Tuf-abet
Tuf-abet Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 32 Red Cubes (A E I O U ‘E)
- 20 Blue Cubes (T R N S C P)
- 16 Green Cubes (D H F L M Y)
- 8 Yellow Cubes (G W V B, arch symbol, ☺)
- 4 Orange Cubes (J Z Q X K ☺)
- 4 Blank Cubes
- 3 Timers (Red – 3 Minutes, Yellow – 2 Minutes, Blue – 1 Minute)
- Set of Rules
- Game Container
Play
Two, three, or four players can play.
Each turn every player takes 8 Red, 5 Blue, 4 Green, 2 Yellow, & 1 Orange Cube. Every player rolls the cubes out. Once rolled the cubes cannot be altered to change the letter. Players begin to make crosswords with their cubes in attempt to use as many of their cubes as possible. Words can read from left to right and top to bottom. Words must fit all the rules of a crossword puzzle (adjoining letters must ALWAYS form a word).
The first player to use the majority of his/her cubes exclaims “Tuf!” and starts the red timer. All other players have until this timer ends to finish using their cubes. The Tuf player may not change or add to his/her cubes after this point. If any player uses more cubes than the Tuf player to finish that player should exclaim “Tuffer!” and start the yellow timer. The yellow timer’s time will replace the red timer and all of Tuffer’s opponents (including Tuf) may continue to arrange their cubes.
If any player uses more cubes than the Tuffer player before the timer runs out, that player exclaims “Tuffest!” and starts the blue timer. The Tuffest player & timer rule is recursive and will continue until the timer runs out without any player finding more cubes than the previous Tuffest player. Make sure to allow the time to run out before flipping.
It is recommended that a player keep his/her hands off the table once that player has finished in order to avoid arguments.
A valid vocabulary must be agreed to by all players. Proper nouns, abbreviations, hyphenated words & apostrophized words are not allowed. The exception to this rule is that if a player rolls the arch symbol (∩) character this may be used as any capital letter in order to add a proper noun. If the arch symbol (∩) is used in another word it must be the same letter, but doesn’t have to be a capital letter. The ☺ is a wild symbol and can be used as any lower case letter. It must remain the same letter in all words it is used within. If the ‘E is rolled on the first roll then re-roll this cube. Let it remain on the second roll. You may choose to player without any special symbols by re-rolling the cubes that they show up on as a variant.
The first player to finds an error in another players crossword should exclaim “Tuf Error” and is awarded 5 points. The player with the error must re-roll his/her cubes and continue the game with what time is left. If “Tuf Error” is declared incorrectly that player is docked 5 points.
Score the points and play another round. It is recommended that you first play a number of rounds equal to the number of players. Once you have become familiar with the game you can set a point goal for the game.
Scoring
No points are awarded if spelling or arrangements are incorrect.
- Tuf player – 8 points
- Final declaring player – 8 points
- Each cube used in a word – 1 point. This means that if a cube is used in 2 words it gets a point for each word.
- Each cube in a six or more letter word – 2 points
- Using the arch symbol (∩) as a capital letter in a word – 3 points
- 1st Tuf Error detector – 5 points
- Incorrect Tuf Error detector – Negative 5 points
Suggestions
- Try finding long words first using the most complicated letters.
- If you find that most of your cubes are used very early in the game, call “Tuf.”
- After you declare continue to mentally work on your puzzle.
- Look at other peoples arrangements, finding an error can be invaluable.
Variations
- Large Words: 2 or 3 letter words score no points.
- Special Subjects: Allow or only use words from a special subject.
- Foreign Language: Play with words from any other Latin based language.
- Quick: Skip the Red timer and go straight to the yellow or blue timer.
- Solitaire: Roll the cubes, flip the red timer and go.
- Rotary: Players work on the same puzzle. Start as normal except that each player will attempt to build a word of 6 or more letters. The first player to do so will be the “Tuf” player. Players then take turns adding a word to the crossword arrangement. Limit each players turn using the blue timer. The first player to use all of his/her cubes ends the session by exclaiming “Tuffest.” If a complete round has gone by without any player placing additional cubes then the session will also end; scoring then occurs. As you are playing do not point out errors until the blue timer has run out. The penalty for errors is simply the removal of the incorrect word and the loss of that turn. Play for the number of games equal to the number of players.