Context Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Permitted Terms
  • Variant: Fixed Player Order
• End of the Game
• Quick Rules
  • Setup
  • Gameplay
  • End of the Game

Object of the Game

Context is a cooperative game. You win or lose together. You try to score points by getting your team, through exactly 1 clever term, to place the word island as precisely as possible on the coordinate intended for it.

Components

• 1 game board
• 4 puzzle pieces (for the anchor points)
• 4 anchor point cards
• 49 word islands (front: island side; back: coordinate side)
• 1 ship figure (before your first game, you must assemble the ship figure; the illustration shows the parts being pushed together)
• 1 score island
• 1 scoring marker
• 4 erasable pens
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. Place the game board in the middle of the table. Attach the 4 puzzle pieces to the game board.

2. Place the ship figure next to the game board.

3. Place the score island next to the game board and place the scoring marker on space 0.

4. Deal the 4 anchor point cards randomly among you. Secretly think of 1 term and write it on your anchor point card. Depending on which anchor point card you received, you write either a noun (Substantiv, Hauptwort) or an adjective (Adjektiv, Eigenschaftswort) on the card, using the symbol printed on it. If no term comes to mind, you may use the question printed on your card as a help.

   Note: In a 3-player game, one person receives 2 anchor point cards. With more than 4 players, not everyone receives an anchor point card.

5. Place the anchor point cards face up on the puzzle pieces. The symbols on the game board (adjective symbol and noun symbol) show you on which puzzle pieces the cards must be placed.

6. Decide together which level you want to play. Depending on the level you choose, you must reach a different number of points to win:

   • Level 1: 7 points
   • Level 2: 10 points
   • Level 3: 14 points
   • Level 4: 18 points
   • Level 5: 23 points
   • Level 6: 27 points
   • Level 7: 30 points

   Surprising tip: For your first game, we recommend that you start with Level 1.

7. Get the pens ready.

Note: A great appeal of the game is that you are completely free to choose the 4 terms of the anchor point cards. So do not discuss the terms beforehand, and do not form deliberately opposing pairs such as "good" and "evil."

After a few games, you can also play a round on one very specific theme. For example, use only terms from films, board games or medicine. Create your own Context!

Gameplay

Context is played without a fixed player order. This means that whoever thinks they have found a great term is up.

Look at the coordinate side of your word island in secret. It shows 2 different coordinates. Decide on 1 of the coordinates and circle it on your word island.

Now write 1 term on the island side that points as precisely as possible to the chosen coordinate on the game board. To do this, use the anchor points lying at the edges and any word islands already lying on the game board.

Take care to keep the coordinates on the back hidden so that the others do not already know them, for example by placing your card face down on the table.

Example: Carla has drawn a word island with the two coordinates D3 and A2 on it. She decides on the coordinate A2. The anchor points lying out are "stew" (Eintopf) – "rubber ball" (Gummiball) and "slippery" (rutschig) – "pink" (rosa). She writes "road salt" (Streusalz) as her clue. You scatter the salt into the stew, but it has nothing in common with a rubber ball. Road salt is used when it is very slippery; salt can also have a pink tint. Since this is not often the case, the clue should point much more in the direction of "slippery."

Note: Proper names of songs, musicians, books, films and the like are not forbidden, but sometimes they are less obvious than they first appear.

It can spoil the fun if you form word chains. If "major fire" (Großbrand) is already lying on the game board, you will surely think of something better for adjacent coordinates than "forest fire" (Waldbrand) or "smouldering fire" (Schwelbrand).

Permitted Terms

Your goal is to find a term that points to the coordinate you circled on your word island. Decide case by case which terms are still allowed for you. As a rule of thumb: if it feels like cheating, it probably is.

Agree on the language you want to play in. In some groups, certain foreign-language terms may be very familiar; try to find a good balance for your group.

Your terms must be common; they must therefore appear in a dictionary or be proper names. "New York" is acceptable as a clue; "skylight view" (Dachfenster-Ausblick) is not.

You may not use terms that share the same word stem as the anchor points. If "juicy" (saftig) is lying out as an anchor point, the word "juice bar" (Saftladen) is not allowed; "nectar" (Nektar), however, is.

Your terms may not use the coordinate designation as a clue; they must relate to the word islands and anchor points lying out. For the field "F1," the tip "car race" (Autorennen) is therefore not allowed.

Each coordinate in a row (A–G) is considered equally far from the upper and lower anchor point (adjectives). Likewise, all coordinates in a column (1–7) are considered equally far from the left or right anchor point (nouns).

Example: The terms "bumper cars" (Autoscooter, C3) and "eggplant" (Aubergine, C6) both lie in row C. On the left lies the anchor point "stew" (Eintopf). Both "bumper cars" and "eggplant" are equally much "stew." "Bumper cars" is clearly closer to the upper anchor point "slippery" (rutschig) than "eggplant" (see the illustration on page 4 of the original rulebook).

Once you have thought of a term, write it on the island side of the card.

Then show the group your term (but NOT the coordinates). As a reminder: it is best to place the card on the table to prevent accidentally revealing the coordinates. You may not explain your term, and you may not give any further hints through hand gestures, facial expressions and the like. You may also not take part in the following discussion.

The rest of the group wants to find the position of the term on the game board as exactly as possible by discussing it with the help of the anchor points and the word islands already lying out. You may of course not mention the coordinates on your own word island during the discussion.

If one of the two coordinates is already occupied by a term, you must take the other coordinate. In the rare case that both coordinates are already occupied, you discard your word island and draw a new one from the stack.

You can use the ship figure to mark a position on the game board. As soon as you have agreed on a final coordinate, place the ship figure on it. To check, then turn the word island over. Depending on how exactly you hit the sought island position, you receive more, fewer or no points:

• Bullseye (Volltreffer): You have found the exact position of the island. Well done! If you have placed the ship figure exactly on the coordinate circled on the word island, you have scored a "bullseye." Move the marker on the score island forward by 3 points. Place the guessed term island side up on the matching coordinate of the game board. This term now has a permanent place in your Context.

• Narrow miss (Knapp daneben): You are very close! If you have placed the ship figure on a coordinate that is horizontally or vertically (not diagonally) adjacent to the circled coordinate, this is a "narrow miss." Move the marker on the score island forward by 1 point. Place the guessed term island side up on the coordinate it should point to (and not on the one you guessed). This term too now expands your Context.

• No hit (Kein Treffer): You have unfortunately missed completely. If the ship figure is on a coordinate other than the ones described above, you receive 0 points. Wipe the term off the card. Place the word island with the island side up on the coordinate it should point to (and not on the one you guessed). The coordinate is now occupied, but unfortunately by an empty island that does not expand your Context.

Place the ship figure back next to the game board. If fewer than 10 word islands lie on the game board, you continue playing. The person whose word island was placed on the game board draws 1 new card from the stack. Continue playing as before, with another person now presenting their term.

Note: A person may not present 2 terms directly one after another.

Variant: Fixed Player Order

If you prefer a fixed player order, you can use this variant. To do so, take as many word islands from the stack as there are players in the game. Write your name on 1 card. You form a row below the game board, into which you place your name card as soon as you want to present a term. Whoever is at the very front presents their term. Once the term has been discussed, the person gets their name card back.

If you have a new term, you place your name card back at the end of the row. In this variant, too, you may not present 2 terms directly one after another.

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as 10 word islands lie on the game board, regardless of whether the terms were placed correctly or not. Now you check whether you have reached the points needed for your level.

If the scoring marker has reached at least the space of your level, you have won. You may then dare to try the next level.

Otherwise, try your level again with a new Context right away.

For the new game, wipe all word islands clean, shuffle them, and set 4 new anchor points. Let's go!

Quick Rules

Setup

• Assemble the 4 puzzle pieces to the game board and place the ship figure ready.
• Place the score island next to the game board and place the scoring marker on space 0.
• Deal the 4 anchor point cards and secretly write a term.
• Place the cards on the matching puzzle pieces.
• Decide which level you want to play.
• Get the pens ready.
• Shuffle the word islands and place them island side up, ready as a stack.
• Each player draws 1 word island from the stack.

Gameplay

• Decide on 1 of the two coordinates and circle it.
• Secretly think of 1 term that points to the coordinate.
• Show your term to the rest of the group so that everyone can discuss the position on the game board.
• As soon as they agree, they place the ship figure on 1 coordinate.

Bullseye: If you have found the exact position of the island, you receive 3 points. Move your marker on the score island accordingly. Place the term on the guessed coordinate.

Narrow miss: If you have placed the ship figure on a coordinate that is horizontally or vertically adjacent to the circled coordinate, you receive 1 point. Place the term on the coordinate actually sought.

No hit: If you have placed the ship figure on a coordinate other than the described ones, you receive 0 points. Wipe the term off the card and place the empty card island side up on the coordinate actually sought.

Whoever wrote the term draws 1 new word island.

A person may never present 2 terms directly one after another.

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as 10 word islands lie on the game board. If you have been able to reach the points needed for the level, you have won.