Djam Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Aim
• Gameplay
• Example of Play
• Contents
• Classic Version in 7 Steps
• Variant: Unlimited Proposals
• Variant: Open Themes

Game Aim

Choose a theme card, draw one at random, and roll the six other dice (colours and letters). Find as quickly as possible words that match the theme and include as many of the letters showing on the dice as you can. Only the initial letter of the word is imposed.

Gameplay

• Place all the tokens in the centre of the table.
• Choose a theme card that will stay the same for the whole game (by default, use card 1).
• In the first round, the youngest player starts. At the start of each new round, the roller changes, passing clockwise.
• At the start of a round, the roller throws the six-sided numbered die. The result indicates the theme of the round as defined by the theme card.
• The roller then throws the five letter dice and the colour die at the same time.
• From this moment, all players play simultaneously.
• Attention goes first to the colour die. Two situations are possible:

1. The colour die shows the colour of one of the five letter dice. All players may then announce words, following these rules:

• The word must begin with the letter shown on the letter die whose colour was drawn;

• The word must match the theme drawn at the start of the round;

• It is not possible to announce a common noun that uses the same root as a word already spoken during the same round (éléphant – éléphanteau…). This rule does not apply to proper nouns: for example, Dinan and Dinard may be announced by two different players in the same round.

• For proper nouns, the family name or the surname is taken into account.

• A player scores 1 point for each letter that is present both on the dice and in the word they have just found. They immediately take the matching tokens from the centre of the table.

For example: if the letter O is showing on one die and the players must find a personality, saying "Bono" scores only one point. However, if two dice showed an O, the player would score 2 points (1 point per die).

2. The colour die shows black. Players must then immediately find a word that matches the theme of the round and does not include any of the letters showing on the dice. Only the first player to find such a word wins the round.

• They may then take four tokens from the centre of the table.

• If the player's proposal was wrong (the word they announce contains one or more letters showing on the dice), the player returns 4 points (if they have them) to the centre of the table.

• As soon as a player makes a valid proposal, they collect their tokens (points). They do not play again for the rest of this round.

• Depending on the number of participants, not all players necessarily score points:

  • with 3–4 players, the last player to speak during a round does not score points;
  • with 5–6 players, the last two players to speak do not score points.

• It is therefore important to hurry, so as not to end up last and risk scoring no points… but it is just as important to take a little time to find a word containing as many of the letters showing on the dice as possible!

• Once all the players have made their proposals and scored their points, a new round begins.

• The game ends when there are no tokens left in the centre of the table. The winner is the player with the greatest number of tokens at the end of the game.

Example of Play

• Four players sit down to play.
• A player rolls the six-sided die and indicates 1. The theme of the round will be "Personnalités" (Personalities).
• A player rolls the five letter dice and the colour die.
• The dice show the following: colour die: green; green die: B; white die: O; yellow die: R; red die: V; blue die: A.
• One player immediately announces "Bono". They score 2 points (for the B and the O).
• A second player takes a little more time and announces "Brejnev", scoring 3 points.
• A third player quickly announces "Buñuel" before their opponent can say "Brecht". They score only one point, while the last player scores nothing.
• A new round can begin.

Contents

• 5 letter dice of different colours, with letters on each face;
• 1 die with five faces in the colours of the letter dice and one black face;
• 1 six-sided numbered die;
• 90 tokens to count points;
• 2 variant cards;
• 1 summary card;
• 4 theme cards;
• 1 rulebook.

Classic Version in 7 Steps

• At the start of a round, determine a theme at random using the numbered die.
• A player then rolls the other 6 dice.
• As quickly as possible, players must find a word that matches the theme of the round and begins with the letter shown on the die whose colour was drawn at random.
• As soon as a player gives a valid proposal, they collect a number of tokens equal to the number of letters present both on the dice and in their word. They do not play again for the rest of this round.
• Attention: depending on the number of players, the last player or players to speak will score no points!
• Once all players have made their proposal, the game moves on to the next round.
• The game stops as soon as there are no more tokens to take.

Variant: Unlimited Proposals

In this variant, the rules are modified as follows:

• Set the tokens aside or leave them in the game box.
• At the start of a round, before determining the theme of the round, take 2 tokens per player and place them in the centre of the table.
• Players do not stop playing after making a first proposal; they continue to score points whenever they make a valid proposal.
• The round ends as soon as there are no tokens left in the centre of the table.
• If the black face appears, the player who wins the round may take tokens directly from the tokens set aside (not from those of the round). A new round then begins, keeping simply the tokens already in the centre of the table.

Variant: Open Themes

In this variant, the rules are modified as follows:

• Leave the numbered die in the box; it will not be used during the game.
• At the start of a round, no theme is drawn at random.
• When they must make word proposals, players may propose words matching any of the themes on the chosen card.
• As soon as a player announces a valid word for a theme, they may no longer announce other words for that theme.
• Players do not stop playing after making a first proposal; they continue to play, score points and "close" themes whenever they make a valid proposal.
• The round ends as soon as all six themes on the card have been "closed".
• If the black face appears, the player must find a word that includes no letter and matches one of the themes (player's choice).