Rootword

for 2 to 6 players In Rootword, each player builds and scores words by playing roots, extending the roots with more letters, and then finishing them off with yet more letters. Longer words are worth more, so extend your roots as long as you like, but watch out! Any root still on the table can be stolen by another player if they can extend it.

Setup
Each player cuts the deck of letter cards and reveals a letter. The player who reveals the letter closest to the beginning of the alphabet will take the first turn. Shuffle the letter cards and deal a starting hand of seven cards to each player. Each player takes a turn reference card. Place the remaining cards face-down in a draw deck in the middle of the table.

Contents
104 letter cards 6 turn summary cards rule booklet

Playing the Game

Play proceeds in turns clockwise around the table. On a players turn, he does one of three things: plays a root, or extends a root, or finishes a word. The player then draws cards from the draw deck until he again has seven cards in hand.

The Letter Cards

Each letter card has one color on its left side and another on its right side. The two colors are usually different, but not always. Each letter of the alphabet always has the same color on its left side. For example, all E cards have yellow along the left side, but may have different colors along the right side. Below are some example cards:

Playing a Root
To play a root, a player places a sequence of one or more cards from his hand face-up and right-side-up on the table in front of him. This sequence is called a root. Every pair of cards must match color along their shared side.

Below are some example roots:

Extending a Root
To extend a root, a player adds one or more letters from his hand to any players root. He may add letters to either or both sides of the root. He may extend his own root. The common sides between each pair of letters must match colors. When a player extends another players root, he takes that root and places it in front of him. Even if the extended root is a word, it is not yet scored. In the example below, one player steals another players root by extending it with a card from his hand.

The following card sequences are not roots: The color on the right side of the L does not match the color on the left side of the A.

The N is upside-down.

A player may play a root even if he already has one or more roots in front of him. Even if a new root is a word, it is not yet scored.

A player may extend a root by combining it with one or more other roots belonging to any players. The common sides between each pair of letters must match colors. A player may extend a root by combining and adding letters simultaneously. A player may not split existing roots or add letters in between the letters of existing roots.

Given the following example root,

all of the example finishes below are legal:

Finishing a Word
To finish a word, a player adds zero, one, or more letters from his hand to one of his roots only. He may add letters to one or both sides of his root. The common sides between each pair of letters do not need to match colors. A root is sometimes a word by itself. A player may choose to finish a word without adding any letters at all. However, as stated earlier, even if a player plays a root that is a word or extends a root into a word on his turn, he must wait until his next turn to finish it and score it, allowing other players the opportunity to steal the root from him by extending it.

spelling LATE

spelling FLAT

spelling INFLATE

When a player finishes a word, he scores all the letters in the word. He places them face-down and sideways in front of him in a score pile. Each face-down card is worth one point at the end of the game.

Challenging
When a player finishes a word, any player may challenge that word for free. If the word exists in a dictionary without capitalization or punctuation, there is no penalty to the scoring player. If the word does not exist, the scoring player places the letters in the word into his score pile face-up instead of face-down. Each face-up card is worth one negative point at the end of the game. Players may not refer to a dictionary at any other time during the game. The only legal one-letter word is a. There is no I in Rootword.

Ending the Game

If a player has no cards in hand and no roots in front of him, he does nothing on his turn. Once all players have no cards and no roots, the game is over. All 104 letter cards will end up in someones score pile, face-up or face-down. Each player scores a point for each face-down card in his score pile. Each player loses a point for each face-up card. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. There are no tiebreakers.

Letter Frequency
A 10 B 3 C 5 D 3 E 11 F 1 G H I J K L 2 2 8 1 1 7 M N O P Qu R 2 7 8 3 1 8 S T U V W X 6 7 3 1 1 1 Y Z 1 1

Depleting the Draw Pile

When the draw pile is depleted, players keep playing. However, they do not replenish their hands.

Game Concept: Once a player has no cards in hand, he can no longer play a root Artwork: or extend a root as his turn. Each turn he must finish a word. Play Testers: He selects a root in front of him and hopes it appears in the dictionary.

Carl Chudyk Carl Chudyk Shaylin Walsh Kevin White

Strategy tip: It is a good idea to keep no more than a couple of

roots in front of you. You eventually score negative points for failed words. At the end of the game, having too many roots will cost you. Also, during the game, other players can extend your roots and steal them.

Legal
Rootword is 2010 Carl Chudyk. All rights reserved. Available on the web at: http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/rootword