Perfect Words
Perfect Words Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 7 numbered Arrow tiles.
- 10 Seashell tokens for scoring.
- 2 Double and Nothing tiles ("x2" and "X").
- 247 Word cards (double-sided, 494 words).
- 200 Sea cards.
- 47 Crab cards.
- 1 notepad.
- 6 pencils.
Tip: Between each game, keep the Crab cards in a separate bag so you don't have to sort them.
Game Idea
Perfect Words is a word associations game.
Players cooperate to create a crossword puzzle grid and then guess the associated clues.
Each association guessed by the majority of the group helps you reach the gold medal... or even better!
Communication
Players are allowed to talk and communicate throughout the entire game.
Example: "Can you please let me have that card?", "I have a good idea to improve this arrow!", "Am I the only one who doesn't understand this association?"...
THE ONLY THING YOU CAN'T DO:
Say or mention the associations you can think of.
Game Setup
Set aside the Seashell tokens, Double and Nothing tiles ("x2" and "X") and notepad for now. They will only be useful later in the game.
Take 30 Sea cards and 10 Crab cards. Shuffle them together to form the word deck. Place this deck at the edge of the table.
Then place 9 cards that form a market next to the word deck. This gives the players 10 words to choose from: the 9 words in the market and the one on top of the deck.
Stack the Arrow tiles by placing the Arrow tile numbered 1 on top of the tile numbered 2/3, on top of the tile 4, on top of the tile 5/6, and so on. At the bottom of the stack is the Arrow tile 10. Place the stack at the edge of the table.
Choose a first player.
Gameplay
1 - Creating the crossword grid
The first player takes one of the 10 available words and places it in the middle of the table.
They immediately fill the market with a word from the deck if necessary.
Example: Melanie, the first player, has chosen the word "Fire" to start the game. She places this word in the middle of the table and immediately fills the market.
Play then continues clockwise.
On your turn
Place a word! (mandatory)
Choose one of the 10 available words and place it adjacent to any card or tile already placed on the table (adjacent by one side, but not diagonally).
Example: here, in blue frames, are all the locations where David could place the word "Animal" that he just took.
Remember, your goal is to create word alignments that will make sense for future associations.
Then fill the market with a word from the deck, unless you have taken the top word from the deck.
IF the word you just placed creates an alignment of at least 2 words that have not yet been arrowed, THEN place an Arrow tile!
Take the top Arrow tile from the stack.
Place it to arrow the alignment on one side or the other of the line of words created.
If the tile contains a double arrow, choose one of the 2 arrows to arrow the word line. The remaining arrow may not point to an adjacent Arrow tile or to a word line that is already arrowed.
If the word you placed creates multiple word lines at once, choose only one to arrow.
Example: Charles places the word "Tree" next to the word "Giant". He takes the Arrow tile "2/3" and places it on either side of the created alignment. He can choose to point the "Giant" + "Tree" alignment either with arrow 2 or arrow 3 of the tile.
Special case: Alignment impossible to arrow.
It may happen that the word placed creates an alignment of at least 2 cards, but there is no room on either side to place an Arrow tile (for example, if the alignment is already "stuck" between 2 tiles). In this case, you do not need to arrow this word line.
End of grid creation:
The creation of the crossword grid ends immediately when:
- The arrow numbered 10 is placed
- AND -
- Each arrow points to an alignment of at least 2 words.
2 - Write down your associations
Each player takes a notepad sheet and secretly writes down for each arrow number (from 1 to 10) which association best sums up the corresponding alignment of words.
The 10 associations noted on your sheet must be different.
The noted associations can be words, compound words, titles, brands... There is no limit.
But be careful, because the more complicated the association is, the less likely it is to be unanimous!
Restriction: It is forbidden to write down an association that has a common root with the corresponding alignment of words.
Examples: If an arrow points to the words "History / Jungle / Man / Wild", you cannot write down "The Jungle Book". If an arrow points to "Pirate / Steal", you cannot write down "Piracy".
Double and Nothing
Without mentioning the associations they have noted, the players discuss and decide together in front of which arrows they place the two tiles "X" and "x2".
The arrow in front of which the X is placed is not scored.
The arrow in front of which the x2 is placed doubles its score.
3 - Scores and medals
Reveal Associations and Gain Seashells:
The players announce aloud, in the order of the arrows, the noted associations.
On each of the 10 arrows, place a Seashell token with either 1-seashell side up or Perfect side up IF enough players have announced the same association of ideas:
| Number of players | Number of players who announced the same association | Minimum number of players who announced the same association |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | x* | 2 |
| 3 or 4 | 2 | 3 or + |
| 5 or 6 | 3 | 4 or + |
With 2 players, you never place a token on the 1-seashell side.
Double the number of Seashell tokens (1-seashell or Perfect) received by the arrow with the "x2" tile and do not place any Seashell token on the arrow with the "X" tile.
Examples with 4 players:
David says "Arrow 3: Pirate + Wood?" Melanie wrote "Leg." Charles noted "Plank." David and Jean-Michel noted "Boat." The association "Boat" was noted by two out of four players. Therefore, arrow number 3 receives a 1-seashell token.
Melanie says "Arrow 1: Animal + Giant + Fire?" Three out of four players noted the association "Dragon." Therefore, arrow number 1 receives a Perfect token (worth 2 seashells). As this arrow received the "x2" tile, it ultimately earns 2 Perfect tokens = 4 seashells!
Team's score: Count the seashells!
Add up all the seashells placed on all the arrows (1 seashell or 2 seashells for a Perfect token). This is your team's score.
Write your team's score at the bottom of your score sheets.
According to this score, players receive the following reward:
| Score | Reward |
|---|---|
| 6-7 | Bronze Medal! |
| 8-9 | Silver Medal! |
| 10-11 | Gold Medal! |
And for the champions: 12-13, 14-16, 17-20.
Variants
The following variants and optional rule are from the rules summary sheet.
Variant: Little Crab. To make the game easier, take 20 Sea cards and 20 Crab cards to make up the word deck when setting up.
Variant: Open Sea. To make the game more difficult, take only 40 Sea cards to make up the word deck when setting up.
Optional rule: Personal score. When revealing the associations, players can also write down their personal score. For each association, score as many points as the number of players who wrote the same association as you. If you are the only one who thought of an association, you score no points. Double your score on the arrow with the "x2" in front of it and do not score the arrow with the "X" in front of it.
Example: "Arrow 5: Trade + Fire ?" Melanie announces "Firefighter!", Charles "Firefighter!", David "Yes! Firefighter!", Jean-Michel "Oh no! I wrote down Blacksmith...". Melanie, Charles and David each score 3 points for arrow number 5. Jean-Michel does not score any points for this arrow.
Bonus: You will find 5 blank Word cards in the box. Have fun writing the words you want on them to have your own personalized version of Perfect Words!
Credits
Perfect Words, a game by Paul-Henri Argiot, illustrated by Christine Alcouffe.
© 2023 TIKI Editions, 10 rue de Penthièvre 75008 Paris, France.
A word from the author: Paul-Henri would like to thank Louise and Céline for their daily support. The friends, Flo, Math, Gérald, Olive... who aligned the planets to allow his first game to be released. David and Julian for believing that a new game of association of ideas had its place in the board game world.