Ponkotsu Factory
Ponkotsu Factory Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Letter Tiles x 100: Starting Letter Tiles (A, E, I, O and U) x 25; Other Letter Tiles (A to Z) x 75
- Completion Markers: 1 point, 2 points, 3 points, 4 points and 5 points
- Point markers: Gold (10 points) x 5; Silver (3 points) x 15; Brown (1 point) x 20
- Sightscreens x 5
- Hourglass
In addition, you need an answer sheet for each player. You can use a memo pad, for example.
Object of the Game
In each round, you will reconstruct three four-letter words from 12 letter tiles set up by other players. You try building words as quickly as possible. If you "repair" the words correctly, you will get bonus points. After four rounds, whoever has the most points is the winner!
Setup
Each player takes a pencil, an answer sheet, and a screen. Separate Starting Letter Tiles from Other Letter Tiles. Each player takes five Starting Letter Tiles (one tile each for five vowels: A, E, I, O, and U) behind the screen. Return unused Starting Letter Tiles back into the box.
Completion Markers (2 players: 2, 1 point markers / 3 players: 3-1 point markers / 4 players: 4-1 point markers / 5 players: all point markers), an hourglass and all the Other Letter Tiles are placed at the center of the table. Return unused Completion Markers back into the box.
Playing the Game
There are three phases in each round:
- Creating "Questions"
- Solving the "Questions"
- Checking Solutions and Scoring
1. Creating "Questions"
Mix all letter tiles on the table (it doesn't matter whether they're face up or face down). Each player randomly takes 15 letter tiles and places them behind the screen.
Now each player has 20 letter tiles including five Starting Letter Tiles (A, E, I, O, and U). When everyone is ready, all players begin constructing three four-letter words (e.g. FACE, BLUE). The rules for making words are explained later.
When players finish constructing three words, write them down on their answer sheets. These three words are called "Originals" - be careful not to be seen by others.
Put the 12 letter tiles you used face down, mix them well, and make a single pile of them. This pile is called "Questions".
Put the screen and unused Starting Letter Tiles aside (don't return those tiles to the center of the table). Return all the other unused letter tiles to the center of the table.
2. Solving the "Questions"
All players pass their piles of "Questions" to the player on their left.
In each subsequent round, you pass your pile to a different player: in a four-player game, pass it to the player across from you, to the right player, and to the left player again, in the 2nd, the 3rd, and the 4th round, respectively.
When all players have received their piles of "Questions", any player, say, with the most leadership says "Start!" Players now flip over all the tiles and try rebuilding three four-letter words as quickly as possible. The rules for building words are explained later.
The first player who has finished building three words shouts "Repaired!" and turns over the hourglass, then takes the highest-point Completion Marker available.
Other players still have to make three words before all the sand falls down. Players who finished recreating words in time immediately get the highest-point Completion Marker available. These recreated words are called "Solutions".
When time's up, the player who turned over the hourglass shouts "Stop!" and all other players must immediately stop constructing words.
If no one can build three words, then proceed to the "Checking Solutions and Scoring" phase under the agreement of all players.
Example (four-player game): Player A finished making three words first, flipped over the hourglass, then got the 4-point Completion Marker. After that, player B got the 3-point Completion Marker and all the sand fell down. Players C and D were not able to get the Completion Markers.
3. Checking Solutions and Scoring
Each player receives points clockwise from the player with the highest-point Completion Marker. There are two types of points available: points for quickness and points for correctness.
Points for quickness: Players who successfully completed three words should have received Completion Markers according to their order of completion (see Solving the "Questions"). The points for quickness depend on the number of players:
| Players | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 1 |
Points for correctness: Players show and read aloud their "Originals" on their answer sheets to the other players. Each successful reconstruction of an "Original" is worth one point, thus the maximum of three points for the perfect reconstruction.
Example: The player gets 1 point for the correct answer "ZOOM" (the Original words were TAKE, ZOOM and PORT; the solutions were ZOOM, PORK and PORT with only ZOOM matching an Original).
The point markers you earned are kept so that everyone can see them anytime.
After the end of each round, give Starting Letter Tiles back to their owners, and return the rest of the letter tiles to the center of the table. Also return the Completion Markers to the center of the table.
Rules for Building Words
- Building common words is strongly encouraged. Proper nouns, abbreviations (ASAP, NASA etc.) and offensive words should be avoided.
- For verbs and nouns, only base forms (infinitives or singulars) are allowed. If you think the word is not appropriate, take a vote there. If there is at least one other player who agrees with you, then the word will be invalid and give no points. (In a two-player game, players should have an agreeable regulation beforehand.)
- For each invalid "Original" you created, you must give your point markers equal to the number of the players to the solver of the pile of your "Questions". In the case that you don't have enough points, take debt (record it on a memo pad) and pay back whenever you can.
- If your solution is invalid, you cannot get points for quickness.
End of the Game
The game ends after the end of the 4th round. At the end of the game, the player who earned the most points is the winner! In case of a tie, all tied players are winners!
Alternative Ways to Play the Game
If you think it's too difficult, please change the rule of Creating "Questions" into "three three-letter words" or "two three-letter words and one four-letter word" and so on.
Two-Player Games
At the beginning of the 2nd phase "Solving the Questions", say "Start!" and turn over the hourglass. Both players try making three words before all the sand falls down. The fastest player gets three points for quickness and the other player gets one point by making three words in time.