PAPERBACK

OBJECTIVE OF PAPERBACK: The objective of Paperback is to be the player with the most Fame Points when the game comes to an end. 

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 5 Players 

MATERIALS: 4 Award Cards, 6 Theme Cards, 5 Player Powers, 6 Common Cards, 28 wild Cards, 50 Starting Deck Cards, 11 Attack Cards, 20 Two-Letter Cards, 8 2c Vowels, 66 Letter Cards, 11 Dividers, 17 Wooden Cubes, and Instructions 

TYPE OF GAME: Card Drafting Card Game 

AUDIENCE: Ages 8 and Up 

OVERVIEW OF PAPERBACK 

Have you always dreamed of being a best-selling author? Now it is time to let your dream shine. Paperback allows players to act as up and coming artists, each trying to do better than the others. Each author attempts to build the best words, scoring the best points, and potentially getting their books published!  

SETUP 

To begin setup, each player is given a K, T, R, S, L and N card and five 2c Fame cards. Four different stacks of Fame cards, organized by rank, are placed in the middle of the playing area. The Common Cards are shuffled and four are dealt to each player. The remaining cards are placed facing up beside the Offer found at the start of the length track. The cards should be positioned so that the length track is revealed at the same time.  

The Letter cards are grouped by price, with the 104, 94, and 84 piles being combined. Any attack cards are removed for the first game, as it is recommended to become comfortable with the game before putting them to use. The Letter decks are placed in the middle of the playing area, face up. The top card is removed and placed on the bottom of the stack.  

The game is ready to begin! 

GAMEPLAY 

To begin the game each player will draw their first hand of five cards. The player who has finished a book most recently will be the first player, and gameplay will continue in a clockwise order around the group. During their turn, a player will complete the following seven actions: create a word, check the length, resolve, score the chosen word, purchase cards, discard cards, and draw. 

The players begin their turn by choosing a word from the letters that are in their hand. The cards are oriented in this order in front of the player. Wild cards are able to be used for any letter. Once the word is oriented, the player will count the number of letters that the word includes. If the word is longer or equal to the highest number on the length track, then the player will collect the Common Card.  

If any cards in the word that the player is spelling contains abilities, they are activated and resolved. The scores from the letters of the word, and the Common Card if applicable, are tallied. Some cards have abilities that include bonus points, and those should be added in as well. Depending on their score, the player may be able to purchase cards from the Offer. The player is able to buy as many cards as they want, but the price has to be lower than their score.  

All the player’s cards are placed in their discard pile, allowing them to draw five additional cards to begin their next hand. When the player runs out of cards, they can shuffle their discard pile, creating a new draw pile that includes their purchased cards. The game will continue in this manner until two Fame piles are emptied or there are no Common Cards available. 

END OF GAME 

The game comes to an end when one of the Fame piles becomes exhausted or if there are no more Common cards available. When a player takes the last of the common cards, they will complete their turn, and then the game will end. The players will tally their Fame points that are found on the cards within their decks. The player who has the most Fame points, wins the game! 

Ellie Phillips
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