Say When! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Quick Rules
• Complete Rules
• Other Things You Should Know

Quick Rules

OBJECT: Be the first player (or team) to score 10 points by guessing the numerical answers to fascinating factual questions. Whoever comes closest to each real answer scores. Guessing the exact answer scores even more points.

SETUP: Put twenty Cards in the Scanner Unit. Make sure the Answer Door is closed (so you can't read the answer). Each team gets an Answer Board, a Scoring Slider, and an erasable Pen. Put the Scoring Slider on your team's Answer Board and slide it to 0.

PLAY: On each round, each team guesses an answer to the question visible on the first Card in the Scanner, which is read aloud by the "Quizzer." Answers are written on the Answer Boards with the erasable Pens. Sometimes guessing is secret and sometimes teams guess openly, one after the other. After all guesses are recorded, the Quizzer opens the Scanner's Answer Door and reads aloud the actual answer and the scoring "range."

SCORING: The team that comes closest scores. This team advances its Scoring Slider and all teams erase their answers with the eraser tips of their Pens. The used Card is removed from the Scanner before the Scanner is passed to the next team. Now, a new Quizzer from the next team reads the next question and the game continues.

WINNING: The first team to score ten (or more) points wins the game.

Complete Rules

EQUIPMENT: 250 SAY WHEN! Question Cards (with 4 questions on each), Scanner unit (with sliding Answer Door), 4 wipe-off Answer Boards, 4 erasable Pens with built-in erasers, 4 Scoring Sliders.

SETUP: Each team takes an Answer Board, attaches a scoring slider along its top edge and slides it to "0." Write your team's name on your board. One player loads the Scanner with twenty cards from the deck, taking care that the Scanner's Answer Door is closed before loading it (so that no one can read the answers).

All teams play, and can score, on every round of play. To begin play, a player on any team volunteers to be the first "Quizzer." On each succeeding round, a player on the team to the left will become the new Quizzer.

PLAY: The Quizzer reads aloud the question on the first card. Each team now attempts to guess the answer to the question. Use your erasable Pen to record your team's guess. You may choose to write just a number to answer the question or you can be more descriptive (for example, "23" or "23 miles"). All guesses must be in whole numbers, not fractions (for example, "17" not "17 3/4"). There are no fractions in SAY WHEN. If the real answer contained a fraction, it has been rounded off. You may use a decimal point, especially if you know the real answer contains a decimal, such as a dollars and cents question. You may also use a decimal to shorten "big" answers — like "5.5 billion" rather than writing out "5,500,000,000.")

GUESSING: Guessing will either be "open" or "secret," depending on the Quizzer's current score. If the Quizzer's team has more points than any other team, the guessing is SECRET. If the Quizzer's team has fewer points than at least one other team, the guessing is OPEN. If the Quizzer's team is tied for the scoring lead, the Quizzer decides if the guessing will be secret or open.

Secret Guessing: Each team huddles and privately discusses what it will write down as its answer to the question. Talking is permitted, but be careful not to let the other teams overhear the answer you guess. After each team secretly writes its guess on their Answer Board, each team, in order — beginning with the team to the left of the Quizzer, then continuing clockwise around to the Quizzer's team — states aloud its guess and places its Answer Board face up for all to see.

Open Guessing: The team to the left of the Quizzer's team is the first to discuss and then decide on its guess. This team writes their guess on their Answer Board and places it face up for all to see. Each succeeding team to the left does likewise. Each waits to see the prior team's guess before deciding on their own. The Quizzer's team guesses last. A team may guess the same amount as a previous team if they are convinced the prior guess is the exact answer. See scoring Note, below.

SCORING: When all teams have revealed their guesses, the Quizzer reads the question once again, opens the Answer Door on the Scanner and reads the exact answer — as well as the range of answers that qualify for higher scores (located below the answer). Only the team that came closest to the exact answer scores*. The amount scored depends on how "close" it came to the exact answer:

• Score 4 points for guessing the exact answer
• or, Score 2 points for a guess that's in the range (printed below the answer)
• or, Score 1 point for a guess that is outside the range

*Note on TIES: Secret Guess: If the closest guess in a Secret Guess is shared by two or more teams, each scores. Open Guess: If the closest guess in an Open Guess is shared by two or more teams, each scores. In addition, the FIRST team to have guessed the answer scores an additional one point (i.e., 5 points instead of 4 for an exact answer, 3 points instead of 2 for an answer within the range and 2 points instead of 1 for closest answer (but outside of the range).

LAST QUESTION: The 20th card ends the game if no team has won yet. Award double points for the 20th card.

NEXT ROUND: Teams erase their prior guess with the eraser tips of their Pens. The Quizzer closes the Answer Door, removes the top (used) card, places it at the back of the deck in the tray, and passes the Scanner to the team on the left. This team selects a Quizzer and the next round is played.

WINNING: The first team to reach 10 (or more) points wins the game. If no team reaches 10 points after the 20th card is played, highest score wins. In the event of a tie, pass the Scanner to the next team. They select a Quizzer for a "Sudden Death" round. Only the teams involved in the tie guess the answer to this extra card. Guessing is Secret. The winner of this "Sudden Death" round wins the game.

Other Things You Should Know

• ERASERS may be washed, if necessary. They are removable. You can reverse the eraser, if you like, and use the other end of it.

• KEEP PENS TIGHTLY CLOSED when not in use.

• CARDS: It is most convenient to play through the deck using all the questions of one color first, then turn the deck around and use the questions of the next color. Flip the deck to use the two remaining colors.

• Determining Which Team Is Closest ... If there is doubt as to which team is closest, each team subtracts the actual answer from their guess (if their guess was higher than the answer) or subtracts their guess from the answer (if their guess was lower than the answer).

  Example: the exact answer is 26 years. Team A guesses 30, while Team B guesses 23. Team A is within 4 years of the exact answer while Team B is within 3 years. Team B is closer so they will score. And because the scoring range is 22 - 30, Team B scores 2 points since their guess (23) is within the "range." If no guess had been in the range of 22 to 30, the scoring team would only receive 1 point.