Sides Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components
Game Overview
Game Rules
Clarifications
End of the Game and Scoring
Rules for 2 Players
Example of a Game Round
Thanks

Components

26 Letter cards
110 Word cards, with 8 words each
1 Captains tile

Game Overview

SIDES is a cooperative game. Everyone plays together to achieve the highest score possible.

Two players (the Investigators) work together to discover a randomly chosen word.

The other players (the Witnesses) work together to give clues that will help the Investigators guess the word. However, each clue must begin with one of the letters available at either end of the row formed by the Letter cards.

After each clue, the Investigators attempt to guess the word. Players continue working together until the word is guessed, or until all the Letter cards have been used and discarded.

Game Rules

(Specifics of a 2 player game are at the end of the booklet.)

Goal of the Game

Work together to uncover as many Word cards before the letter cards run out.

Setup

Create a row of 7 Letter cards arranged side-by-side. For your first few games, we recommend using 7 unique Letter cards to avoid having two identical letters in the row (except at the end of the game if this is unavoidable). If a letter card repeats itself, put it under the deck and draw a new one.
Place the remaining 19 Letter cards into a draw pile for the next round. Stack the Word cards into a draw pile.
Choose two players seated next to each other to play as The Investigators. Place the Captains tile between them. The other players are The Witnesses. In a 3 player game, there is only one Investigator. Place the Captain tile in front of them.
The Witnesses draw the Word card for the round. Each Word card has 8 numbered words. The Investigators randomly choose which word they will guess by saying a number from 1 to 8. The Witnesses each look at which Word is being guessed. For your first few games, we recommend using only the colored numbers, as they are easier to guess.

Round

Giving a Clue:

Whichever Witness thinks of a clue first starts the round and gives the Investigators their one word clue. Each clue must begin with one of the letters available at either end of the row formed by the Letter cards.

Once a Witness has given a clue, take the corresponding Letter card from the Letter row and place it in front of the Investigators. This frees up a new letter for Witnesses to give clues.

Making a Guess:

After receiving a clue, the Investigators work together to find the word and make a single guess by saying: "We think the word is..."

The word to find is always a common name or place.

If the guess is correct:

The Word card is revealed and placed to the side (it will count as a point at the end of the game).
The Letter cards used to give clues are discarded and returned to the box. A new round begins!

If the guess is incorrect:

The Witnesses discuss and share how close the guess is to the correct answer: "hot", "cold", "warm", "you are close", or even a percentage like "90% of the way there", etc.
One of the Witness gives a new clue to the Investigators using one of the letters available on either ends of the Letter row. Remember to follow The Politeness Rule (see below).
However, if there are no more Letter cards in the Letter row, the Word card is lost and discarded to the box along with the used Letter cards. A new round begins!

New Round

Split the remaining Letter cards into two equal (or roughly equal) sets. Add Letter cards between these two sets until there are 7 cards in the Letter row. If there aren't enough cards left in the Letter draw pile to refill the Letter row to 7, simply fill it as much as possible and play with the available cards.
Move the Captain tile one player clockwise. The players sitting on either side of the Captains tile are this round's Investigators.
The Witnesses draw a new Word card and the Investigators randomly indicate a new number. You are ready to begin a new round!

Clarifications

IMPORTANT: Keep reading if you want to know all of SIDES' tricks and constraints.

Clue Management

To help the Investigators, the Witnesses can:

Indicate a particular order of clues by arranging the Letters used to give them.
Repeat already given clues.
Shift a Letter card towards the Investigators to indicate that the corresponding clue is the one that best describes the Word. Group the used letter cards by category to separate the different interpretations of the Word.
Tilt a used Letter card to indicate that its clue is less useful or accurate.
Rotate a Letter card to face away from the Investigators to indicate that the corresponding clue is opposite to the Word (for example: rotate the Letter C, for "colorful", to help them guess the word "Zebra").

Skipping Letters

Witnesses can choose to use a Letter card inside the Letter row by skipping the cards at its extremities. The Letter cards that are skipped must be returned to the box. Beware, this is a risky strategy, as the group loses the possibility of using the skipped Letter cards to give clues or to make Investigators guess new words.

Politeness

The Witnesses are very polite. In each round, no Witness will give a second clue until all Witnesses have had a chance to give their first clue. This ensures that everyone gets equal opportunities to participate. However, all Witnesses can still continue to point at, shift, and rotate Letter cards, regardless of how many clues they have given.

Witnesses are Prohibited From

Give a clue containing the same root as the Word. For example: Witnesses can not give the clue "Prince", when the word is "Princess".
Give a clue in another language. For example: "Agua" can not be used as a clue with the letter card "A" to describe "Water".
Give more than one word, e.g. "Leonardo da Vinci" is not allowed but you can say "Leonardo" or "Vinci".

Witnesses are Allowed To

Use compound words, proper names, onomatopoeias or acronyms. For example: "merry-go-round", "six-pack", "Lancelot", "Moo", "NASA".

Cooperation Between Witnesses

The Witnesses are encouraged to discuss amongst themselves, in front of the Investigators, but without divulging too much information. For example, you might say: "I have an awesome 5 letter word starting with L". Another Witness might reply: "If we're thinking of the same word, I would recommend using the feminine version of the word to make it more clear". Or maybe: "If you can, leave the R for me. I have a great word starting with the letter R."

Exchanging information secretly is forbidden.

When a Guess is "Close Enough"

Some guesses are close enough and should be considered correct. For example: "Actress" for "Actor", or "UFO" for "Flying Saucer".

Tips

Witnesses are encouraged to use descriptive names for their clues. For instance, "point" is a fine clue for the word "Needle", but "pointy" or "pointed" would be even better.

If you're finding it difficult to give a good clue with the available Letters, try thinking of opposites. By turning an "L" card upside-down, your clue of "Little" actually means "Large", the opposite of little.

Simplify the Game

The Word cards are numbered from 1 to 8. Easier Words are associated with a shape and color. If you would like to play an easier version of the game or play with children, the Investigators should choose a shape or color to indicate which Word they will guess (blue/circle, green/square, yellow/triangle) instead of a number.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game ends when both the Letter row and the Letter draw pile are empty.

The team gets one point for each Word card guessed by the Investigators. Count how many Word cards your team guessed to determine your score.

Turn over the Captains tile to find out what level you have reached. If you scored 6 points or more: you win! Now aim for a score of 7, 8, or more... The Captains tile lists the levels for scores of 6 through 17 and beyond.

Rules for 2 Players

The game is played according to the same rules, but with the following changes:

In the 2 player game, each player is both an Investigator and a Witness. After creating a row of 7 Letter cards, players each draw a Word card and take turns giving each other clues and guessing each other's Word.
Whichever player thinks of a clue first starts the game.
When one of the Word is guessed correctly, the Word card is placed face up to the side and replaced with a new Word card. The Letter row is replenished to 7 cards following the procedure highlighted in the general rules. The second word is yet to be discovered and remains in play.
When no player guessed their word and the Letter row is depleted, both Word cards are lost and discarded to the box. Each player draws a new Word card and a new Letter row is created.
Players are encouraged to share which Letter cards they would like to use. For example: "Could you leave me the F?", or "If you can use the P, I have a great clue for the L behind it."
The game ends and is scored according to the general rules.

Example of a Game Round

The Witnesses choose Word number 5 for the Investigators to guess.

Witness 1: I have an idea for a 6 letter word starting with G. Witness 2: I had the same idea, but I think a 9 letter version of that word might be even better. Witness 1: Great idea. My clue is: "Galloping".

The Witness places the Letter card G in front of the Investigators.

Investigator 1: What do you think? Maybe a "Horse"? Investigator 2: Okay, we think the word is: "Horse". Witness: No, but you're 90% of the way there. Investigator 1: Yeah, 90% seems right. I think I'll sacrifice the C to use the S. Investigator 2: Wait, let's not skip a card! I have a good idea for the C. Can I go first?

Card placement: the used Letter cards read "REA" grouped together — the closest clue to what the Investigators are looking for — and "CM" with an "A" set apart, where the clue given by the C card is not very good anymore.

Witness: I will turn the C upside down and say: the opposite of "Colorful". Witness: We will shift the G a little higher... Just to indicate that we're looking for something related to "Galloping".

Investigator 1: Hmm... something gray? Investigator 2: Or maybe black and white... Chess has a horse pawn! Investigator 1: Ok, we think the Word is: "Chess". Witness: Ah, no, much colder. Chess is 0%. Don't forget, we're looking for something that is related to "Galloping". Witness: Now that the S is free, I'll give my clue. My clue is "Stripes".

Investigator 1: Oh my goodness, it's a "Zebra"! Investigator 2: Of course! Okay, we think the Word is: "Zebra". Witness: That's it! Well done!

Card placement: the used Letter cards read "BLA" and "ETC" grouped together — two interpretations of the given word — and "FP" with an "A" set apart to show the opposite of the clue.

Thanks

Captain Games would like to thank all the people who contributed to the development of this game: our playtesters, who had the patience and courage to take part in our crash tests, our families, friends, and everyone who supported and carried us in one way or another, and without whom you would not be holding this game.

Authors: Cédrick Caumont and François Romain Product manager: François Romain Solution manager: Lumturije Krasniqi Guarding, Olfactory analysis: Pirat Development: Cédrick Caumont Computer graphics: Cédrick Caumont and Adrien Journel Translation: Elfine Caumont

This material may only be used for strictly personal and private amusement.