Komm zum Punkt Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object of the Game
• Setup
• Variant
• Gameplay
• New Sentence
• Example Round
• Knocking
• Round End
• Scoring
• Game End
  • Overall Rating
• Notes
  • Attention!
  • Important!

Contents

• 15 start cards (Startkarten)
• 62½ target cards (Zielkarten), as printed
• 1 hourglass timer (Sanduhr, 2½ minutes)

Object of the Game

KOMM ZUM PUNKT is a cooperative storytelling game. The Seeker must find the secret word. All the other players already know the term and help the Seeker by steering the sentence word by word in the right direction. Only together do you get to the point!

Setup

Shuffle the start cards and place them as a face-down stack in the middle of the table. Do the same with the target cards, and keep the hourglass ready at hand. The player who wrote a letter most recently takes on the role of the Seeker.

Variant

If you are six or more players, you can also play with two Seekers. The Seekers should sit across from each other and should not take their turns directly after one another.

Gameplay

The player to the left of the Seeker opens the round. They name any number from 1 to 6 and draw the top target card. The named number determines the secret word for this round. Everyone except the Seeker looks at the corresponding term on the card. Afterwards, the card showing the term is placed face down in the middle of the table.

Now the Seeker draws the top start card. The number named earlier (1–6) also determines the start of the sentence: the Seeker reads aloud the start word on the card and turns the hourglass over. You have 2½ minutes! Going clockwise, each of you (including the Seeker) says exactly one word, continuing the sentence. The Seeker must name the secret word at an appropriate point in the sentence during their turn, and then you have solved it!

New Sentence

If a player feels that a sentence has reached a natural end and a fresh start could help, they may say "Punkt" ("full stop") instead of another word, thereby ending the sentence. The next person then starts a new sentence with any word they like.

Example Round

This round has three players. The start word is "Immer" ("Always"), and the secret word is "Stuhl" ("chair"). Anton A is the Seeker.

The sentence is built as follows. The speaker letter (A, B or C) for each word is shown in brackets:

1. Immer (A)
2. Wenn (B)
3. Ich (C)
4. Essen (A)
5. Will (B)
6. Setze (C)
7. Ich (A)
8. Mich (B)
9. An (C)
10. Den (A)
11. Tisch (B)
12. PUNKT (C)
13. Dabei (A)
14. Sitze (B)
15. Ich (C)
16. Auf (A)
17. Einem (B)
18. Hölzernen (C)
19. Stuhl (A)

The sentence therefore reads: "Always when I eat, I want to sit down at the table. Full stop. Thereby I sit on a wooden chair." The Seeker (A) names the secret word "Stuhl" ("chair") as the final word, and the round is won.

Translator's note: the German sentence "Immer, wenn ich essen will, setze ich mich an den Tisch. Dabei sitze ich auf einem hölzernen Stuhl." is rendered above word for word so that the word-by-word structure of the example is preserved. The speaker letters were read from the diagram printed in the rulebook, where the letters appear in four-word rows; the Seeker's letter A falls on the secret word, which is consistent with the printed example.

Knocking

If the active player could say the secret word at their place in the sentence and believes the Seeker has already worked out the term, that player may knock on the table, without saying the word.

The Seeker must now take over and continue the sentence in place of that player. If the Seeker says the secret word, you may both keep the start card and the target card, and you score 2 points together. If the Seeker names a different term, the round is over and there are 0 points. The cards are then removed from the game.

Round End

A round ends when one of the following occurs:

1. The Seeker names the secret word.
2. After a knock, the Seeker names something other than the secret word.
3. The hourglass runs out before the Seeker has been able to name the secret word.

Now a new round begins. The player to the left of the Seeker takes over the role of Seeker, and off you go!

Scoring

Once the Seeker names the secret word, you have succeeded! Place the target card at the edge of the table until the end of the game. It is worth 1 point. The start card used is removed from the game.

Game End

The game ends after eight rounds. Count all the cards collected at the table's edge to determine your score for the game. Did you achieve a new high score together?

Overall Rating

Points	Title
0 points	Without full stop or comma!
up to 2 points	Too close to freezing point!
up to 4 points	Please come to the point next time!
up to 6 points	Not bad, a few points at least!
up to 8 points	Not bad! Pretty much to the point!
up to 10 points	Ladybird gang!
up to 12 points	Proper colon agents!
up to 14 points	What a bullseye!
up to 16 points	Real Denkriesen! Full stop.

Translator's note: the titles are wordplay on the German. "Ohne Punkt und Komma!" ("without full stop and comma") is an idiom for talking without pause. "Zu nah am Gefrierpunkt!" ("too close to freezing point") puns on "Punkt" (point and also a point on a scale). "Marienkäfer-Bande!" refers to a ladybird gang. "Doppelpunkt-Agenten" puns on "Doppelpunkt" (colon, and literally "double point"). "Punktlandung" ("bullseye", literally "point landing"). "Echte Denkriesen! Punkt." puns on the publisher's name and on "Punkt" meaning full stop. The English titles are approximate renderings of these puns; the German originals are given in the table ordering above.

Notes

Attention!

All players who know the secret word may of course not use the term itself, or any words derived from its root.

Important!

Always pay attention to correct sentence construction. This applies to consecutive words, to the end of a sentence ("Punkt"), and to the Seeker's solution.