

• Grid A: at the end of the game, you obtain the 5 points of the Star space if you have 7 empty spaces or fewer left.
• Grid B: at the start of each round, if possible, choose and cross out 1 star that you have not yet circled. You will therefore no longer be able to obtain it later.

Final score rating:

Grid A	Grid B	Rating
60+	70+	Insensé! (Insane!) - 5 stars
55	65	Fantastique! (Fantastic!) - 4 stars
50	60	Formidable! (Great!) - 3 stars
45	55	Bravo! - 2 stars
40	50	Pas mal! (Not bad!) - 1 star
35	45	Rejouez! (Play again!)

Bonus Cards

Themed Bonus (3 points)

The bonus is validated if your word is within the theme given by the illustration. The themes are deliberately broad and open to interpretation. When you reveal a themed Bonus card, discuss together what can represent the theme so that the bonus suits everyone's culture. When a themed bonus is revealed, you may write a proper noun!

Themes:

• Cinema, TV series, YouTube
• Literature, comics, manga
• Sports
• Fashion, clothing
• Science, technology
• Music
• Games
• Cooking
• History
• Travel, geography
• Nature, plants, animals
• Famous characters, real or fictional

First Letter Bonus

Validated if you write a word beginning with the indicated letter. Cards: A, B, C (3 points each); J, N, O (4 points each).

Last Letter Bonus (2 points)

Validated if you write a word whose last letter is in a space of the indicated color. Cards: one each for blue, yellow and red.

Straight Line Bonus (2 points)

Validated if you write a word entirely in a straight line in the direction indicated, to the right or downward, depending on the card.

Turn Bonus (2 points)

Validated if you write a word containing at least one "turn" in a space of the indicated color. Cards: one each for blue, yellow and red.

Size Bonus

Validated if you write a word containing exactly the indicated number of letters. Cards: =5 (4 points), =6 (3 points), =7 (2 points), =8 (3 points), =9 (4 points).

Spaces Bonus

Validated if you write a word using at least the indicated spaces. Five cards, each showing the required spaces (colored spaces marked with check marks): worth 3, 4, 4, 4 and 3 points respectively.