Cross Clues Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• How to Play
  • 2 or 3 player game
  • Giving a clue
• Rules for Clues
• End of the Game

Contents

• 10 Axis Tiles
• 25 Clue Cards
• 50 Code Word Cards
• 1 five-minute timer

Object of the Game

Work together to fill in the grid with Clue Cards! Each player must come up with a clue that represents the crossing of their unique combination of code words. If the other players can correctly guess which two words you crossed, then you get to place your Clue Card in its proper location in the grid. If they guess wrong, the card is discarded. Your goal is to fill in the grid with as many clues as possible by correctly guessing the location of each card.

Choose your clues carefully and try to get the best score possible!

Setup

• Choose one from the three following grid sizes: Classic (4x4 grid), Express (3x3 grid), or Expert (5x5 grid).
• Begin your grid by arranging the Axis Tiles in order, with the letters in a single row and the numbers in a single column (see diagram below).
• Shuffle the Code Word Cards together and place them so that one word is visible in front of each Axis Tile.
• Gather together the Clue Cards corresponding to your game size. For example, an Express (3x3) grid will use the Clue Cards labeled: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, and C3.
• Shuffle the Clue Cards together and place them in a pile, with the coordinates facing down.
• Optional timer: Decide if your group will play with the 5-minute game timer. If you are using the timer for an Expert (5x5) size grid, then you will have 10 minutes (two back-to-back flips of the 5-minute timer).
• Return all unused components to the box.

The grid is formed by the Axis Tiles (letters along one axis, numbers along the other), with the Code Word Cards placed in front of each tile.

How to Play

When all players are ready, the game begins. Be sure to flip the timer if you are using it.

Each player draws one Clue Card from the pile, without revealing it to the other players. Clue Cards have coordinates on them that represent a unique crossing of two of the code words laid out during setup (row and column).

You must try to come up with a single word that best combines both of the code words listed on your Clue Card.

Example: "Vet" could be used as a clue to represent a link between Bear and Doctor.

2 or 3 player game

When playing with two or three players, each player always has two Clue Cards to choose from in their hands. They can choose either one if they can come up with a good clue for it.

Giving a clue

At any time, when a player comes up with a clue, they gather the attention of the group, and then say their clue out loud so that everyone can hear it.

Note: There is no turn order. If a player is ready, then they may give their clue.

The players who must work out the coordinate can talk to each other to exchange ideas. However, they cannot give any information about the coordinates of the cards in their hands. Only one player can be the spokesperson for the team and give the team's final guess.

The other players can only communicate about possible associations.

The player giving the clue cannot tell the others information about their Clue Card.

• If they correctly guess the coordinates of the player's Clue Card, that player places their card in its location in the grid, with its coordinates facing up.
• If they guess incorrectly, the Clue Card is placed to the side of the table, without revealing its coordinates.

The player who gave the clue then draws a new Clue Card from the pile. When the pile is empty, the game continues until no player has a card left in their hand. (Or the timer runs out.)

Rules for Clues

• Clues must be limited to a single word that relates to both code words.
• Clues with the same root as a code word may not be used.
• Clues cannot be reused in any form (including incorrectly guessed clues).

End of the Game

The game can end in one of two ways:

• The timer runs out.

  OR

• There are no Clue Cards left in the pile and the players have no more cards in hand.

Players then count the number of Clue Cards correctly placed in the grid and use the following table for scoring:

	Failed	Average	Good	Awesome
Express	<4	4-5	6-7	8+
Classic	<8	8-11	12-14	15+
Expert	<12	12-16	17-22	23+

• Failed — Oh dear, clearly you don't understand each other at all.
• Average — You have a basic understanding of how the other players think!
• Good — Wow! You have a strong connection!
• Awesome — A perfect score! You must be telepathically linked!