Pronto
Pronto Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 1 game board (3-part puzzle board)
- 1 sand-timer with cover
- 6 pawns in player colors
- 6 bases in player colors
- 100 theme cards
- 20 joker cards
Object of the Game
The player who has dashed the furthest beyond the finish line in this race for the right words wins the game.
Set-up
The game board is made up of three puzzle pieces: a middle piece and two edge pieces. Put the puzzle pieces of the board together so that the middle part is framed by the edge parts on the left and on the right. All gameboard pieces are printed on the front and back sides; this results in numerous combinations for your letter track!
Place the gameboard in the middle of the table. Each player chooses a color, places the base of his color on the starting line (red and white line) and puts the corresponding pawn on top.
Each player gets one joker card (alternative: all players can play with more than one joker card). Put the remaining joker cards back into the box. You won't need them in this game. Shuffle the theme cards and place them as a face-down pile next to the board.
Put the sand-timer and its cover next to the gameboard, ready for use.
The youngest player begins. The player to his right is the Keeper of the Sand-timer – he is in charge of the sand-timer and the cover.
Course of the Game
On your turn, you reveal the topmost theme card and read the theme out loud. Following that, the Keeper turns the sand-timer over and then quickly puts the cover over it. Now the time runs hidden and unnoticed, as the sand drops through the glass.
You try to come up with terms that fit the current theme card and begin with the letters on the race track. You start at the starting line and look for a word that begins with one of the letters on the adjacent spaces. If you have given a correct word, you move your pawn onto the respective letter space. If the other players voice objections and don't accept the term you gave, you quickly have to come up with a new word that fits.
In the further course of your turn, you try to rapidly give words that start with the letter of an adjacent space and fit the specified theme. This way, you try to move along the track as quickly as possible.
The other players decide whether the terms that the active player has given are valid or not. Be fair to one another!
On your turn:
- you may only move to spaces that are adjacent to your current space laterally or in the moving direction.
- You may also jump over occupied spaces.
- You may not move diagonally and not onto occupied spaces.
Important: On your turn, you decide on your own when you want to end your turn; at this point you shout "Stop!" The Keeper immediately reveals the sand-timer.
If the timer is still running (i.e., if there are at least a few sand grains left in the upper part of the sand-timer), your turn is valid. You move your base to the space on which you have ended your turn with your pawn. In the next round, you will continue the race from there.
If the sand-timer has already run through by the time it is revealed, tough luck! You have to move your pawn back to the space from where it started and put it back on its base there. In the next round, you'll start your turn from here again.
When you have ended your turn and reunited your base and your playing piece, the player on your left takes his turn. You become the Keeper.
The new active player reveals the top theme card and reads it out loud. The new Keeper turns over the sand-timer – and the race for the right words goes on.
Theme Cards
The theme cards are divided into two difficulty levels. Easy themes have a green background, the more difficult themes have a red background. At the beginning of the game you have to decide which color you want to play (green or red, easy or difficult). If you play in a mixed group (e.g. adults and children) you can decide that some players use red themes, while other players may answer the green themes.
Example cards as printed:
- "In the garden" (labelled "easy topics")
- "Names of oceans and lakes" (labelled "harder topics")
- "Beer brands or british bands" (labelled "two themes on one card")
- "Dangerous animals"
The red color also contains special cards with two themes on one card (e.g. "Beer brands or british bands"). Here, you can decide for each new letter on the race track which theme you want to answer. That does sound easy? Well it isn't!
Joker Cards
At the beginning of the game, each player gets one joker card. During the game, you can use your joker card to get one of the following actions:
- Skip a letter: You don't find a fitting word? You may skip a letter space and move to one of the letter spaces after that. Here it also applies that you can only move to spaces that are laterally or in the moving direction to your current space.
- Skip a card: The theme is too difficult? You may uncover the topmost card of the pile and then have to proceed with the new theme.
- Help your teammate: PRONTO can be perfectly played in teams. Please find more information on "Help your teammate" in the section "Team Variant".
PRONTO Bars
During the game, you move over dark green bars. Those bars mark the end of one stage. The bars do not count as individual spaces. You just pass them and go on with the next letter spaces on the race track.
Note: the English text does not state the number of bars. The German original says there are four bars in total during the game.
Special rule for the bars: After you passed a bar you can decide on which of the adjacent letter spaces you want to go on with your race. For example, you have the chance to move from the letter space at the far left (before the bar) to the letter space on the far right of the track (after the bar).
End of the Game
After the first player has successfully crossed the finish line, the round is completed and the game ends. A player has successfully crossed the finish line if he has time left after his "Stop!" call and can move his base across the finish line.
All players who cross the finish line in this round may and should continue beyond the finish line. If somebody has no time left on the sand-timer after the "Stop!" he has to go back, as usual, to the space where his base is sitting.
The player whose pawn and base are the furthest ahead at the end wins the game.
Example caption as printed: "Red wins the game."
Team Variant
Especially for larger groups, we recommend playing PRONTO in the team variant. Two (or, if you prefer, three) players each form teams that compete against one another in the RACE AROUND THE WORD. Each team chooses one player color. Each player gets a joker card.
On your team's turn, you and your teammate(s) have to alternate giving a term for the current theme. However, you may not help each other with signals or by giving hints if your partner can't come up with anything – even if you already have the fitting term on the tip of your tongue!
Two themes on one card: If you play with a red card that contains two themes, each player of a team can always choose for every single letter which theme he wants to answer.
Joker "Help your teammate": If you use your joker card, you can replace a teammate and answer for him instead. After your answer, it is his turn again.