wordXchange
wordXchange Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's an Anagram?
An anagram is a word you get by transposing the letters of one word to make a new word. For example, if you rearrange the letters of the word STEAK, you get SKATE or STAKE.
However, with wordXchange®, you must add at least one letter to a word in order to transform it into another word. For example, if you add the letter T to the word RACE and rearrange the letters, you will obtain REACT. Read the rest of of this booklet to learn how to play. You have countless ways to win.
1. Setting Up the Game
A. Place the game board in the middle of the table.
B. Put the easels and the bag of letter-tiles along the sides of the game board.
C. One player draws five letter-tiles from the bag and places them, face-up, on the board (as illustrated below).
[Illustration: five letter-tiles placed face-up on the board, labelled A, B, C, F, R, S, U.]
2. Determining Who Goes First
A. Each player (or team) draws a letter-tile from the bag and places it, face-up, on the board. The player (or team) who draws an "A", or the letter closest to it alphabetically, plays first. For instance, in a four-player game, if one player drew the letter D and the other three players drew the letters L, O and T, the player who drew the D would go first. If two players draw an "A", or the letter closest to it, they draw again until it is determined who goes first. The player to your left is next to play.
[Illustration: the board with the setup tiles plus the tiles drawn to determine the first player.]
NOTE: All the letter-tiles drawn so far remain on the board and serve to start the game. For example, 2 players will begin the game with 7 letter-tiles on the board; 4 players will begin the game with 9 letter-tiles.
3. Starting the Game
A. Each player (or team) draws another letter-tile from the bag and, this time, keeps it in his/her hand to hide it from opposing players.
B. The starting player will go first. The player to your left is next to play.
C. The standard time limit is one minute per turn, so set the digital timer to one minute (also refer to section 7. Game Strategies).
D. The player places his or her letter-tile on the board, and tries to make a word by moving the letters around. You don't need to use the letter-tile from your hand. You can use any combination of letter-tiles on the board.
RESTRICTIONS: THE WORD MUST HAVE AT LEAST 3 LETTERS TO BE VALID. Proper nouns, abbreviations and acronyms are not valid, except for those also considered common nouns by the dictionary. A player cannot steal a noun by merely adding an S to change it to its plural form (e.g. PENCIL into PENCILS, or BRICK into BRICKS). However, a player can turn CHILD into CHILDREN. Also, a player can steal a word by changing its verb form (e.g. MEND can become MENDS, MENDED or MENDING).
F. If the timer beeps before the player can make a word, or if the player cannot make a word, that player's turn is over. The player leaves his or her letter-tile on the board, draws a new letter-tile from the bag, and keeps that letter concealed in his or her hand. Play proceeds to the left (clockwise) until a player can make a word.
NOTE: When your turn is over, always remember to draw a letter-tile from the bag and keep it in your hand for your next turn.
4. When You Make a Word
A. When you make a word, either from letters on the board or by stealing an opponent's word, place the word on your easel. Turn the easel toward the other players so they can read it (as illustrated below). Remember: The word must have at least 3 letters to be valid.
[Illustration: example easels showing words such as TAKE, STEALER, POWER, and a board of letter-tiles.]
B. Now you continue your turn, resetting the timer and drawing another letter-tile from the bag.
C. Continue playing until you can no longer make or steal a word (see section 5. Stealing an Opponent's Word), or until you run out of time. Play continues to the left.
Note: Once you have made a word, you cannot transform your own word again. Only opposing players can transform your word in order to steal it and make it theirs. However, if a rival steals one of your words, you can steal that word back on another turn.
5. Stealing an Opponent's Word
Stealing your rivals' words is a key strategy in wordXchange®, because it makes it more difficult for your opponent to complete six words.
A. The player takes an opponent's word, including the easel, and places it in front of him or herself.
B. To do so, you must make a new word by adding at least one letter to those on your opponent's easel. The letter can be the one "hidden" in your hand, or it can come from the center of the board. You can either add on to the existing word or rearrange the letters to make a new word. Anything goes as long as you use all of his/her letters, plus at least one of your own.
C. Continue playing, re-setting the timer and drawing a letter-tile from the bag.
Declaring a Winner
A player wins when he or she has 6 words lined up in front of him or herself.
[Illustration: a board with six words lined up on easels in front of one player.]
6. Using the Joker to Make or Steal Words
The Joker-tile can represent any letter you choose. For example, in Player 3's word EAN below, the Joker can represent either the letter B, D, L, or W. To increase your options of making or stealing words:
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REPLACE: You can take the Joker-tile (but not the word, since you did not add a letter) and replace it, for example, with the letter L from the board. Next, use the Joker-tile (which would now be on the board) to make or steal another word and add it to your set of words, then play again.
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STEAL: You can steal the word EAN and rearrange it to make ANGE by changing the value of the Joker to L and adding the letter G from the board. Reset the timer, draw another letter-tile from the bag and continue playing. Remember: The rules for stealing still apply. You must add at least one letter.
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REARRANGE: You can replace the Joker-tile with the letter T from the board and rearrange the letters of your opponent's word to transform it into ANTE. However, you cannot steal the word because you did not add a letter to the word. Next, use the Joker-tile (which would now be on the board) to make or steal another word and add it to your set of words, then play again.
[Illustration: three board examples labelled 1 (REPLACE), 2 (STEAL: EAN to ANGE) and 3 (REARRANGE: EAN to ANTE).]
7. Game Strategies
Offensive Strategy
While waiting for your turn to play, consider the possibilities. Think about the words you could make if you combined one of your opponent's words with the letters on the board and the letter in your hand. Mentally rearrange the words to make up new words, remembering that you must add one or more letters to the word you wish to steal. Ideally, you should steal your opponents' words to try to prevent them from winning. If that is not possible, then try to make a word with the letter tiles remaining on the board.
Defnsive Strategy
Use as many letters as possible to make the longest words possible. REMEMBER! THE LONGER THE WORD, THE HARDER IT IS TO STEAL. Also, try to use up the letters on the board as much as possible to keep your opponents from using them to steal your words.
Suggested Time Limits
It is suggested that you set a time limit to make or steal words. The standard time limit is one minute per word. Once you have composed or stolen your first word, you are allowed another minute to make a second word, and so on. If your time is up before you can make or steal another word, you must leave your letter on the board, draw another letter-tile from the bag and wait your turn.
You can alter the time limit depending on the time available to play and the desired degree of difficulty. A shorter time limit (30 seconds) requires quick minds, speeds up the game, and shortens the waiting time between turns. On the other hand, a longer time limit (2 to 3 minutes) allows more time for reflection.
Letter Distribution of the 126 Letter-Tiles
| Letter | Count | Letter | Count | Letter | Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 10 | J | 1 | S | 7 |
| B | 2 | K | 2 | T | 10 |
| C | 4 | L | 5 | U | 4 |
| D | 5 | M | 3 | V | 2 |
| E | 15 |
8. Game Restrictions
Restrictions
Words shorter than three letters are not valid. Proper nouns, abbreviations and acronyms are not valid, except for those also considered common nouns by the dictionary. Proper nouns are names of places and individuals that normally begin with a capital letter (for example, New York, Paul). Abbreviations are a shortened form of a word or phrase—for instance, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Acronyms are words formed from the first letter, or the first letters, of several words, i.e., PAC (political action committee). If someone wants to use a proper noun, abbreviation or acronym, look up the word in a dictionary.
THE DICTIONARY CAN ONLY BE CONSULTED TO VERIFY THE LEGITIMACY OF A WORD (FOR EXAMPLE, TO VERIFY ITS EXISTENCE OR ITS SPELLING). THE DICTIONARY CANNOT BE BROWSED DURING THE GAME.
You cannot steal a noun by merely adding an S to change it to its plural form (e.g. PENCIL into PENCILS, or BRICK into BRICKS). However, you can turn CHILD into CHILDREN. Also, you can steal a word by changing its verb form (e.g. MEND can become MENDS, MENDED or MENDING).
In every case where the legitimacy of a word is questioned, the dictionary will settle the issue. If someone wishes to challenge a word, that player must do so before the next player plays. If the word is ruled ineligible, the player who proposed the word misses his turn (that is, he puts his letter-tile down on the board, draws another letter-tile from the bag and waits for his next turn).