Mystify Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Equipment
• Object of the Game
• Start of Play
• Game Play
• Quick Reference Guide
• Notes on Play
• Variations on Game Play

Equipment

MYSTIFY™ contains 2160 Scrambles on 432 game cards, game board, playing pawns and die, pencils, 30-second timer, notepad, instruction guide.

Object of the Game

Players race to solve Scrambles, and advance on the game board as Scrambles are solved. The first player to reach the 'Finish' square is the winner of the game.

Start of Play

• Each player takes a pencil, a sheet of paper, and a playing pawn, which is then placed on the 'Start' square.
• Players roll the die to select the CARD READER for the opening round - highest roll goes first. The CARD READER's role is to present the Scramble for the round. The CARD READER does not participate in the solving of the Scramble. At the end of the round, the player to the CARD READER's left becomes the new CARD READER (the rotation is always clockwise).
• Each game card has five different categories - Names, Numbers, Etcetera, 1st Letter, Clueless. These categories correspond to squares on the game board. In each round, the category from which the CARD READER reads the Scramble depends on which square on the game board the CARD READER's pawn is on. If, for instance, the pawn is on a Names square, the CARD READER presents the Scramble from the Names category. When the CARD READER's pawn is on a Your Choice square, the CARD READER gets to select the category (without first looking at the game card). Note: at the beginning of the game, the CARD READER's pawn is on the 'Start' square, which is a Your Choice square.

Game Play

1. The CARD READER pulls a card from the card box and reads out the letters/digits in the Scramble slowly and clearly as they appear on the card. The other players record these letters/digits on their sheets. Note: In the 1st Letter category, the first letter of the answer is indicated to the players (the CARD READER should read out the Scramble as follows: "The first letter is ___, and the scrambled letters are ..." in the order given on the card).

2. After the scrambled letters/digits are read aloud, the CARD READER gives the clue which is on the card - it might be 'Mystery Person', 'TV Series', etc. The clue must only be given after the letters/digits have been read out. Note: in the Clueless category, no clue is given because the Scrambles are of everyday words/things.

3. Once the letters/digits of the Scramble are read out and the clue is given, the timer is immediately turned over.

4. While the timer is running, players attempt to solve the Scramble by rearranging the letters/digits until the answer appears before their eyes. Players are allowed only one guess as to the answer and then they are out of the round - so be sure before you blurt out a guess!

5. If players are still stumped when the timer initially runs out, the CARD READER gives out the first letter/digit of the answer and then immediately turns the timer over again (hence, players are given another 30 seconds in which to guess the answer, this time knowing the first letter/digit of the answer). Note: in the case of the 1st Letter category, the second letter is now given (since the first letter of the answer was read out at the beginning).

6. The first player to say the correct answer aloud, before time runs out, wins the round. That player then rolls the die to see how far they may move their playing pawn (ie. roll a '5' and move forward 5 spaces). However, if players cannot solve the Scramble in time, the CARD READER wins the round - and rolls to move ahead.

Quick Reference Guide

1. The category for the Scramble is determined by the square the CARD READER's pawn is on.
2. The Scramble is presented, along with the clue, and then the timer is turned.
3. If the Scramble is not solved when the timer initially runs out, the first letter/digit of the answer is given - and the timer is turned over again for a further 30 seconds.
4. The first player to correctly solve the Scramble before time runs out rolls the die and moves ahead.
5. The card box is passed to the new CARD READER (to the left) and the next round begins.

Notes on Play

• Whenever you are asked to unscramble the name of a person ('Mystery Person', 'Famous Actress', etc), you are looking for the last name only.
• Although it may be possible in some cases to derive two apparently valid answers from the same set of letters (ie. LEMON and MELON), the answer given on the card should be taken as correct.
• The Numbers category can be tricky. Remember that zeros may appear at the beginning of the Scramble. If you don't know the answer to a number Scramble - whether it is a particular date, a measurement, etc - take a guess (you may get lucky)!

Variations on Game Play

• Only 2 players/teams: When there are only 2 players or teams, MYSTIFY™ is played in a head-to-head format. Each player/team takes turns being the CARD READER, while the other player/team tries to solve the Scramble before time runs out. Note: in this version, if you give the correct answer within the first 30 seconds, add '3' to your roll.

• More than 6 players/teams: MYSTIFY™ may be played by groups of any size. For larger gatherings - parties, classrooms, etc - the game may be altered as follows: (1) instead of relying on the board, write the names of players on a sheet of paper and appoint someone as scorekeeper; (2) the CARD READER selects the category by rolling the die, since a number corresponds to each category on the card ('1' for Names, '2' for Numbers, and so on -- if you roll a '6' it is 'Your Choice'); (3) the winner of each round (the Scramble-solver) is given 5 points; (4) you decide on the point total to be reached to win.

• Making the game even more challenging: To make the game even harder, you may opt to not have the CARD READER give out the 'first letter/digit' (or the second letter, in the case of the 1st Letter category) of the answer after the first 30 seconds are up. To make it harder still (impossible?!), give players only 30 seconds in total to solve the Scramble.