BuyWord
BuyWord Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Get
- 108 Letter Tiles
- 9 Wild Tiles
- 4 Price Lists
- 1 Special Die
- Play Money
- Rules Manual
- Handy Carry Bag
Game Info
- Game Type: Word
- Players: 1–4
- Age: 8+
- Time: 30+ minutes
- Designer: Sid Sackson
- Tactics/Luck: mostly tactics, some luck
How to Play BuyWord
To Start
Remove the money from the box and pile it neatly in the center of the table. Each player begins with $200 in the following denominations: 2 – $50, 3 – $20, 2 – $10, 3 – $5, 5 – $1. The remaining bills should remain on the table serving as "the bank".
Remove the tiles from the bag and separate the "Wild" tiles from the letter tiles. These wild tiles can take the place of any letter in a word. If playing BuyWord alone, you may take 8 of them. In a two player game, each player takes 4 wild tiles. In a three player game, each takes 3 tiles, and when 4 play, each takes only 2.
Take the letter tiles and place them back in the bag. Determine in any mutually agreeable manner which player will be the Leader in the first round of play.
You are now ready to play the first round.
A Round
The Leader throws the die. (The die remains in front of the Leader for the remainder of the round. At round's end, the Leader passes the die to the player to their left to start the next round.) The result of the roll indicates the number of tiles each player will receive that round. If a die result of "choice" is rolled, the Leader must choose a number from 2 to 5.
Starting with the leader, then proceeding left (clockwise), each player takes (draws) the indicated number of letter tiles. Continue selecting tiles in this fashion until all players have the number indicated by the Leader's die roll. These tiles must be kept separate from any tiles a player may possess from previous rounds.
Note: If the tiles run out before all players have the correct number the tiles may not be purchased and they are placed out of play (See Buying Tiles, below!).
Buying Tiles
All players now inspect their letter tiles.
Starting with the Leader (and moving clockwise) each player has an opportunity to buy the letter tiles they have just drawn. The price is determined by counting the total number of spots (pips) on those letter tiles, and then squaring that value (multiply the total by itself). A price list is provided for those still learning their multiplication tables. A player buying their letters must simply declare so, and pay the proper amount of money to the bank. No money should be exchanged between players.
If a player chooses not to purchase the letters, or simply does not have enough money, the tiles are placed in the box and are out of play. (See Variations for exceptions to this rule!) It is not permissible to purchase some of the letters drawn, it's all or nothing!
Once the letter tiles are purchased, they may be placed with any other letters acquired in earlier rounds that were not used to form words.
Example: The Leader rolls a four on the special die. In turn, each player (starting with the leaders and moving to the left) selects a letter tile until all players have four. Player A draws the following letters — E, E, J, and D.
If player A wishes to purchase these letters, the price is $64 (8 total spots squared = 64). Otherwise these letters are placed in the box out of play.
Selling Words
No words are sold until all the tiles drawn this round have either been purchased or placed out of play. The types of words that are acceptable should be agreed upon by the players. Generally speaking, capitalized, hyphenated, or foreign words are not acceptable. Once the purchasing phase ends, each player has the opportunity to form a word or words to sell back to the bank.
In forming a word, a player may use any and all of the tiles they possess. In addition, a single "Wild" tile may be used as any letter. No more than one "Wild" tile may be used in a word.
The value of a word is determined by counting the total number of spots (pips) on its letter tiles, and then (as before) squaring that value. A player selling a word must simply declare so, and collect the proper amount of money from the bank. The used tiles are then placed in the box and are now out of play. Note: In the event a player wishes to challenge another player's word, the loser must pay a $20 penalty.
For example the word ENJOYED has a total of 13 pips. The value of this word is $169, which can be easily calculated (13 x 13 = 169) or found on the price lists included with the game.
Ending a Round
The 8-Tile Limit: At the end of a round no player may have more than 8 tiles (not counting "Wild" tiles) in their possession. To eliminate the excess, the player must either form another word to sell to the bank or immediately remove the excess (their choice of tiles) from play by placing them in the box.
Once all players have formed and sold words, and once all players have adhered to the 8 Tile limit, the round has ended. The die is passed to the player on the Leader's left and they are now the new Leader for the next round.
Ending the Game
When the last letter tiles are drawn (and usually there will be less than the number called for by the Leader's die) the final round takes place.
After all the tiles are purchased or removed from play, all players sell any words they are able to make. Any letter tiles not used are simply lost and go back in the box.
The player with the most money is the winner. For the solitaire version, consider a total of $800 to be a fair game, $900 is good, and $1000 is outstanding.
Variations
Experienced players may choose to play with one or more of the following variations.
Auctions: Instead of buying or removing tiles, a player may choose to put their letters up for auction. Starting with the player to the left and moving clockwise, each player has the opportunity to make a bid, or to pass. The auctioning player has the final opportunity to bid (and thus can always be sure to get the letter tiles, but cannot be sure what the final price will be). Regardless of who makes the high bid and takes the letter tiles, the money is always paid to the bank – not to the auctioning player. No money is to change hands.
Trades: As soon as all the letter tiles are drawn, 2 or more players may agree to a trade. The trade must consist of all of the letter tiles (not a few select letters). No money can be part of the trade.
Sales: The same as the Trade option (above) but money can also be exchanged.
Tile Drafts: The Leader draws letter tiles equal to the die result multiplied by the number of players in the game. Then, starting with the Leader, players draft a single tile. Once all the tiles are selected, each player pays for their set of tiles in the usual manner.
Crossword: If there is enough room this option can be an interesting change. As words are spelled and sold to the bank, they are placed on the table (rather than in the box and out of play). Aside from the first word, new words must be built in a crossword fashion, re-using one or more of the letter tiles in the old words. Scoring includes the pips of the reused letter or letters. If multiple words are created by clever placement of the letter tiles, scoring occurs for each word. Play should start with the Leader and proceed to the left (clockwise).
Tile Limits: For easier, higher scoring games, the 8 tile limit can be increased to 10 or waived altogether.
Themes: For fun or a greater challenge, word sets can be restricted to themes. For instance, words pertaining to sports, or just nouns, or movie titles. It's your game now. Enjoy.
Extended Play: If a longer game (or a game with more than 4 players is desired) you can choose to continue play once all the tiles have been placed into the box. Simply put them back into the bag (excluding wild tiles) and start over while continuing current cash totals. If you wish, you can go through the entire bag any number of times or play until a target dollar amount is reached.
Send us your favorite Buyword variation and we will add it to our website and future games.
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