Vowl
Vowl Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 210 Basic Cards (GREEN)
- 130 Advanced Cards (YELLOW)
- 60 Expert Cards (RED)
- 5 Victory Tokens
- 5 Scoring Tokens
- 2x Sand Timers (25 seconds; 15 seconds)
- 2 Custom Dice
- 1 Double Sided Scoring Board
- 1 Rule Book
Setup
Select a game length (GREEN - 30-45 min, RED - 45 - 60 min) and place the scoring board with its corresponding side face-up on the table. Each player should select a player color and take their corresponding scoring and victory tokens. All scoring tokens should be placed on the "0" space of the scoring board while all victory tokens should be placed on the final space of the scoring track (10 or 15, as designated by a star).
Shuffle each of the 3 decks of cards separately and place them, the dice and the GREEN sand timer anywhere near the scoring board. The starting player is the person whose full name comes first alphabetically.
Word Puzzles
Every one of the cards in the game features a unique word puzzle, which consists of one word that has had its vowels removed from it. The rules for solving these word puzzles are as follows:
- The first consonant shown is always the first letter of the word. In other words, none of the words in this game start with a vowel.
- There is a SINGLE vowel (A, E, I, O, or U) missing in between each consonant. For the sake of this game, the letter "Y" is not considered a vowel. There are never any double vowels.
- There may or may not be a single vowel missing at the end of the word.
- Only legitimate, English words are considered acceptable answers. Proper nouns are not allowed. Informal words are considered legitimate. (NOTE: Vowl uses American-English spellings - "color" as opposed to "colour".)
Example: On her turn, Jennifer draws a card that reads "SVR". Some acceptable answers would be Savor, Sever, or Severe. Some examples of an unacceptable answer would be Savior because it has a double vowel and Savory because the letter Y is not considered a vowel in this game.
On Your Turn
1. Roll & Draw
Roll both dice and draw cards from the GREEN basic deck equal to the number rolled on the number die. Without looking at the cards, place them in a face-down pile in front of you. Then, draw the cards shown in the tier of your scoring token (again, without looking at them) and place them face-down either on top of or underneath your pile of GREEN cards. Note: You won't draw any extra cards while your token is in the "0" space on the scoring board.
Example: Jennifer currently has 11 points. On her turn, she rolls a "4" on the number die, so she draws 4 cards from the GREEN basic deck and places them in a face-down pile in front of her. She then draws 1 YELLOW advanced card and 1 RED expert card and, wanting to start with her easier cards first, she places them face-down underneath her pile of GREEN cards.
Scoring Example (diagram, described): the printed scoring track shows the token positions for a worked example. The first diagram shows a token on space 1 moving forward two spaces to space 2 ("2 Points"). The second diagram shows the token on space 1 taking "1 Point & -" with one victory token and one other player's victory token each moved down one space ("1 Point & - -").
2. Solve Cards
Note: If your scoring token is ever within winning distance (2 spaces) of your victory token, you must play solitaire, regardless of the mode you rolled. The only exception to this is if another player chooses you for partner play or head-to-head play on their turn.
Based on the result of the game mode die, you will attempt to score points by solving word puzzles in 1 of the following 3 different modes of gameplay:
Solitaire
Flip the timer and begin by drawing the top card of your card pile and placing it face-up in front of you. When you solve the card, say the solution aloud, and draw the next card of your pile, continuing to solve and draw cards until you either successfully solve all of the cards in your pile or time runs out.
Partner
At the start of your turn, before drawing extra cards based upon your position on the scoring track, draw an extra 3 basic cards. Then, after drawing cards based on YOUR position on the scoring track, select any 1 of your neighbors (the player on your immediate left or right) to partner up with.
Place the pile of cards between the two of you and flip the timer. Draw the first card of your shared pile and place it face up between you and your partner. When EITHER player successfully solves the card, flip the next card from the deck, continuing until the two of you have together either solved all of the cards in your pile or time runs out.
Head-to-Head
At the start of your turn, select any player to play against head-to-head. In addition to you drawing cards as normal based upon YOUR position on the scoring track, that player will also draw cards equal to the number that you rolled plus cards equal to whatever tier of the scoring track that THEY are on.
When both players have their piles of cards and are ready to begin, flip the timer. Both players will now race to be the first to successfully solve all of the cards in their pile. If neither player is able to solve all of their cards before time runs out, the player who has solved the most cards when time expires will be the winner. If players are tied, the winner will be determined by a sudden-death draw: When both players are ready, draw the top card of the RED expert deck and place it face-up on the table. The first of the two players to say the answer aloud will win the tiebreaker.
Passing Cards
If you are ever stuck on a puzzle card, you may opt to pass that card. To do so, simply say "pass" aloud and set the card aside, FACE-DOWN to indicate that it has been passed. You may return to your passed cards at any time during your turn, and ALL passed cards must still be solved before time runs out in order for you to succeed.
Scoring Points
If you achieve a success, you will have one of two options for taking points (as listed below the scoring track). You can either take 2 points, moving your scoring token forward two spaces on the scoring track, or you can take 1 point and move your victory token AND one other player's victory token down 1 space on the scoring track.
Success in each of the three modes is defined as follows:
- Solitaire: You succeed if you get through all of your cards before time runs out.
- Partner: Both players succeed if they get through all of their cards before time runs out. The player whose turn it is (who rolled) gains their points first.
- Head-to-Head: Success is awarded to whichever player is the first to get through all of their cards (or whoever has solved the most cards when time runs out).
Winning The Game
The first player to have their scoring token meet or surpass their victory token on the scoring track is the winner! (Remember: If you are ever within 2 spaces of your victory token on your turn, you MUST play solitaire, regardless of what you rolled.)
2 Player Variant
When playing with 2 players, the "+3" owls symbol refers instead to "Selection Mode":
Instead of working together as partners, you will be playing by yourself, with your opponent having the opportunity to select which cards you will have to solve. When you roll this symbol, your opponent will draw GREEN basic cards equal to the number you rolled +3. Then, they will look at all of the cards and choose 3 of those cards to discard. Shuffle the remaining cards and place the pile in front of you face-down. You will then draw extra cards based on your location on the scoring track as normal. Flip the timer and attempt to solve all the cards before time expires. If you succeed, gain points as normal.
Increased Difficulty
Looking for more of a challenge? For a longer, tougher game, just flip the double-sided scoring track to its advanced side. More experienced players should also try using the included 15-second RED sand timer on their turn.