Mistrz Słowa
Mistrz Słowa Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents of the Box
The box contains:
- Dice - 10 pcs.
- Hourglass - 1 pc.
- Cup - 1 pc.
- Game instructions - 1 pc.
Goal of the Game
Players roll the dice and form words from the letters they receive. Players score points for each word. The first player to collect 100 points wins.
The youngest player begins. Play proceeds clockwise. On his or her turn, a player rolls all 10 dice and tries to form the highest-scoring word possible from the letters that came up. Special dice, which give the player additional options, are very helpful when forming words.
Dice
The game includes a specially prepared set of 10 dice:
- 6 consonant dice,
- 2 vowel dice,
- 2 special dice.
Special dice replace various letters, depending on the symbol that is rolled.
The faces of the dice, as printed in the rulebook, are:
Consonant dice
- B, J, R, F, W, H
- C, K, S, J, N, T
- D, L, T, K, P, G
- F, M, B, L, Z, and a red star face (letter joker)
- G, N, Z, M, S, R
- H, P, N, C, D, and a red star face (letter joker)
Vowel dice
- A, E, I, O, U, Y
- A, E, I, O, U, Y
Special dice
- Red star (letter joker), green ring (consonant joker), blue X (vowel joker), ogonek (letter-changing tail), question mark (reroll), question mark (reroll)
- Red star (letter joker), green ring (consonant joker), blue X (vowel joker), ogonek (letter-changing tail), question mark (reroll), question mark (reroll)
Meaning of the Special Die Symbols
- Red star - letter joker ("joker każdej litery"): may stand for any letter.
- Green ring - consonant joker ("joker spółgłosek"): may stand for any missing consonant.
- Blue X - vowel joker ("joker samogłosek"): may stand for any missing vowel.
- Ogonek (a small tail mark) - changes a letter: A becomes Ą, C becomes Ć, E becomes Ę, L becomes Ł, N becomes Ń, O becomes Ó, S becomes Ś, Z becomes Ź, and Z becomes Ż.
- Question mark - reroll: lets the player roll any one die again.
Describing the Special Dice
Letter joker. A letter joker can replace any letter in the word. Example: M-U-R-A-R-[letter joker]. The missing letter "Z" has been replaced by the letter joker, giving MURARZ (bricklayer).
Vowel joker. A vowel joker can replace any missing vowel in the word. Example: M-[vowel joker]-R-A-R-Z. The missing letter "U" has been replaced by the vowel joker, giving MURARZ.
Consonant joker. A consonant joker can replace any missing consonant in the word. Example: M-U-R-A-[consonant joker]-Z. The missing letter "R" has been replaced by the consonant joker, giving MURARZ.
Ogonek. The ogonek combined with the letters A, C, E, L, N, O, S or Z changes them to Ą, Ć, Ę, Ł, Ń, Ó, Ś, Ź or Ż. Example: B-A-[ogonek]-K. The letter A combined with the ogonek gives Ą, which makes the word BĄK (a bittern, or a horsefly).
Reroll (?). The question mark lets the player roll any one die again, even a special die, if the result obtained earlier is not satisfactory.
Combining special dice. Special dice may be combined. Example: Z-[ogonek]-O-[ogonek]-[letter joker]-W. The letter Z with an ogonek gives Ż, the letter O with an ogonek gives Ó, and the letter joker stands for Ł, giving ŻÓŁW (turtle).
Forming Words
After rolling the letters, the player turns the hourglass over and begins forming a word. The time to form the word is limited to the sand running through the hourglass twice.
If the rolled letters also include the reroll symbol (?), the player may decide to roll an additional die of their choice, but they must do so before the sand runs through the hourglass. They then turn the hourglass over again for a second time.
Words formed must be nouns in singular or plural form. They may not be abbreviations, for example ZUS, PZU and so on.
Scoring
Word scores by length:
- 3-letter word - 1 point
- 4-letter word - 2 points
- 5-letter word - 4 points
- 6-letter word - 8 points
- 7-letter word - 12 points
- 8-letter word - 16 points
- 9-letter word - 20 points
- 10-letter word - 25 points
Bonus points:
- If no joker was used in the word, the player receives an extra 4 points.
- For each use of the ogonek, the player receives an extra 4 points.
- If a player does not form any word, they lose 20 points as a penalty.
Scoring Examples
- K-O-S: "kos" (blackbird) - 5 points (1 point for a 3-letter word + 4 points for no joker).
- W-O-J-[letter joker]-A: "wojna" (war) - 4 points (4 points for a 5-letter word).
- B-A-[ogonek]-K: "bąk" (bittern) - 9 points (1 point for a 3-letter word + 4 points for using the ogonek + 4 points for no joker).
- W-R-Z-A-[ogonek]-T-E-K: "wrzątek" (boiling water) - 20 points (12 points for a 7-letter word + 4 points for using the ogonek + 4 points for no joker).
Variants and Settings
Before the start of play, players may agree to lengthen the time to form a word, for example to three times the sand running through the hourglass, and to increase the number of points needed to win.
Note. If the letters W and M, or Z and N, are rolled, they may be used interchangeably in the word being formed.