Boggle
Boggle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
16 letter cubes • base and lid • 3-minute timer
Object
To be the player with the highest score at the end of the 3-minute game, or to be the first player to reach the designated point limit in a Tournament game.
Players score by listing words of the highest point value they can find in the four rows of letters.
Gameplay
Each player will need a pencil and paper. With the lid over the base, shake up the cubes. Turn over the timer. Now search the assortment of letters for words of 3 or more letters. Words are formed from letters that adjoin horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to the left, right or up-and-down. However, no letter may be used more than once within a single word.
When you find a word, write it down. Keep looking and writing until the time's up!
Example
Figures 1 through 3 show how words may be formed using the adjoining letters S,O,L,I.
RIGHT
- Figure 1 — OILS (and OIL, LIO)
- Figure 2 — SILO
- Figure 3 — SOIL
WRONG
- Figure 4 — SOILS
- Figure 5 — SOAR
In Figure 4 (SOILS), the one S is used twice. In Figure 5 (SOAR), the letter R was skipped; letters must join in sequence.
Try your skill at finding the hidden words in the grid above. There are more than 70, including molar, prose and turmoil. Can you find more?
Types of Words Allowed
Any word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.), plural of, form of, or tense is acceptable as long as it can be found in a standard English dictionary. Proper nouns (Smith, Ohio, France, etc.) are not allowed.
Words within words are also permissible: spare, spa, par, are, spar, pare.
Scoring and Winning
When the timer runs out, all players stop writing. Each player in turn then reads his/her list aloud. Any word that appears on more than one player's list must be crossed off all lists — and no one gets credit for it.
Players score their remaining words as follows:
| No. of Letters | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
The winner is the player 1) who earned the most points when play stopped or 2) who is the first to reach the "tournament" score — 50 points, 100 points, whatever was decided before playing.
Things to Remember
- Do not touch the cubes or the grid while the timer is running.
- Multiple meanings of the same spelling do not earn multiple credit. Example: The word t-e-a-r, for rip or cry, counts only once.
- The same word found by a player in different areas of the grid may not be counted for multiple credit.
- The QU counts as 2 letters.
- Both the M and the W have a line under them.
- The Z has a line under it and should not be read as IN.
- You get full credit for both the singular and plural of a noun — as long as you wrote down both! See Figure 1: OIL and OILS.
- For the highest score, look for unusual words that others might miss — and that will earn you more points!