First-Class Letters Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1) Roll the Dice
  • 2) Write a Word
  • 3) Score
  • End of Round
• Game End
• Variant Rules
  • Breezy Variant
  • Priority Mail
• Solo Play
• Cooperative Play
• Express Rules

Overview

First Class Letters is a roll-and-write word game. Each round you use the letters rolled on 3 dice to write a word on your player sheet. You score points each time you use one of the rolled letters and bonus points if you use all of them, but make sure to avoid the dead-letter die. You can write your word on any row, but at the end of the game, your words need to be in alphabetical order.

Components

• 1 dead-letter die
• 3 letter dice
• 1 mail truck board
• 8 pencils
• 1 sand timer (40s)
• 100 player sheets (printable player sheets available at Gamehead.com)
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. Place the mail truck board in the center of the play area, showing the side with only one die space.
2. Set the sand timer and all 4 dice (3 letter dice and 1 dead-letter die) near the mail truck board.
3. Give each player a player sheet and pencil.
4. Roll the 3 letter dice and arrange them in alphabetical order. Each player should write these letters, in this order, in the 3 marked boxes on their player sheet. These are called "special rows," and a word on a special row must begin with the letter marked in the box.

Gameplay

The game is played over 7 rounds. Each round has 3 steps: roll the dice, write a word, then score. After 7 rounds, the game ends, at which point all players check that their words are in alphabetical order and total the points from their 7 words. The player with the most points wins!

1) Roll the Dice

• Roll the dead-letter die and place it on the mail truck board. Players must not use this letter in their word.
• Roll the 3 letter dice and place them behind the mail truck board in any order.

Once all 4 dice are in place, all players think of a word to write on their sheet.

Each letter has a symbol in the top-right corner to help you orient the dice.

2) Write a Word

Come up with a good word following the restrictions below and write that word on any empty row of your player sheet.

Restrictions

• One word only. No hyphens.
• Real, English words only. Check a dictionary if challenged.
• No proper nouns like names, brands, or named places. (Brooklyn, Canada, etc.)
• Words on special rows must begin with the letter marked in the box.
• Must not include the dead letter!

The first player to finish writing their word should flip the timer in the center of the table. All players have 40 more seconds to write their word for the round. Players may change or revise their word during this 40 seconds, but once the time is up, all players must put their pencils down.

3) Score

Starting with the player who flipped the timer, each player shares their word. If your word uses the dead letter or is otherwise considered invalid by the other players, it is "canceled" and scores 0. Cover that word's score box with the squiggly cancellation mark. If a player could not come up with a word, they must cancel an empty score box of their choice, and cannot use that row in future rounds.

Spelling: If a word is misspelled, simply look up the proper spelling, correct the word on your player sheet, and score the correctly-spelled word instead (checking that it doesn't use the dead letter).

Each player scores their word as follows:

• Write a checkmark in the first box for each letter in your word that matches one of the 3 letter dice. If you use a die multiple times, write a checkmark for each time it is used. Each checkmark is worth 1 point.
• If your word includes all 3 letters shown on the dice, place a checkmark in the circle. This doubles your score for the word.
• Write your word score in the score box to the right of your word.

Example: "Cucumber" uses the R once, the C twice, and M once, making 4 check marks. Since all 3 dice are used the score is doubled for a total of 8. "Cockroach" would score 4, but it includes the dead-letter, A, so it is canceled and scores 0.

End of Round

Once everyone has scored their word, reroll the dice to begin a new round.

Game End

After 7 rounds, players will have filled their sheet with words, and the game ends. Pass your sheet to the player on your left, who will check that all 7 of your words are in alphabetical order, from top to bottom. If they are not, you must cancel words, covering their score, until the remaining words on your sheet are in alphabetical order.

Add up the points for all uncanceled words and write your final score in the box at the bottom of your sheet. The player with the highest final score is the winner. In the case of a tie, the player with the highest-scoring word on their sheet is the winner. If still tied, the tied players share the victory.

Variant Rules

Breezy Variant

For an easier game, you may prefer to play without the dead-letter die entirely. Simply return the dead-letter die and mail truck board to the box and use only the 3 letter dice each round.

Priority Mail

Flip the mail truck to the side with 2 spaces for dice. After rolling the dead-letter die each round, roll a random letter die and place it on the board. This is the priority letter. If the priority letter is recyclable (marked with a recycle symbol), reroll it once. This letter must be included in your word this round, or else be canceled and score 0. After rolling the priority letter, roll the other letter dice and play as usual.

Solo Play

For a solitaire game, play as usual, with one exception. Flip the timer at the start of each round. You only have 40 seconds to write each word. At the end of the game, compare your score to the chart below to see how well you did.

• If playing the Breezy Variant, subtract 10 from your score.
• If playing with Priority Mail add 10 to your score.

Score	Rank
20+	Stamp Licker
25+	Mail Sorter
30+	Window Clerk
35+	Letter Carrier
40+	Supervisor
45+	Postmaster
50+	Postmaster General

Cooperative Play

Work together to fill in a communal sheet with great words. During setup, give each player a sheet as usual and place one more "communal sheet" in the middle of the table for the group to use.

Flip the timer, then all players write a word on their own player sheet. When the timer runs out, compare your word scores. Rank the words by score, and eliminate the top half (rounded down). Write the remaining word with the highest score on the communal sheet. (In the case of ties, decide together which word to eliminate or write down.) Decide together where to write the winning word on the communal sheet and score the word as usual.

Example: With 5 players, the top 2 words are eliminated (half rounded down). The words written were GARDENING, NUDGED, SLUDGE, DANGER and GRIND. DANGER and GRIND are tied for the highest-scoring remaining word. The players discuss and decide to write DANGER on the second row of the communal sheet.

After 7 rounds, check the communal sheet for alphabetical order as usual. Add up the final score for the communal sheet and compare it to the chart in Solo Play.

Express Rules

Setup: Roll the 3 letter dice. Write the letters in your special rows.

Gameplay: 7 rounds

1. Roll the 4 dice and place the dead-letter die on the mail truck.
2. Write a word on any unused line. Mind alphabetical order and avoid the dead-letter die! First player to write a word flips the timer.
3. Score. Score 1 each time you use a letter die. Double your score if you use all 3 letter dice.

Breezy Variant: For an easier game, play without the dead-letter die.

Priority Mail:

1. Roll a random letter die to determine the priority letter for the round. (Reroll once if recyclable.)
2. Place the priority letter on the board.
3. The priority letter must be in your word this round or you score 0.