OBJECTIVE OF LETTER GO: To win points from as many cards claimed following the ever changing Letter Go rules.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 to 6 Players
COMPONENTS: 6 white boards, 6 dry erase markers, 6 scoring tokens, 60 consonant letter cards, 36 vowel letter cards, 26 double-sided rule cards and a rule book.
TYPE OF GAME: Party Card game
AUDIENCE: Ages 14 and Up
OVERVIEW OF LETTER GO
Scramble to write words using your opponent’s letters, target the lowest ranking token and claim the most letters to earn the most points but beware, the rules are ever changing.
SETUP
Every player is given a white board and dry erase marker.
Both the consonant and vowel cards are separated and shuffled to form two decks placed in the centre of the table.
The same number of vowel cards as the players are placed face up to reveal the letters.
Two consonant cards each are dealt face down to each player. Where there are three players, three consonant cards are dealt to each player.
Place same number of tokens as players in ascending order (numbers 1 to 3 if 3 players or 1 to four if there are four players) on the table.
Pick up two rule cards and place them face up, visible to all players. These rules apply to the first round only as the rules change as the game continues.
Make a timer available.
GAMEPLAY
Place your consonant cards under your white board so the other players can’t see them yet but ensuring that the letters are placed facing away from you the owner.
A chosen player flips the timer and everyone simultaneously reveal their cards.
Players write words on their white boards using all but their own cards. The words will contain letters from the earlier displayed vowel cards and the consonant cards of the opposing players. Players cannot use their own consonant letters.
Words formed must be real English words and spelt correctly. Each letter card can only be used once per round.
Words must be four letters long or more.
Words formed must adhere to the revealed rule cards.
Players pick a numbered token as soon as they finish writing their words. Lower numbered token are better.
If, before the timer runs out, a player notices that their word is invalid for any reason, they must return their token, erase the word and write a correct one. A player may quickly exchange their own token for the returned one if they think the number on it is better.
The round ends once the timer runs out.
RECKONING
Once the round ends, players all reveal their words.
All players who were able to claim tokens before the timer ran out will have their words checked for validity and adherence to the applicable rule card by the player to their left.
If a player’s word is valid, they must claim the letters they used. The player who picked the lowest ranking number starts the letter claiming process. This means that players may not get all the cards they used as a previous player may have claimed them first. The players then get to claim the remaining letters of their words.
ROUND END
Discard the unused and unclaimed letter and rule cards to the box.
Players clean their whiteboards in readiness for the next round.
The players then take new consonant cards according to what applies per number of players.
The player with the number 1 token gets the timer, player with the number two token reveals the vowels for the next round and the player with the worst ranked token or who didn’t get any one at all picks up the top two cards of the rule deck and decides which side to apply to the current round.
All tokens are then returned to the middle of the table and when everyone is set, the person with the rule cards shows what rules to follow and the player with the timer flips it and the round starts.
This sequence is repeated four more times.
SCORING
At the end of five rounds, each player adds up all their points and writes their scores on their whiteboards and the scores are compared.
The consonant cards have stars drawn above the letters. The card is worth that number of stars. Vowels are worth nothing.
The player with the highest score wins
END OF GAME
The game ends once the scores are collated.
