Alphabet Race Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Aim
• Rules
• Groups or Types of Things Depicted on the Cards

Components

For 2 - 5 players of 7 years and more.

Contents: 20 cards, 1 pegging board, 5 pegs.

Aim

Try to name a word which begins with the letter A and with B and then with C - so on through to Z. That won't be too difficult! But when the word you name has also to belong to a particular group or type of thing, the whole thing becomes much more tricky!

You have to try to name a word as quickly as possible beginning with a particular letter and also belonging to a particular group or type of thing. The cards are illustrated with several examples of the sort of thing which belongs to a given group, such as, for example, toys, flowers, or domestic animals. After picking up a card, each player tries to find a word with the correct initial letter which belongs to the group depicted on the card he holds. Everybody works their way through the alphabet starting with A.

Rules

Each player chooses the colour of peg with which he will play. The board has differently coloured lanes, marked A to Z, which correspond to the colour of the pegs.

The cards are shuffled well and placed in a pile face down. The youngest player begins by lifting the topmost card from the pile. Without letting the other players see the illustration on the card, he tries to name an object or creature from the relevant group which begins with the letter A. Meanwhile the player on his left counts up silently to 30. If the first player finds a word which belongs to the group on his card and beginning with A, he puts his peg into the appropriate lane on the board at the letter A. The other players are shown the card as a check and then it is put to the bottom of the pile.

If the player cannot manage to find and appropriate word within the 30 seconds allowed, he has to give the card to the player on his left who then tries to find a word - and so play continues. As soon as someone finds a suitable word for the letter and the group, he moves his peg, shows the card to the other players and then puts it to the bottom of the pile. The next player then takes his turn, and so on.

When a card has to be passed from player to player, it can only go "round" once. The player who originally lifted the card is allowed a final try at a word and if he cannot find one, the card is put to the bottom of the pile and the next player takes a new card from the top of the pile.

A no time should players be able to plan in advance what word they can say. Thus if a player makes a slip and the group on his card becomes known to the other players, the card is put to the bottom of the pile and the next player takes his turn with a new card.

Each player uses his turn to try to find a word beginning with the next letter in his lane. A player whose peg is at A will therefore try to find a word beginning with B; a player whose peg is at E will try to find a word belonging to the group on his card starting with F.

Groups or Types of Things Depicted on the Cards

1. Domestic Animals
2. Wild Animals
3. Birds
4. Flowers
5. Trees
6. Professions
7. Household Appliances
8. Tools
9. Drinks
10. Towns
11. Food
12. Fruit
13. Vegetables
14. Clothes
15. Musical Instruments
16. Animals that live in water
17. Games and Toys
18. Furniture
19. Forms of Sport
20. Countries