Scarabeo
Scarabeo Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Starting the Game
Get paper and a pen. Distribute as many tile racks as there are players, placing the board in the center. Put the tiles into the bag.
Each player draws one tile at random from the bag; the player who draws the alphabetically highest letter starts the game (the highest letter is A). If the highest letter drawn is the same for two or more players, that draw is repeated.
How to Play
Shuffle all 130 tiles in the bag; the winner of the draw picks eight tiles at random, arranging them on their own rack; the other players do the same, proceeding from right to left.
Once all players have finished drawing their eight tiles, the game begins, placing the sand-timer to the left of the first player. The first player must place on the board the word they have thought of (a single word) horizontally or vertically, so that one of the letters covers the central Scarab, within the time limits specified by articles 17, 18, 19, and 20.
Suppose they form the word CONTARE (to count). As they place the tiles on the board's squares, they add up out loud the numeric value of each letter; in our case: 1 (C), + 1 (O) = 2, + 2 (N) = 4, + 1 (T) = 5, + 1 (A) = 6, + 1 (R) = 7, + 1 (E), total 8. This score, increased according to the rules in articles 15, 16, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, is written on the scoresheet in a column bearing the player's name. Tallying the score — and only the tallying — is done outside the sand-timer's time.
The turn then passes to the player on the left, while the first player immediately draws from the bag as many tiles as they played (in our case, 7), so as to always have 8 tiles on their rack.
The second player places their own word on the board, which must share one of its letters with the previous word. When tallying their score, the second player also counts the letter to which they attached; this happens in the same way on each subsequent turn.
Possible Combinations
Suppose the board (disregarding the special squares, discussed further on) looks as shown in the image.
P3 P3
R1 R1
C1 O1 N2 T1 A1 R1 E1 S1 C1 O1 N2 T1 A1 R1 E1
A1 N2 T1 T1 A1 N2 T1
N2 D4 E1 A1 N2 D4 E1
N2 R1 S1 M2 N2 R1 S1
A1 A1 A1 P3 A1 A1 A1
A1
Four words have already been formed on previous turns, and the player whose turn it is may simply modify one of the previous words. For example, they could turn CANNA (dog/reed) into SCANNA (slaughter), or CONTARE (to count) into SCONTARE (to discount), etc. In each of these cases, the player scores the whole word's full value, despite having added only a single letter. Suppose the player has changed CONTARE into SCONTARE. The next player could add the word STAMPA (press), attaching to the S of SCONTARE. The board would then look as shown in the figure. The word formed is valid because the letters that make it up, together with the letters already on the board, produce valid abbreviations: TA (Taranto), AN (Ancona), MN (Mantova), PA (Palermo).
This is a fundamental rule of the game. It is in fact not permitted to insert letters that distort the meaning of words already formed, nor are meaningless letter crossings or unrecognized abbreviations allowed (a full list of these abbreviations is given at the end of this rulebook). In the case shown, the player would score not only the points earned for the word STAMPA, but also those earned for all the abbreviations.
Accepted Words
All Italian words of at least two letters in common use are allowed (including accented ones), as well as any word found in any Italian-language dictionary.
The abbreviations listed in the appendix to this rulebook are also allowed.
Any dictionary can also be used to check the exact spelling of words and less common terms.
Also allowed (besides articles, pronouns, simple and compound prepositions, pronominal particles, etc.) are all verb forms provided for by modern Italian, including those with regular prefixes and suffixes, such as RIABBAIARE, ANDIAMOCENE, PRENDETELI, FACCIAMOGLIELA, PREAVVERTITECI, PARTENDOSENE, etc.
Words Not Accepted
Archaic, literary, poetic, or dialectal words are not allowed, nor are diminutives, augmentatives, pejoratives, and endearments, except for the most elementary ones.
Proper names are not allowed, nor surnames of any kind, nor geographic names, nor historical or mythological names, nor strictly technical or scientific terms (chemical, physical, mathematical formulas, etc.).
Contested Words
If a word is contested, the matter is settled by majority vote. With only two players, the dictionary decides; with four players, the player concerned abstains.
When a word is rejected by majority vote because it is wrong or inadmissible, the player concerned may form a new one, provided the sand-timer (see article 20) still allows it, withdrawing the letters already placed from the board. Otherwise they lose the turn, withdraw the letters anyway, and score zero in their points column.
If a player forms a word that is wrong, flawed by a spelling mistake, or otherwise inadmissible, and none of the other players notices before the turn has passed to the player on the left, the word is automatically validated, unless the mistake breaks the fundamental rules of the game; in that case, the wrong letters are removed from the board and put back in the bag, but the "guilty" player does not lose their score.
Special Squares
The board displays variously colored squares, marked 2 L (DOUBLE LETTER), 3 L (TRIPLE LETTER), 2 P (DOUBLE WORD), 3 P (TRIPLE WORD). Each letter doubles or triples its own score if it is placed on the matching square. To double or triple the word's total score, it is enough for one of the word's letters to cover the square bearing that mark.
A player who covers, with a single word (even one built up over successive turns), two 2 P (DOUBLE WORD) special squares multiplies the word's total score by 4. A player who covers, with a single word (even one built up over successive turns), two 3 P (TRIPLE WORD) squares multiplies the word's total score by 9.
Using the Hourglass
Each player has, for each turn, two hourglass-timings, that is, two minutes in total. When the first minute runs out, the hourglass is turned over by the player concerned or by any of the other players. Once a player has formed their word within the time allowed (that is, within two minutes), they pass the hourglass to the player on the left. Tallying the score, as already stated in article 5, is not counted within the hourglass's time.
A player who fails to form any word within the hourglass's time passes the turn, and zero is recorded in their score column.
If a player forms their word before the hourglass's time has run out, the remaining fraction of the minute carries over to the benefit of the player on the left, to whom the hourglass is then passed.
In the event of a dispute over the word placed on the board, the hourglass, if time has not yet run out, is laid on its side on the table, so that it stops running, to the benefit of the player whose turn it is.
The Flying Scarab
The game includes two Scarabs. These tiles are "wilds" and can be used in place of any of the letters listed beside the board, taking on that letter's value each time. On their turn, any player may take this tile off the board, first replacing it with the letter it represents, and use it whenever they like.
A player who, at the end of the game, still holds one or two Scarabs is subject to the penalties set out in article 30.
Tile Exchange
A player who is dealt 8 letters (no fewer than 8) that are all vowels or all consonants, with no "wild," may request a full exchange of those same 8 letters. In that case they show the letters and put them into the bag, then draw eight new ones. Having made the exchange, the player passes the turn, scoring zero in their points column.
Bonuses and Penalties
The score for the word that is formed first on the board is conventionally doubled.
A player who uses all eight of their own letters at once earns, in addition to the normal score, a bonus of 50 points.
A player who uses seven letters at once earns a bonus of 30 points.
A player who uses six letters at once earns a bonus of 10 points.
A player who forms the word SCARABEO (singular or plural) in a single turn earns a bonus of 100 points.
All the bonuses covered by articles 25, 26, 27, and 28 are increased by 10 points if the word is formed without the use of a "wild."
A player who, at the end of the game (see article 33), still has "wilds" on their rack suffers a penalty of 30 points for each "wild" held.
If a player forgets to draw from the bag the tiles they are due after forming their word on the board, they may do so later, provided their turn has not already come around again. In that case they draw the tiles, but lose the turn, scoring zero on the scoresheet.
End of Game and Scoring
When all the tiles in the bag have been drawn, play continues with the tiles remaining on each player's rack, until one of the players has used them all up. That is, the game ends when one of the players is the first to place their last tile on the board.
The player who "closes" the game scores as many points as the value of the letters remaining on each opponent's rack; each "wild" remaining on a rack is worth 30 points.
When the game closes, all the other players deduct from their own score the value of the letters remaining on their own racks.
The winner of the game, regardless of who closed it, is whoever totals the highest overall score. For ease of tallying, it is recommended to add up the partial scores turn by turn: at the end of the game, the final results and the standings will be known immediately.
The player who finishes first in the standings wins from the second-, third-, and fourth-place players, based on the differences between their respective scores; the second-place player wins from the third- and fourth-place players; the third-place player wins from the fourth-place player.
Appendix: Allowed Abbreviations
The following abbreviations and acronyms, referenced by article 7, are allowed as words on the board.
A
- a.C. — Avanti Cristo (Before Christ)
- A.C.I. — Automobile Club d'Italia (Italian Automobile Club)
- A.M. — Aeronautica Militare (Military Air Force)
- ANAS — Azienda Nazionale Autonoma delle Strade (National Autonomous Roads Corporation)
- ANSA — Agenzia di stampa (a news agency)
- ABS — Anti Brake-locking System, sistema frenante antibloccaggio (Anti-lock Braking System)
- AG — Agrigento
- AL — Alessandria
- AN — Ancona
- AO — Aosta
- AP — Ascoli Piceno
- AQ — L'Aquila
- AR — Arezzo
- ASL — Azienda Sanitaria Locale (Local Health Authority)
- AT — Asti
- AV — Avellino
B
- BA — Bari
- BCE — Banca Centrale Europea (European Central Bank)
- BG — Bergamo
- BI — Biella
- BIT — Binary Digit, in informatica è l'unità minima di informazione (Binary Digit, in computing the smallest unit of information)
- BL — Belluno
- BN — Benevento
- BO — Bologna
- BR — Brindisi
- BS — Brescia
- BZ — Bolzano
C
- C.A.I — Club Alpino Italiano (Italian Alpine Club)
- C.A.P. — Codice di Avviamento Postale (postal code)
- C.R.I. — Croce Rossa Italiana (Italian Red Cross)
- CA — Cagliari
- CAF — Commissione di Appello Federale (Federal Appeals Commission)
- CB — Campobasso
- CC — Corpo dei Carabinieri (Carabinieri Corps)
- CD — Corpo Diplomatico (Diplomatic Corps)
- CDA — Consiglio Di Amministrazione (Board of Directors)
- CE — Caserta
- CEI — Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (Italian Episcopal Conference)
- CH — Chieti
- CI — Carbonia-Iglesias
- CIA — Central Intelligence Agency
- CIO — Comitato Internazionale Olimpico (International Olympic Committee)
- CL — Caltanissetta
- cm — Centimetro (centimeter)
- CN — Cuneo
- CNN — Cable News Network
- CNR — Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (National Research Council)
- CO — Como
- CPU — Central Processing Unit
- CR — Cremona
- CS — Cosenza
- CSM — Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura (Superior Council of the Judiciary)
- CT — Catania
- cv — Cavallo vapore (horsepower)
- c.v.d. — Come volevasi dimostrare (Q.E.D., "as was to be demonstrated")
- CZ — Catanzaro
D
- d.C. — Dopo Cristo (After Christ, AD)
- dag — Decagrammo (decagram)
- dam — Decametro (decameter)
- DDL — Disegno Di Legge (draft law / bill)
- dg — Decigrammo (decigram)
- DIGOS — Divisione Investigazioni Generali e Operazioni Speciali (Division of General Investigations and Special Operations)
- DIA — Divisione Investigativa Antimafia (Anti-Mafia Investigation Division)
- dl — Decilitro (deciliter)
- dm — Decimetro (decimeter)
- DNA — DesossiriboNucleic Acid, Acido desossiribonucleico (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)
- DOC — Denominazione di Origine Controllata (Controlled Designation of Origin)
- DOS — Disk Operating System
- DPEF — Documento di Programmazione Economica e Finanziaria (Economic and Financial Planning Document)
- DPR — Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica (Decree of the President of the Republic)
- DVD — Digital Versatile Disc
E
- E.I. — Esercito Italiano (Italian Army)
- ecc. — eccetera (etc.)
- EN — Enna
- EQ — Equatore (Equator)
- es. — esempio (example, e.g.)
- ET — Egitto (Egypt)
F
- FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization
- FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions
- FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FC — Forlì-Cesena
- FE — Ferrara
- FG — Foggia
- FI — Firenze
- FM — Fermo
- FMI — Fondo Monetario Internazionale (International Monetary Fund)
- FR — Frosinone
- FS — Ferrovie dello Stato (State Railways)
- FTSE — Financial Times Stock Exchange
G
- GDF — Guardia Di Finanza (Finance Guard)
- GE — Genova
- GIF — Graphic Interchange Format
- GIP — Giudice per le Indagini Preliminari (Preliminary Investigations Judge)
- GO — Gorizia
- GPL — Gas di Petrolio Liquefatto (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
- GR — Grosseto
- GU — Gazzetta Ufficiale (Official Gazette)
H
- HAG — Dal nome della società tedesca (from the name of the German company; a decaffeinated-coffee brand)
- HD — Hard Disk
- HDMI — High Definition Multimedia [Interface]
- HP — Cavallo potenza (horsepower)
- HTML — HyperText Markup Language
- Http — HyperText Transfer Protocol
- HUB — Termine informatico diventato sinonimo di aeroporto principale (a computing term that has become a synonym for a main airport)
I
- IM — Imperia
- IMHO — In My Humble Opinion (a mio modesto parere)
- INRI — Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum
- IS — Isernia
L
- LAN — Local Area Network
- LASER — Laser
- lat. — Latitudine (latitude)
- LC — Lecco
- LCD — Liquid Crystal Display
- LE — Lecce
- LED — Light Emitting Diode
- LI — Livorno
- LO — Lodi
- long. — Longitudine (longitude)
- LT — Latina
- LU — Lucca
M
- MB — Monza e Brianza
- MC — Macerata
- ME — Messina
- MI — Milano
- MIB — Milano Indice Borsa (Milan Stock Exchange Index)
- MIBTEL — Milano Indice Borsa TELematico (Milan Telematic Stock Exchange Index)
- MIN — Minuto (minute)
- MM — Marina Militare (Navy)
- MMS — Multimedia Message System
- MN — Mantova
- MO — Modena
- mq. — Metro quadrato (square meter)
- MS — Massa Carrara
- MT — Matera
N
- NA — Napoli
- NAS — Nucleo Antisofisticazione Sanità (Health Anti-Adulteration Unit)
- NASA — National Aeronautic and Space Administration
- NASDAQ — National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
- NB — Nota Bene
- ndr — Nota del redattore (editor's note)
- nda — Nota dell'autore (author's note)
- ndt — Nota del traduttore (translator's note)
- NO — Novara
- NU — Nuoro
O
- OG — Ogliastra
- OGM — Organismo Geneticamente Modificato (Genetically Modified Organism)
- ONG — Organizzazione Non Governativa (Non-Governmental Organization)
- ONU — Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite (United Nations Organization)
- OR — Oristano
- OT — Olbia-Tempio
P
- PA — Palermo
- PAL — Phase Alternating Line – il sistema di trasmissione televisiva a colori più diffuso (the most widespread color-television broadcast system)
- par. — paragrafo (paragraph)
- PC — Piacenza
- PD — Padova
- PDF — Portable Document Format
- PE — Pescara
- PG — Perugia
- PH — In chimica indica il grado di acidità o di basicità di una soluzione (in chemistry, indicates the degree of acidity or basicity of a solution)
- PI — Pisa
- PIL — Prodotto Interno Lordo (Gross Domestic Product)
- PIN — Personal Identification Number
- PN — Pordenone
- PO — Prato
- POP — Genere musicale (a musical genre)
- PR — Parma
- PT — Pistoia
- PU — Pesaro-Urbino
- PV — Pavia
- PVC — Polivinilcloruro – plastica di largo utilizzo (Polyvinyl chloride, a widely used plastic)
- PZ — Potenza
Q
- QB — Quanto basta (as much as needed)
- QC — Qualcuno (someone)
- QG — Quartier Generale (Headquarters)
- QI — Quoziente Intellettivo (Intelligence Quotient)
R
- RA — Ravenna
- RAI — Radiotelevisione Italiana (Italian Radio and Television)
- RAM — Random Access Memory, memoria ad accesso casuale (Random Access Memory)
- RC — Reggio Calabria
- RCA — Responsabilità Civile Autoveicoli (Motor Vehicle Civil Liability)
- RE — Reggio Emilia
- REM — Rapid Eye Movements – lo stato profondo del sonno (the deep stage of sleep)
- RG — Ragusa
- RH — Fattore antigene del sangue (blood antigen factor)
- RI — Rieti
- RIS — Reparto Investigazioni Scientifiche (Scientific Investigations Unit)
- RM — Roma
- RN — Rimini
- RO — Rovigo
- ROM — Read Only Memory, memoria a sola lettura (Read Only Memory)
- RSVP — Répondez S'il Vous Plaît
S
- S.A.S. — Società in Accomandita Semplice (Simple Limited Partnership)
- SDF — Società di fatto (de facto partnership)
- S.O.S. — Save Our Souls
- S.P.Q.R. — Senatus Populusque Romanus
- SA — Salerno
- SCART — Tipo di connettore (televisore e computer) (a type of connector, for TVs and computers)
- SCRL — Società Cooperativa a Responsabilità Limitata (limited-liability cooperative company)
- SI — Siena
- SIM — Scheda telefonica (SIM card)
- SMS — Short Message System
- SNC — Società in Nome Collettivo (general partnership)
- SO — Sondrio
- SP — La Spezia
- SPA — Società per Azioni (joint-stock company)
- SR — Siracusa
- SRL — Società a Responsabilità Limitata (limited liability company)
- SS — Sassari
- SV — Savona
T
- TA — Taranto
- TAV — Treno ad Alta Velocità (High-Speed Train)
- TE — Teramo
- TFR — Trattamento Fine Rapporto (severance pay)
- TG — TeleGiornale (TV newscast)
- TN — Trento
- TNT — Tritolo (TNT, trinitrotoluene)
- TO — Torino
- TOT — Totale (total)
- TP — Trapani
- TR — Terni
- TS — Trieste
- TV — Treviso
- TVB — Ti Voglio Bene (I love you / I care about you)
- TVTB — Ti Voglio Tanto Bene (I care about you so much)
U
- UD — Udine
- UE — Unione Europea (European Union)
- UNICEF — United Nations Children's Fund
- URL — Uniform Resource Locator
- USB — Universal Serial Bus
- UT — Antico nome della nota musicale DO (old name for the musical note "Do")
V
- V.M. — Vietato ai Minori (forbidden to minors)
- VA — Varese
- VB — Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
- VC — Vercelli
- VE — Venezia
- VF — Vigili del Fuoco (Fire Brigade)
- VI — Vicenza
- VIP — Very Important Person
- VR — Verona
- VS — Medio Campidano
- VT — Viterbo
- VV — Vibo Valentia
Z
- ZIP — In informatica ormai diventato sinonimo di compressione di file (in computing, now synonymous with file compression)