Dictopia
Dictopia Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
Have the most points at the end of the five trials, to earn your place in the Resistance!
Components
- 60 Letter cards
- 30 Mission cards
- 1 score pad
Tutorial
Before your first game of Dictopia, we suggest a warm-up with three challenges.
Lay out 8 Letter cards in front of each person, black side up (with the letters visible). Each person should complete at least two of the three suggested challenges.
Challenge 1 Form a five-letter word.
Challenge 2 Form a word containing exactly eight eyes.
Challenge 3 Form a word that begins with a vowel.
How do you form a word?
To form a word, you may:
- Move your cards in front of you as much as you like.
- Use only one letter per card.
- Use as many cards as you want.
Setup
No more messing around — it is now time to move on to the five real trials.
- Take a score sheet, get a pencil, and write your names on the first line.
- Shuffle all the Mission cards.
- Grab a mobile phone and go to the following address:
https://subverti.com/fr/dictopia/timer/. If the Internet is down in your area, use any timer instead (phone, watch, or an antique hourglass) and set it for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Before each trial
- Shuffle all the Letter cards.
- Deal 8 Letter cards face down (white side) in front of each player.
- Place the rest of the deck, still face down, in the center of the table. The number visible on top of the pile shows the number of eyes watching you.
- From the second trial onward, flip one Mission card face up in the center of the table. It applies to everyone. On the last trial, flip two Mission cards instead of one! The number of missions per trial is reminded on the score sheet.
Each Trial
Everyone plays at the same time. Ready? The trial can begin!
- Start the soundtrack (or a timer).
- Flip your 8 Letter cards face up.
- Form a word with your Letter cards.
- As soon as the soundtrack or the timer ends, stop touching your cards.
- Count the points (details on the following pages):
- 1 point per letter used in your word.
- 3 bonus points if you have the eyes.
- other bonus points if you complete the missions (from the 2nd trial onward).
- Write the points on the score sheet.
- Discard the Mission card before moving on to the next trial (from the 2nd trial onward).
Scoring
At the end of each trial, you score:
- 1 point per letter used in your word.
- If, by adding up the eyes associated with each letter of your word, you get exactly the same number of eyes as the number shown on the back of the undealt pile, add 3 bonus points.
- If your word fulfills the requested mission, add the bonus points from the Mission card.
It is always optional to have the right number of eyes and to fulfill a Mission — the only requirement is to form a word!
Examples
- 10 eyes are watching you, and your mission is to have an "even number of letters." R D: 5 letters = 5 points.
- P ND: 5 letters, 10 eyes = 5 points + 3 bonus points = 8 points.
- T X: 4 letters, even = 4 points + 2 bonus points = 6 points.
- V T R: 6 letters, 10 eyes, even = 6 points + 3 bonus points + 2 bonus points = 11 points.
Missions
Each Mission card offers an optional objective you can try to fulfill to earn bonus points.
A few notes on the Mission cards:
Music — Your word must contain the note do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, or ut. You may have the exact letters of the note or its phonetic sound. Example: the word "radeau" contains the sound [do].
Homograph — Your word must have several meanings with the same spelling. Example: the word "mousse" refers to both a young sailor and a plant.
Mood quote — Example: your word must complete a given quotation.
Lexical field — Your word must relate to the requested theme. If there is disagreement about a word, debate it, then vote by a show of hands to decide whether the mission is fulfilled.
Complete the sentence — Your word must logically complete the sentence. If there is disagreement about a word, debate it, then vote by a show of hands to decide whether the mission is fulfilled. In case of a tie in a show-of-hands vote, the mission is validated but only awards a single bonus point.
Three syllables — Your word must contain at least three written syllables. Example: sys-tem.
Speed — Be the fastest person to validate your word by putting a hand on this card. Once the card is touched, you can no longer change your word, even if it is wrong. The others may continue until the time runs out.
Foreign language — Your word must be written in any language other than French, including regional languages (Breton, Catalan), romanized languages (Pinyin, Arabizi), or constructed languages (Esperanto).
Blank missions — Invent your own missions and write them on these cards so you can play with them.
Denunciation — When tallying points, you may denounce another person's word to challenge its validity. Words from the language you are playing in are allowed, including plurals, feminine forms, and conjugations. Proper nouns, compound words, acronyms, and initialisms are forbidden. If your word is challenged rightly, you score 0 points for that trial. If it is challenged wrongly, you count your points as normal.
End of the Game
After the fifth trial, add up each person's total points. The person with the most points wins the game and is recruited by the Resistance — congratulations!
In case of a tie, the person with the highest score in the last trial wins. If the tie persists, victory is shared.
Solo Mode
After proving your worth to the Resistance, it is time to face Big Brother alone! Before challenging him, remember to remove the "Speed" Mission card.
The trials play out the same way as in normal mode. In each trial, note Big Brother's score in addition to your own.
How do you count Big Brother's points?
First, count all the eyes on the cards you did not use in your word. Big Brother scores 1 point per eye on those cards. Then add to his score all the bonus points you did not win (the eyes bonus and the Mission card bonus).
Example: a word using 5 letters and fulfilling its mission scores 3 points (mission) + 5 points (letters) = 8 points. Meanwhile, the unused cards carry a total of 12 eyes, and their eyes bonus was missed, so Big Brother scores 3 points (missed eyes bonus) + 12 points (total eyes on unused cards) = 15 points for Big Brother.
Did you manage to beat Big Brother playing with 8 Letter cards? From now on, face him with 9 cards, then 10, then 11, and so on!
Word From the Author
Imagine a world where censors, meant to censor without mercy, dictate their law. Where in the streets you hear the resisting scholar proving that they exist. In this chaos, a circle of etymologists appears and organizes itself against the power above that is up for debate. Words in hand, the fight can begin. Sublime, innovative, and precious messages spread, leaving the hope of better days. But beware, you must be vigilant and quick — you are being watched.