Wordstacker Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Turn
  • Exchanging Cards
  • Playing 1 Letter
  • Completing 1 Task
    • Task Cards
      • Play Letters (WYŁÓŻ 2/3/4/5 LITER)
      • Add 1 Letter (DOŁÓŻ 1 LITERĘ)
      • Add Several Letters (DOŁÓŻ KILKA LITER)
      • Shuffle (ZAMIESZANIE)
      • Total Shuffle (TOTALNE ZAMIESZANIE)
      • New Word (NOWE SŁOWO)
• Reshuffling the Piles
• End of the Game
• Variants
• Reminders

Components

• 160 cards: 111 letter cards and 49 task cards

Setup

Lay out five-letter words from the cards. Place them in the middle of the table, one below another. Depending on the number of players, lay out the following number of words:

• 2 players: 3 words
• 3 players: 3 words
• 4 players: 4 words
• 5 players: 4 words
• 6 players: 5 words

Note: If you have trouble coming up with suitable words, you may use the cheat sheet available on the website gry.nk.com.pl. There you will find a list of 30 five-letter words.

Shuffle the remaining letter cards. Deal 6 letter cards to each player (do not show your rivals your letters!). From the remaining cards make a letter pile (cards lie letter-side down) and place it at the side of the table. Leave room next to the pile for the letters used during the game.

Take 3 cards from the top of the letter pile and place them (letter-side up) next to the pile.

Shuffle the task cards. Deal 3 task cards to each player (do not show your rivals your tasks!). From the remaining cards make a task pile (cards lie task-side down) and place it at the side of the table. Leave room next to the pile for the tasks used during the game.

Take 3 cards from the top of the task pile and place them (task description face up) next to the pile.

The printed setup diagram for 3 players shows the table layout with three player positions and example cards. It contains no additional rules text.

The player with the most letters in their first name (or the youngest player) begins. Play then proceeds clockwise.

Before the first game, players may (but need not) take 3 letters (from the pile or from among the face-up cards beside it), add them to the letters in hand, and then place any 3 letters on the space reserved for used letters (letter-side up).

Turn

On your turn, perform one of the three actions below.

Exchanging Cards

If you are dissatisfied with the cards you hold, you may exchange them for new ones.

• Place any number of cards on the discard pile of used cards (letters beside the letter pile, tasks beside the task pile).
• Then take the corresponding number of letter or task cards (from the piles or from among the face-up cards beside them). At the end of the exchange you must again hold 6 letters and 3 tasks.

Note: If you take a face-up card, place the top card of the corresponding pile in its place.

This ends your turn. The player seated on the left begins their turn.

Playing 1 Letter

• Play one of your letters: place it in the place of a chosen letter, forming a new word. The letter you play must be different from the letter lying there so far (that letter is placed on the discard pile of used cards).
• Then take 1 card (a letter or a task, from the pile or from among the face-up cards beside the piles), so that you again hold 9 cards.

This ends your turn. The player seated on the left begins their turn.

Example: The player plays the letter R in place of the T in MATKA. The new word is MARKA. The T is placed on the discard pile of used letters. At the end of their turn, the player takes 1 card (a letter or a task).

Completing 1 Task

• Play one of your tasks and carry out the actions described on the card.
• After completing the task, place the used card in front of you (task description face up). For each task completed, you earn the number of points shown on the card. Therefore, completed tasks stay in front of the players until the end of the game.
• Then take the appropriate number of cards (a letter or a task, from the pile or from among the face-up cards beside it), so that you again hold 9 cards.

This ends your turn. The player seated on the left begins their turn.

Task Cards

Play Letters (WYŁÓŻ 2/3/4/5 LITER)

Play the appropriate number of letters (2, 3, 4 or 5). Place them one by one in place of chosen letters lying on the table, forming a new word each time. The letter you play must be different from the letter lying there so far (that letter is placed on the discard pile of used cards). At the end of your turn, take as many cards (letters or tasks) as you just played.

Example: The player plays the task WYŁÓŻ 3 LITERY (play 3 letters). Then, from the cards in hand, they play 3 letters in turn:

• the letter R in place of the T in MATKA, forming the new word MARKA,
• the letter B in place of the R in ROMBY, forming the new word BOMBY,
• the letter S in place of the R in MARKA, forming the new word MASKA.

For completing this task, the player scored 20 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 4 cards, e.g. 3 letters and 1 task.

Add 1 Letter (DOŁÓŻ 1 LITERĘ)

Add 1 letter to a chosen word on the table, forming a new word. The letter may be placed in any position: at the beginning, end or middle of the word. At the end of your turn, take 2 cards (letters or tasks).

Example: The player plays the task DOŁÓŻ 1 LITERĘ. Then, from the cards in hand, they play the letter L and place it in MASKA, forming the new word MLASKA. For completing this task, the player scored 10 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 2 cards (letters or tasks).

Add Several Letters (DOŁÓŻ KILKA LITER)

Add a minimum of 2 letters to a chosen word on the table, forming a new word. The letters may be placed in any positions: at the beginning, end or middle of the word. At the end of your turn, take as many cards (letters or tasks) as you just placed.

Example: The player plays the task DOŁÓŻ KILKA LITER. Then, from the cards in hand, they play the letters O and W and place them in BOMBY, forming the new word BOMBOWY. For completing this task, the player scored 20 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 3 cards, e.g. 1 letter and 2 tasks.

Shuffle (ZAMIESZANIE)

Rearrange any number of letters in a chosen word, forming a new word.

Example: The player plays the task ZAMIESZANIE. They rearrange the letters of the word TARKA, forming the new word KARTA. For completing this task, the player scored 10 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 1 card (a letter or a task).

Total Shuffle (TOTALNE ZAMIESZANIE)

Collect all the words lying on the table, then form the same number of new words from them. Words may have any number of letters (minimum 2). Agree on a time limit for this task, e.g. 2 minutes.

Example: The player plays the task TOTALNE ZAMIESZANIE. They collect all the words from the table and form 3 new words: MARSOWY, BOMBKA, KLATA. For completing this task, the player scored 30 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 1 card (a letter or a task).

New Word (NOWE SŁOWO)

Remove a chosen word from the table (its letters are placed on the discard pile of used letters). Then, from the letters in hand, form a new five-letter word. The length of the removed word does not matter. At the end of your turn, take 6 cards (letters or tasks).

Example: The player plays the task NOWE SŁOWO. They remove the word KLATA from the table (its letters go to the discard pile of used letters) and form the new word NOCNE from the letters in hand. For completing this task, the player scored 10 points. At the end of their turn, the player takes 6 cards, e.g. 4 letters and 2 tasks.

Reshuffling the Piles

If the task pile runs out during the game, shuffle the used task cards and create a new pile. If the letter pile runs out, shuffle the used letter cards and create a new pile.

End of the Game

When any player has scored 100 (or more) points from their completed tasks, the players take their last turns, so that everyone has taken the same number of turns during the game.

Players then count their points. The player with the most points wins. In case of a tie, the player who has fewer task cards wins. If there is still a tie, the tied players share the victory.

Variants

If you want the game to last longer, agree before the start that you will play to a higher number of points, e.g. 150 or 200.

Reminders

• At the end of your turn, take the appropriate number of letter or task cards (from the corresponding pile or from among the face-up cards beside it), so that you again hold 9 cards in hand.
• Words must be found in the Polish dictionary. The correctness of a word can be checked quickly, e.g. on the website sjp.pl.
• You may shorten or lengthen the game by agreeing beforehand on a smaller or larger number of points needed to win.
• You may use a stopwatch and set a time limit for your turn.
• If a player forms an incorrect word, they must correct it or perform another action.