Jibber Jabble Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
  • Hint Cards
• Goal
• Game Rounds
  • 1. Choose
  • 2. Spell
  • 3. Guess
  • Example Round
• Communication
• Allowed Clues
• Game End
• Hint Cards
• Challenges

Components

• 50 Secret Word Cards
• 10 Hint Cards

Players: 3-10+

Playtime: 15 minutes

Ages: 8+

Setup

Place the secret word cards in a facedown pile where everyone can reach. Choose a player to be the first Guesser.

Hint Cards

Using hint cards is optional. See the Hint Cards section for details.

Goal

Jibber Jabble is a fully cooperative game where 1 player tries to guess a secret word that everyone else knows. The other players try to help the Guesser by spelling out clues 1 letter at a time – without discussing what they're spelling!

Game Rounds

The game is played over 6 rounds. Each round has 3 steps:

1. Choose the Secret Word
2. Spell 3 Clues
3. Guess the Secret Word

1. Choose

The Guesser draws a secret word card and shows it to the other players, without looking at it themselves. The player to the left of the Guesser chooses 1 of the 6 words on the card as the secret word for the round. They say the secret word's number out loud to indicate their choice.

Word Difficulty

The words on each card are numbered by how challenging they are to guess:

• 1-2: Easy Words
• 3-4: Medium Words
• 5-6: Hard Words

The Guesser knows how difficult their word is, based on the number chosen.

TIP: For a balanced game, choose 2 easy words, 2 medium, and 2 hard over the 6 rounds.

2. Spell

The player to the left of the Guesser starts spelling the first clue by saying a single letter out loud.

The next player clockwise then says another single letter to continue the word. They may not communicate with the previous player about what word they were trying to spell. Players continue clockwise, saying one letter at a time. After the player to the right of the Guesser takes their turn, the player to the left of the Guesser takes the next turn.

Stop!

On your turn, instead of adding a letter to the current clue, you can say "STOP!" to complete the current clue. If fewer than 3 clues have been spelled, you must say the first letter of a new clue. Play continues clockwise as before.

TIP: You can always say "STOP!" on your turn, even if players haven't actually spelled a complete clue. If there's no way to recover the current clue, you might as well start fresh!

3. Guess

After completing 3 clues, it's time for the guess.

The Guesser has only 1 chance to guess the secret word. If they're correct, place the secret word card facedown in the middle to score 1 point. If not, place the card on the bottom of the deck.

After the guess, the player to the left of the Guesser becomes the new Guesser, and a new round begins.

Example Round

The secret word is OCEAN.

A wants to spell TUNA, so they start with a "T."

B thinks they're spelling TROUT, so they say "R."

C sees where B is going and says "O."

It's now back to A, who hasn't figured out what the others are spelling. They throw out another "O."

B says "T" and hopes the Guesser can figure out the clue.

C says "Stop," then starts the next clue with an "S," hoping to spell SWIM.

Communication

While spelling clues, players are only allowed to communicate in the following ways. Otherwise, they may not communicate anything about the clue or secret word, either verbally or nonverbally.

• You can ask to repeat the letters in the current clue. Any player may say the previous letters in the correct order, but may not pronounce the clue.
• You can say Jibber to indicate you understand what's happening.
• You can say Jabble to indicate you are confused.

Allowed Clues

Players may not deliberately spell a clue that contains or mimics any form of the secret word. Otherwise, they can spell anything, including acronyms, proper nouns, multiple words, misspellings, and incomplete words.

For example, for the secret word OCEAN, the clues MUSICIAN, MTV, and MUSIC are allowed, as are PASSIFIC and OSHIN. For the secret word BROWN, the clues ALABAMA, SWEETHOME, and AL are allowed.

Game End

After 6 rounds, players count up their points to see how they did.

Score	Rank
0-1	Dizzy Dabbler
2-3	Satisfactory Speller
4-5	Glorious Guesser
6	Legendary Letterer

Hint Cards

Hint cards are an optional addition that give players limited ways to communicate. Each player gets 1 random hint card at the start of the game, which stays faceup in front of them until they use it.

You can use your hint once per game, as described on the card. After you use your hint, flip it over to show you can't use it again this game.

IMPORTANT: Players may communicate about when to use hints.

Challenges

• Apprentice: Score 2 Easy, 2 Medium, and 2 Hard words in 1 game.
• Adept: Score 6 Medium words in 1 game.
• Expert: Score 6 Hard words in 1 game.
• Alliterator: Start the 2nd and 3rd clues each round with the same first letter as the 1st clue. Example: COFFEE, CRUST, and COLOR for BROWN.
• Foniks Feend: Spell all clues incorrectly. Example: BOM, TUHB, and BUBBEL for BATH.
• Buzzer Beater: Give only 2 clues each round.