One Mind
One Mind Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Before the first game: gently push all 23 letter tokens out of the punch board and place them in the bag.
- Place the round track in the middle. Leave some space to its right for placing your word cards later.
- Take one set of cards each (7 cards of the same colour) and 1 dry-erase marker each. Put any remaining cards back in the box.
- Each player draws 1 random letter token from the bag and writes down a word starting with the letter they got on one of their cards. Simply pick any word you can think of. Then, place the starting words you've just written down next to the round track in the top line, face up. The letter tokens go back in the bag.
Example: Peter, Sophia, Maria, and Tobias are playing together. There are 8 gems on the table. They each draw a letter: Peter got a C and writes down CAT. Sophia has a J and writes down JOY. Maria picks PUZZLE for her P and Tobias got a B, so he writes down BAG.
- Depending on the number of players and the desired difficulty level, place a certain number of gems in the middle. For setting up a two-player game, see the variants at the end.
| Players | Normal | Advanced | Pros | Champions | One Mind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 |
| 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| 5 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| 6 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 |
| 7 |
Playing the Game
You all play at the same time. Each round, there are words on the table, and your task is to find new words related to those. The aim is to write down the same word as one or more of the other players.
Each round is divided into 3 phases: first, toss a letter token; then try to come up with a matching word and write it down; and finally, check for matching words.
Phase 1 – Tossing a Letter Token
Draw a random letter token from the bag and toss it in the middle like a coin. Place the letter token on the space for the first round on the round track, showing the side it has landed on.
- If it shows a letter, all of your words must start with this letter.
- If it shows a question mark, your words can start with any letter.
Phase 2 – Writing Down a Word
In this phase, you all play at the same time.
Take one of your cards you haven't used yet. Look at the open words from last round (first round: the starting words) and think of a word you associate with them. You don't have to find a word that applies to all open words; instead, you can focus on only a few of them.
If the letter token toss in phase 1 came up with a letter, your word must start with that letter.
When you've thought of a word, write it on your card in secret and keep it hidden for now. Show the others that you're done by putting down your marker. When all players have written down their words, you can check them.
What kinds of words can I write down?
- You may use all kinds of words: nouns, adjectives, verbs, abbreviations, onomatopoeic words, proper names, anything you can come up with.
- You can only write down one word each. Exception: proper names (e.g. PETER PAN).
- You can't use a word or part of a word that is already on the table (for example, you can't use SUN if SUNFLOWER is on the table already. You can't use VEHICLE when the abbreviation HGV = HEAVY GOODS VEHICLE is on the table already, either).
- Important: You may never discuss your words with the other players!
Phase 3 – Checking for Matching Words
The last player to have written down a word now reads theirs out loud. Then, they place their card next to the round track into the row by the letter token you've placed there in phase 1. Then, check for matches.
After you have checked all matches for this word, the next player in a clockwise direction who still has a card reads out their word and places the card to the right of the first one in the same row next to the round track. Continue checking all words for matches.
What is a matching word?
- Words that are synonymous or words that clearly have the same underlying concept count as a match. Example: ocean and sea, or warm and hot.
- As you are completely free in your choice of words, you'll probably hit some grey areas when checking for matches. If you're ever unsure, decide together which words you want to count as a match.
Match
Everyone who has written down a matching word (see below) shouts out their word (you may also high-five if you like). It's a match!
All players involved in the match take gems from the middle:
- If you have no gems in front of you yet, take 2 gems and put them in front of you.
- If you already have gems in front of you, take 1 gem and put it in front of you.
Stack all cards involved in a match on top of each other.
Instant Win
If you all match in the same round, you win instantly!
This does not mean that you all must have written down the same word. What matters is that you all were involved in a match.
End of the Round
If there are any gems left on the table at the end of the round, you haven't won yet. Play another round, starting with Phase 1: Tossing a Letter Token.
The words you've just written down are now the new basis for the next round! In this way, you'll get closer and closer mentally over the course of the game. Make sure that all word cards that were matches are stacked on top of each other. This ensures that there are only different words open for the next round.
Example: In the first round, no specific letter is required. Peter wrote FEED. Maria cheers and puts her word FOOD on top of his card. Everyone agrees that these two words match, as their content matches. Peter and Maria take 2 gems each, as they've never matched with anyone before. Sophia has no match for her PRESENT, and neither does Tobias's SURPRISE. They place their cards to the right of the round track. In the next round, the players will have to try and link FOOD, PRESENT and SURPRISE.
Example: Tobias draws a letter token and tosses it. N! Now, how to link the words FOOD, PRESENT, and SURPRISE? When checking matches, Tobias is the first to read out his word: NIBBLE. There is no match. Then Peter reads out NUT. Sophia also has NUT, so she places her card on his and takes 2 gems. As Peter already has gems, he only takes 1. Finally, Maria reveals her card saying NUTRIA and places it on the table.
Example: If Tobias had also written down PRESENT, the team would have won instantly!
End of the Game
If you manage to take all gems from the middle within 6 rounds, you all win this game! Congratulations!
However, if there are gems left on the table at the end of round 6, you haven't succeeded this time. Make sure to wipe the words off all the cards, put all letter tokens back in the bag and – why not? – have another go!
TIP: If you've won a game, you may want to play the next round immediately at the next highest difficulty level with more gems on the table to make it a little more demanding.
Tips & Tricks
- Don't overthink and try to link all words with each other. Instead, pick those that jump out at you quickly.
- The first thing that comes to mind is often best. You'll be surprised how often other people have the same first thought as you!
- It's not unusual for a theme to develop that starts linking the rounds with each other. If you use words related to that theme, chances of a match increase.
- You can't match with words that violate the rules. However, you can all choose together whether to leave the word on the table or erase it.
Variants
Two-Player Game: Don't use any gems. You win when you get a match.
Animal Style: Looking for a special challenge? Don't use any animals for your words!
Letter Limitation: Always place the letter tokens letter side up instead of tossing them.
Free as a Bird: Play without letter tokens for total freedom in finding new words. If you're playing this variant, you should play 2 additional rounds, though. Take some left-over cards or reuse the cards with the starting words or the words for the first round on them for the extra round.