Snippets
Snippets Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective
Be the first wordsmith to win 3 Snippets cards! For a longer game, play to 5!
Cards
Each Snippets card contains a short sequence of letters called a "snippet," that can be found as a whole at the beginning, middle, or end of words.
For Example
The snippet PET can be found in the words...
✓ SNIPPET, PETUNIA & APPETITE
✗ but not in the words...
PIRATE, PRETZEL or MISSTEP
Setup
Give each player an answer pad and a pen or pencil. Without shuffling, place the three decks of easy, medium, and hard cards facedown on the table along with any 60-second timer.
Need a timer? Check out our free Snippets timer app at snippetsgame.com/timer. No download required!
Game Play
At the beginning of each round, flip over one of the top easy, medium, or hard Snippets cards. For reference, players can write that snippet in the space provided at the top of their answer pads.
Start the 60-second timer. Before time runs out, players should try to write down as many words as they can think of that contain the round's snippet.
Anything Goes!
Think outside the box! In Snippets, all of the following are allowed:
- ✓ dictionary words
- ✓ people names
- ✓ place names
- ✓ brand names
- ✓ fictional things
- ✓ technical terms
- ✓ slang
- ✓ acronyms
- ✓ abbreviations
- ✓ contractions
- ✓ hyphenations
- ✓ non-english words
This even includes:
- ✓ the snippet itself (if it's one of these things)
- ✓ different forms of the same word such as plurals and alternate verb tenses
Literally everything is acceptable as long as it has no spaces, contains the snippet, and isn't completely made up. The only rule is that players have to fully write the word out for it to count, rather than use any form of shorthand.
As a rule of thumb, if something a player writes down can be found somewhere on the internet, it's acceptable.
In the spirit of "anything goes," any word that a player writes down that ends up being a valid thing counts, whether or not the player who wrote it knew what it was, thought it meant something else, or knew how to pronounce it. Slight misspellings are also OK, as long as the word the player intended to write still contains the snippet.
The "anything goes" rule has been carefully crafted to minimize arguing and maximize fun. For a challenge or change of pace, you can always try require players to know the definitions of their words, or to exclude certain categories of acceptable words like plurals or alternate verb tenses.
Remaining Words
After time is up, compare everyone's words. If any two or more players have the exact same word, they should all cross it out. If the group decides that a player's word is not valid, that player should cross it out.
Words that match are those that are spelled exactly the same, regardless of the meaning, capitalization, or pronunciation of the word. A BASS (fish), for example, is considered the same thing as a BASS (instrument).
By the end, players earn +1 point for each remaining word on their lists.
Creativity Bonus
Additionally, the player with the fewest crossed out words earns a special "creativity" bonus of +3 points. If that player happens to have no crossed out words at all, the player earns +5 points instead. In the event of a tie for fewest crossed out words, all tied players earn the bonus.
"Crossed out" words means not just those that were matches with other players, but also those that ended up being invalid for any reason. However, if a player crossed out a word before time ran out, that word does not count as "crossed out".
Brainiac Bonus
Also, the player with the longest remaining word earns a special "brainiac" bonus of +3 points. If that word happens to be 13 letters or more, the player earns +5 points instead. In the event of a tie for longest word, all tied players earn the bonus.
Special Bonus
Finally, certain cards may describe a "special" bonus that applies to that round only. These may include bonuses for the most words with a certain number of letters, with the snippet appearing at the beginning or end of the word, or with the word falling into a certain category. If there is a special bonus for a given round, the player with the most remaining words that fit the bonus criteria earns +5 points. In the event of a tie, all tied players earn the bonus.
Be lenient when scoring answers to these special cards! Creative, weird, and funny answers are allowed and encouraged!
Winning
The player with the most points wins the round and takes the Snippets card. In the event of a tie, each tied player wins the round and takes a card (taking additional cards from the bottom of the deck as needed).
Start each new round with a clean slate and new Snippets card. Restart the timer and play again!
The first player to earn 3 Snippets cards wins!
Example Scoring
Snippet: CRA
Eugene
- crab: +1
- crabs: +1
scrap: 0 (crossed off due to exact match with Rose)- scrappy: +1
craft: 0 (crossed off due to exact match with Rose)- spacecraft: +1
- aircraft: +1
racecar: 0 (crossed off since the group pointed out it doesn't contain the snippet)- scrawl: +1
- lucrative: +1
7 points total: 7
Rose
- crabby: +1
scrap: 0 (crossed off due to exact match with Eugene)- scraps: +1
- intracranial: +1
craft: 0 (crossed off due to exact match with Eugene)- Sacramento: +1
- crazy: +1
Brainiac bonus with "intracranial": +3
8 points total: 8
Sebastian
- Socrates: +1
- cray-cray: +1
- democracía: +1
- Craig: +1
Creativity bonus with 0 crossed out: +5
9 points total: 9
Sebastian wins!