Shenanigrams
Shenanigrams Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Getting Started
Aim: Players race to build and steal words from their opponents by playing one letter tile each turn. When a player completes or steals a word, they tag it. The first player to use all of their tags and shout "SHENANIGRAMS!" wins (provided the player to their left cannot steal a word back from them within a 5 second countdown)!
Setting Up
- Give each player a privacy shield.
- Give the letter bag a shake - each player then takes 5 letter tiles from the bag and places them behind their privacy shield (this stops any scoundrels taking a sneak peek).
- Give each player a set of matching tags:
- 2 players = 7 matching tags.
- 3 players = 6 matching tags.
- 4 players = 5 matching tags.
- 5 or 6 players = 4 matching tags.
- To decide who will go first, each player takes a tile from the bag. The player with the letter closest to "Z" will go first. Put the tiles back into the bag and give it a shake.
How to Play
Step 1
The first player places one of their letter tiles in the middle of the table, then draws another from the bag. Note: players should always have 5 letter tiles behind their privacy shield.
Step 2
Going clockwise, players take turns adding ONE letter tile to those already played - gradually forming a grid that everyone is playing on. Tiles can be placed to the left, right, above or below any of the tiles already played, and must either complete a word or be working towards completing a "real" word.
Step 3
When a player completes a word, they place a tag on the word. They own this word (for now!). Completed words must have 3 or more letters, and read from left to right or top to bottom. Continue playing clockwise, gradually building and tagging words.
Step 4
Players can also use their turn to STEAL opponents' tagged words. When a player steals a word, they return their opponent's tag and place their own tag onto the word they stole.
Players can steal words by:
- Adding a letter tile onto the start or end of a completed, tagged word to immediately form a new word. Example: This player adds a "G" onto "OLD" to make "GOLD", so returns their opponent's blue tag and places their yellow tag on their new word.
- Replacing a letter tile from a completed, tagged word with a new letter tile to immediately form a new word (discard the original tile to a discard pile). Example: This player replaces "G" with "S" to make "SOLD", so returns their opponent's yellow tag, places their red tag on their new word and discards "G".
- Inserting an additional letter tile into a completed, tagged word to immediately form a new word (any adjoining letters shift too). Example: This player inserts "I" into "SOLD" to make "SOLID", so returns their opponent's red tag and places their blue tag on their new word.
Step 5
Players keep taking turns building, tagging and stealing words until...
We Have a Winner!
The first player to place their final tag down shouts "SHENANIGRAMS!" and counts down from 5 out loud. They are the potential winner.
During the 5 second countdown, the player to their left can try and play a letter tile to steal one of the potential winner's words. If successful, then the potential winner is forced back into the game, and play continues clockwise as normal.
If the player to the left of the potential winner is unable to steal a word within the 5 second countdown, then the game is over and the victor may bask in all their sneaky, shenanigrammy glory!
Rules & Examples
- Shenanigrams is all about fun - so don't get bogged down squabbling! Words found in a standard dictionary are allowed, except for abbreviations, proper nouns and words requiring hyphens or apostrophes.
- All letter tiles played must complete a word or be working towards completing a "real" word. If a player is challenged and can't prove that the word (or word they are working towards) is valid then they must put the tile back behind their shield and miss their turn.
- Players cannot insert or replace a letter in an incomplete, untagged word to complete the word. For example, if "MUC" was incomplete and therefore untagged (working towards "MUCH") a player could not replace the C with a D to make "MUD".
- When stealing words, a new word must be formed immediately. For example, a player could add an "S" to "ICON" to create "ICONS" but could not add an "I" (with the intention of creating "ICONIC" on their next turn) as "ICONI" is not a word.
- Players can steal multiple words at the same time by adding or replacing a tile that links more than one word, provided that the new words are formed immediately. For example, if "HAVE" and "HOT" were connected by the "H" a player could steal both words in one go by replacing the "H" with a "G" to create the words "GAVE" and "GOT".
- Where there is an intersection between a completed, tagged word and an incomplete word, players are still able to steal the completed, tagged word by replacing a letter - provided that the incomplete word is still able to be turned into a "real word" as the game progresses. For example, if the "G" of "GREAT" also had "O" intersecting with it (working towards "GONE") a player could replace the "G" with a "T" to create the word "TREAT" and this would be allowed since players can still turn "TO" into a complete word.
- Players may recreate a word that has been used previously. For example, "DOG" could be changed to "LOG" and then back to "DOG".
- Players cannot rearrange the sequence of letter tiles, and cannot steal a word by replacing a letter tile with an identical letter tile.
- If a player is struggling, they can discard all 5 of their letter tiles to a discard pile, collect 5 more from the letter bag and miss their turn. If running low on tiles in the letter bag, put any discarded tiles back into the bag, give it a shake and play on.