Handsome
Handsome Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
18 Letter Cards made up of:
- 7 Necklaces (B, C, H, L, P, R, W)
- 5 Bow Ties (D, G, M, N, V)
- 3 Bolos (F, K, T)
- 2 Dual Letter Cards (J/Z, Q/X)
- 1 S/Y card with no suit
Provide your own: pen and paper for each player.
Setup for Each Round
Shuffle the cards and deal as follows:
2 Players - Deal 4 cards to each player and 1 to the center of the table. Each player then plays 2 of their cards to the center of the table.
3 Players - Deal 3 cards to each player and 2 to the center of the table. Each player then plays 1 of their cards to the center of the table.
4 Players - Deal 3 cards to each player and 1 to the center of the table. Each player then plays 1 of their cards to the center of the table.
5 Players - Deal 3 cards to each player. Each player then plays 1 of their cards to the center of the table.
6 Players - Deal 2 cards to each player and 5 to the center of the table.
Regardless of player count, there should always be 5 cards in the face-up pool and 2 cards in each player's hand.
Playing a Round
Deal the listed number of cards to each player.
Reveal the listed number of cards face-up in the center of the table.
Choose the listed number of cards from your hand and play them face down in the center of the table. When all players have chosen, reveal the cards and place them in a line, visible to all players. Skip this step with 6 players.
Create a Word
- You may use consonants from the five available in the line-up and from the two cards in your hand to form your word. You can only use each consonant card once in your word.
- You may use any number of vowels. (Y does not count as a vowel.)
- Write your word down and keep it secret.
- You may never create a word that has already been created by any player during a previous round. If this rule is broken, the word is crossed out and scores zero points.
Score
When all players have created a word, all players reveal simultaneously and announce their word. Be sure to reveal any letter cards from your hand that were used in your word.
Scoring is based on majority of cards within a suit.
Starting with the Necklace suit, determine which player used the most Necklace cards in their word. This player scores 1 point by marking a 1 on their paper beside the word. If there is a tie, all tied players score 1 point.
Then, score again for each of the other two suits (Bow Tie, Bolo) in the same way. Finally, the player(s) with the longest word scores 1 point.
Then, collect all cards, reshuffle the deck and set up for a new round.
Game End
Play continues until a player has reached 9 points ("dressed to the nines"). The player with the most points wins. If tied, continue playing until the tie is broken.
Wild Cards (J/Z and Q/X)
A Wild card counts as a card for both suits shown on the card. When counting for majority scoring, be sure to count the wild card for each of those suits. You may only use one of the two letters listed in your word.
S/Y Card
The S/Y card has no suit. It will help you create more words and will help extend the length of your words, but doesn't gain advantage in any specific suit. You may only use one of the two letters listed in your word.
Dictionary & Challenges
A player may challenge the validity of another player's word. Choose an agreed upon internet dictionary as the final arbitrator and look up words when appropriate. A fake word must be crossed off and that player receives no points for that round. There is no penalty for an incorrect challenge.
Party Variant
You can use consonants multiple times when creating a word.
However, during scoring, each consonant card is only counted once towards a suit.
Quick Reference
| # of Players | Deal | Table | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Players | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 Players | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 Players | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 Players | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 Players | 2 | 5 | 0 |