El Soneto
El Soneto Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
In El Soneto the players take the role of participants in the contest organised by Lope de Vega and try to create the most valuable words possible throughout it, using the letters obtained in the famous mentideros (gossip spots) of Madrid. Such words represent the poems judged in the contest and earn rewards through a series of merits that include the use of stylistic devices and rhyme.
Components
- 1 game board
- 90 letter cards
- 6 poetic genre / grammatical category cards
- 24 literato cards
- 4 help cards
- 10 poetic device cards
- 4 rhyme counters
- 4 point counters
- 1 poemario (poem sheet pad)
- 4 turn order cards
- 1 sand timer
- 27 valedor cards
Setup
(Letters refer to the setup diagram, an example setup for a 3-player game.)
A. In the LIBRERÍA DE DON FRANCISCO DE ROBLES, shuffle and place face down 3 of the 6 POETIC GENRE CARDS. The 3 remaining cards are returned to the box.
B. In the CORRAL DEL PRÍNCIPE, shuffle and place face down the VALEDOR CARDS, then reveal as many as there are players plus one and place them in a row next to the top of the board.
C. On the SONETO track, place the RHYME COUNTERS (wooden cubes) of all players on the marked space. Two of the Lope de Vega cards are placed -always with the character side visible- next to level five of the Soneto and the other two next to level nine.
D. Next to the bottom of the board place 4 of the 6 POETIC DEVICE CARDS of one feather, chosen by the players themselves. The 2 remaining cards are returned to the box. In the first game it is recommended to use synonym, antonym, anaphora and concatenation.
E. Under each poetic device card place, shuffled and with the character side visible, all the CARDS of one of the LITERATOS. Each literato supports one specific poetic device.
F. In the MENTIDEROS of Madrid, place shuffled and face down the different decks of LETTER CARDS with which the players will create their words:
- On the LOSAS DE PALACIO, the GOLD cards (letters of scarce use and two seals).
- On the REPRESENTANTES, the SILVER cards (letters of intermediate use and one seal).
- On the GRADAS DE SAN FELIPE, the BRONZE cards (letters of frequent use, with no seals).
Then reveal a number of letter cards according to the number of players:
- 2 players: 2 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze.
- 3 players: 2 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze.
- 4 players: 3 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze.
These cards are placed on the table where the players judge they are most accessible to everyone.
Note: If at any time during the game a deck at the mentideros runs out, its corresponding discard pile is shuffled to create a new deck.
G. The POINT COUNTERS (wooden discs) are stacked randomly on the zero space of the scoring track.
H. To one side of the board place the TURN ORDER CARDS (as many as there are players), ordered from lowest to highest with the 1 on top, and the 2-minute SAND TIMER.
I. Finally, each player takes a poemario, a pencil (not included in the game), a help card and 6 random letter cards from the mentidero decks: 3 bronze, 2 silver and 1 gold, which they keep face down in their play area without looking at them until the moment of using them to form words.
Playing
The game is played over 3 rounds of 3 turns each. In each turn, every player tries to create a word. In the poemario there is one box per turn (9 in total) and they must be filled in compulsorily, so that if in some turn a player does not create a word, or having created one it is not valid, they must cross out the box as a turn elapsed.
Each turn has 2 phases, to be carried out in this order:
- Create a word.
- Evaluate a word.
1. Create a Word
When everything is ready, all players simultaneously take all their letter cards in hand and try to mentally form with them the most valuable word possible. For this, during this phase each player may take one of the letter cards that lie face up on the table.
In addition, each player will also have:
- The literato cards in their play area with the vowel side or the asterisk side visible (see Support of literatos, p. 6).
- The valedor cards in their play area (see Support of valedores, p. 6), of which only one may be discarded during this phase to take one of the letter cards that lie face up on the table.
When forming a word it is very important that all players bear in mind that it is not necessary to use one card for each letter the word contains.
Players must also respect the following rules for a word to be considered valid:
- It must be unique: words already written by others or by oneself cannot be repeated.
- It must belong to one of the grammatical categories admitted in the round of play.
- It must contain a minimum of 2 letter cards and a maximum of 6.
- It must be accepted by the Real Academia de la Lengua.
- It must not be a proper noun.
- It must not be a plural.
- It must not be a conjugated verb (only infinitives are admitted).
Example: Clara has in hand a T, an A, a G, an O, an R and a Y, and decides that her word this turn will be the verb "agotar", for which she lays down the A, the G, the O and the R. She could also lay down the T, but decides to keep it for some later turn, since with the G alone she has enough seals to obtain an additional letter card (see below: SEALS).
When a player considers that they have created their word, they must place the letter and literato cards used for it face down, take the turn order card that corresponds to them (the 1 if they are the first to do so, the 2 if the second, etc.) and place it on top of them. They must also place face down, to one side of their play area, the letter cards left in their hand. If they are the first player to create a word in the turn, they must also take the sand timer and turn it, thus limiting to 2 minutes the time the rest of the players have to create their word. If when the time runs out any player has not formed a word, they score no points that turn and must cross out the corresponding box in their poemario.
2. Evaluate a Word
In this phase the words of all players who managed to create a word within the established time are evaluated. Start with the one holding turn order card 1 and so on. The player whose turn it is must then reveal the letter and literato cards they used and write in their poemario the word they thought of. If the word turns out not to be valid, they cross it out and score no points that turn.
It is recommended to write in the poemario the valid words created by the other players. The boxes to the right of the main box can be used for this. This makes it easier to create rhymes and use poetic devices, and prevents words from being repeated.
Note: letter cards that players recover during this phase and also at the end of the turn must always be placed on top of the letter cards of their hand that they keep set aside face down in their respective play areas. Players may look at the recovered cards before placing them face down.
A word may grant its creator different rewards according to the following criteria:
- POINTS FOR NUMBER OF LETTER AND LITERATO CARDS USED: the player scores points for the number of letter and literato cards used according to the following table:
| 2 cards | 3 cards | 4 cards | 5 cards | 6 cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 point | 4 points | 7 points | 10 points | 15 points |
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SEALS: seals are obtained by playing silver (1 seal) and gold (2 seals) letter cards, and by creating words that belong to the grammatical category rewarded with 1 seal on the poetic genre card currently in force. For every 2 seals obtained with their word, the player may draw a letter card from one of the mentideros.
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SUPPORT OF VALEDORES: if the initial letter of the created word matches any of those shown by one of the valedores in play (it is not necessary to have played a card with that letter), the player may take that valedor's card. If the initial letter appears on two or more valedores, the player may only take the card of one of them. The player places the valedor card thus obtained in their play area, with the character side visible.
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SUPPORT OF LITERATOS: the support of Cervantes, Quevedo, Góngora and Tirso de Molina is obtained if a poetic device is generated between the newly created word and another already existing one (the player's own and others' both count). In that case, the player obtains the top card of the literato associated with the poetic device (or more, if they are able to create a word that generates more than one device). The player places the literato cards thus obtained in their play area, with the vowel side visible.
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RHYME: if the newly created word produces consonant rhyme with another already existing one (the player's own or others'), the player advances on the Soneto track according to the grammatical category of the word just created: 1 step if it is an adjective or verb, 3 steps if it is a noun. On reaching levels 5 and 9 of the Soneto, the player obtains a Lope de Vega card if any are still available (there are only two at each level).
Although it is associated only with rhyme, Lope de Vega is one more literato. His card is therefore placed in the area of the player who obtains it, with the asterisk side visible, and allows them to duplicate any of the letter cards they use in a later turn (provided, of course, that the word contains that letter twice).
End of Turn or Round
The game consists of 9 turns divided into 3 rounds. Each time any turn ends, the following operations must be carried out:
- Discard all letter cards used by players in creating words, piling them face up by type (gold, silver and bronze). The literato cards used return to their owner, who leaves them in their play area with the character side visible and may not use them again during the game. When a player creates an invalid word, they do not lose the cards used: the letter cards return to their hand and the literato cards to their play area, with the vowel or asterisk side visible.
- Replenish as many valedor cards as were obtained during the turn, so that at the start of the next turn there are always as many cards of this type as players plus one. If the draw deck of the Corral del Príncipe runs out, all valedors discarded so far are shuffled to form a new draw deck.
- Return the turn order cards and the sand timer to their place next to the board.
- Each player must draw one bronze card from the Gradas de San Felipe.
When a turn that is also the end of a round finishes (only the third and sixth turns; in the ninth it is omitted), the following must also be done:
- Discard all revealed letter cards that have not been taken during the round and reveal new ones, as many as indicated in the setup phase (according to the number of players).
- Change the poetic genre card in play for the next one not yet revealed.
End of the Game and Final Scoring
Once the three rounds are finished, the winner is determined. For this, the following points are added to the points obtained during the game:
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POINTS FOR RHYMES: the level reached on the Soneto track determines the points obtained for rhymes: as many as the level reached.
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POINTS FOR VALEDORES: each valedor card carries a shield (colour) and a number, which depending on how they combine with other valedor cards can provide the following points:
- For every 2 equal SHIELDS, 1 point is obtained. For every 3 equal, 3 points. For every 4 equal (maximum), 6 points.
- For every STRAIGHT of exactly 4 consecutive numbers, 8 points are obtained. The Don Alfonso Romero card is a wild card worth any number from 1 to 8.
A single valedor card may be used to score for SHIELDS and for STRAIGHT, but not to score more than once in the same category.
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POINTS FOR LITERATOS: each group of 4 different literatos provides 10 points. Each 3 different, 6 points. Each 2 different, 3 points. And each literato card that cannot be joined to a different one provides only 1 point. The Lope de Vega cards are considered wild cards when forming these groups, and may therefore replace any of the other literatos (Cervantes, Quevedo, Góngora or Tirso de Molina). Each literato card can only be used in a single group.
When final scoring is finished, the player with the most accumulated points wins the game. In case of a tie, the winner is whoever has obtained the most literato cards; failing that, whoever has the higher rhyme level, and lastly whoever has obtained the most valedores. If a tie still persists, the tied players share the victory.
Example: Once the game is over, Clara, who plays the green colour, calculates her final score. To the points obtained during the game (34) she must add:
- 10 points for having reached space 10 on the Soneto track.
- 10 points for valedores, 2 for 2 equal shields and 8 for a straight of 4 consecutive numbers.
- 7 points for literatos, 6 for a group of 3 different ones and 1 for a single literato.
Therefore Clara's final score is 61 points.
Variant for Experts
This variant is recommended for players who have already played El Soneto several times and are familiar with the game. Three changes are proposed and they affect setup, end of turn and final scoring. Players are free to apply all these changes or only some, and may also combine them as they wish.
Setup
The players agree to use one or more poetic devices of 2 feathers (the most difficult) from among the 4 to be chosen. When using at least one poetic device of 2 feathers, two of the three poetic genre cards must be the Ode and the Satire (also marked with 2 feathers).
End of Turn
Players do not draw bronze cards from the Gradas de San Felipe. Consequently, they must manage their hand of letter cards more carefully, trying not to spend them all in the same turn, since they will have fewer cards during the game.
Final Scoring
When scoring the literatos obtained, if a player has 2 Lope de Vega cards in their possession they may not assign both to the same group of literatos. Thus, to score more for literatos it will be necessary to make greater use of poetic devices.
Example of a Turn
The third turn of the game between Clara, Ignacio and Jimena has finished and it is time for a change of round, so all of them return their letter cards used that turn to the discard and flip over the literato cards they used, although these will no longer serve them for the rest of the game. Jimena, in charge of setup, discards all revealed letter cards still on the table and reveals a new poetic genre card in the Librería de Francisco de Robles, which turns out to be ELEGY, a genre that admits only two grammatical categories: NOUN (rewarded with one seal) and ADJECTIVE.
Next, as there are 3 players, Jimena draws from the mentideros and places face up on the table the following letter cards: 6 bronze, 4 silver and 2 gold.
In addition, since in the previous turn Ignacio obtained a valedor card, he reveals a new one, so that there are four at the start of the new turn (always one more than the number of players). Finally, each player draws a bronze card from the Gradas de San Felipe.
All players begin the new turn by simultaneously taking the letter cards from their hand that they kept face down in their play area. Clara decides to take a G from the letter cards revealed on the table. In addition, since in the first turn she obtained the valedor card Duque de Lerma, she discards it to take another letter card from among the revealed ones: an R.
(Image: the valedor is discarded to take the "R"; the cards in hand are shown.)
Having done this, Clara has the following letters in hand: an R, a V, a D, an E, a G, two Os and a J. In addition, in her play area she keeps two literato cards, obtained in earlier turns, available to be used: an A of Cervantes and an asterisk of Lope de Vega.
Clara has already thought of her word and places face down on the table 4 letter cards and 2 literato cards. Next, she takes turn order card 1, places it on the cards she has just used, leaves the unused cards of her hand likewise face down to one side of her play area and turns the sand timer, beginning the two minutes for the other players, who finally manage to create a word within the allowed time.
Each must now reveal their word and Clara, first in order, declares that her word is ARROGANTE, for which she used the letters R, G, O, E, as well as the A of Cervantes and the asterisk of Lope de Vega (which lets her repeat the R).
The word is a valid adjective and so it is evaluated:
- First, as Clara has used six cards (4 letter and 2 literatos), she obtains 15 points.
- Second, as the G grants two seals, she decides to draw a letter card from the Losas de Palacio: she obtains a J.
- Third, as "arrogante" rhymes consonantly with "petulante", a word she herself created earlier, Clara advances her counter one step on the Soneto track.
- In addition, "arrogante" has the same initial syllable as one of the words created by Ignacio, "azuzar", so it has generated an anaphora and, therefore, she obtains the top card of Quevedo's deck: an I.
- But "arrogante" is also a synonym of "petulante", so she obtains another literato card, the E that in this case Cervantes gives her, having generated this poetic device.
(Image: ARROGANTE, 6 cards = 15 points; drawn from the mentideros; anaphora with AZUZAR (Ignacio's poemario); synonym with PETULANTE (Clara's poemario); rhyme +1 on the Soneto track.)
However, none of the valedores in play required a word beginning with A to obtain their favour, so Clara cannot obtain their support.
It is now the turn of Ignacio, second in order, who reveals and evaluates his word following these same steps, and so on.
Poetic Devices
Poetic devices of one feather
ALITERACIÓN (Alliteration): Repetition of sounds in a verse or an utterance. For players to generate this device, they must repeat at least two consonants that were also repeated in a previous word. Example: Asestar-Salsera.
ANÁFORA (Anaphora): Use of repeated words or concepts at the beginning of verses. For players to generate this device, they must create a word whose initial syllable matches that of one already created earlier. Example: Pelaje-Petardo.
ANTÓNIMO (Antonym): A word that, with respect to another, expresses an opposite or contrary idea. For players to generate this device, they must create a word with a meaning opposite to another already created. Example: Grande-Pequeño.
CONCATENACIÓN (Concatenation): Repetition of the last word of a clause or verse at the beginning of the following clause or verse. For players to generate this device, they must concatenate the first syllable of the created word with the last syllable of some word already created earlier. Example: Patoso-Soflama.
RETRUÉCANO (Reversal / antimetabole): Inversion of the terms of a clause in the next so that the sense of the latter forms a contrast or antithesis with that of the first. For players to generate this device, they must reproduce, in reverse order, three consecutive letters of an earlier word. Example: Artillería-Reloj.
SINÓNIMO (Synonym): A word that, with respect to another, has the same or a very similar meaning. For players to generate this device, they must create a word with a meaning analogous to that of another already created. Example: Hermoso-Precioso.
Poetic devices of two feathers
EPÍTETO (Epithet): An adjective that denotes a prototypical quality of the noun to which it is attached, so that it adds nothing to its meaning. For players to generate this device, they must create an adjective that reflects a quality absolutely characteristic of one of the nouns already created, so that it is redundant. Example: Fuego-Ardiente.
OXÍMORON (Oxymoron): Combination, in one and the same syntactic structure, of two words or expressions with opposite meaning that give rise to a new sense. For players to generate this device, they must create an adjective that, added to a noun already created, gives it an opposite meaning. Example: Fuego-Frío.
PLEONASMO (Pleonasm): Use of one or more words unnecessary for the sentence to have complete sense, but with which expressiveness is added. For players to generate this device, they must create a word that, put in relation with the idea represented by another word already created, adds no meaning. Example: Llorar-Lágrima.
SINÉCDOQUE (Synecdoche): Designation of one thing with the name of another, so that the name of one of its parts is applied to a whole (or vice versa), that of a species to a genus (or vice versa), to a thing that of the material it is made of, etc. For players to generate this device, they must create a word that, put in relation with another already created, can designate the same thing despite representing totally different concepts. Example: Espada-Acero.
Rhyme
CONSONANT RHYME: The rhyme produced between verses when the phonemes of the last letters coincide from the stressed vowel onward. That is, when the final sounds, both vowel and consonant, coincide from the last stressed vowel of the verses.
A classic example is the fable of the flies by Samaniego (verse kept in Spanish; the first line is printed in the rulebook as "A un que panal de rica miel"):
A un que panal de rica miel dos mil moscas acudieron que por golosas murieron presas de patas en él.
There is consonant rhyme between the first and fourth verses and between the second and third verses.