The Headlines Game
The Headlines Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A Game with Lots of Content
In the Titularing box you will find the following items:
- Theme Cards
- Letter Cards
- Card holder tray
- Timer
- 4 paper pads for the Headlines
- Chips
The Objective Is Very Clear
In Titularing the victory goes to the first player to collect five winner chips. A round is won by a participant when the player acting as editor at that moment chooses that player's headline as the best of those presented in that round.
Layout of the Elements
A paper pad is given to each player. Next, an editor is chosen, who will be in charge of controlling the card holder and the playing time with the timer. The editor shuffles the Theme card and Letter card decks and places them face down, separated, in the card tray.
Starting the Game
The first player acting as editor takes a card from the Theme deck and places it at the left margin of the key-card holder. Then he or she takes four Letter cards, one at a time, and places them in the holder next to the Theme key card. At that moment the round begins, the participants having three minutes, measured by the timer, to write their headlines.
Course of the Game
The players try to write one or more headlines related to the subject indicated by the Theme Card, starting from the 4 letters that appear in the holder.
The first letter of each of the words of the headlines constructed must coincide exactly with the order and the letters placed in the key-card holder.
Participants may create as many headlines as they wish, but always within the time and the rules set.
The Answers Are Read
When the timer indicates that the response time has passed, the editor says "Stop" and the players stop writing.
Starting with the player to the editor's left, each of the participants reads the headline or headlines he or she has written. If any player does not present any headline, or presents them with some error in the order or the initials of the words, that player will be disqualified for the next round.
The Winner's Decision
Once all the players have read the headlines they have created, the editor must choose which is the best headline of the round. To do so, the editor must take into account its suitability to the theme and its originality; it may be a humorous, serious or totally absurd headline.
The writer of the selected headline receives a red chip, which makes that player the editor of the next round. The first participant to obtain five chips wins the game.
4 Types of Theme Cards
1. Regular Theme Cards: The headlines must be related to the marked themes.
For example, if the theme is Sports and the letters are D-J-V-E, the answers could be:
- Domingo Juegan Veinte Equipos (Sunday Twenty Teams Play)
- Deportista Jura Vender Esquís (Sportsman Swears to Sell Skis)
- Diez Jugadores Valientes Empatan (Ten Brave Players Draw)
2. Prefix Theme Cards: The headlines must be created using the prefix that appears on the card.
For example, if the theme prefix is "9 out of 10" and the letters are A-G-C-L, the headlines could be:
- 9 de Cada 10 Automovilistas Gritan Como Locos. (9 out of 10 Motorists Shout Like Madmen.)
- 9 de Cada 10 Animales Gatean Con Lentitud. (9 out of 10 Animals Crawl Slowly.)
3. Tongue-Twister Theme Cards: In this theme the editor places only one letter card in the holder, so all the words of the headline must begin with that letter. Thus, if the letter is B, two examples of headlines are these:
- Bonito Barco Bordea Barcelona (Beautiful Boat Skirts Barcelona)
- Bronceado Bañista Bate Buñuelos (Tanned Bather Beats Fritters)
4. Editor's Choice Cards: When one of these cards comes up, the editor may choose whatever theme he or she wants or pick one at random.
Game Variants
Apart from the usual way of playing, there are other ways of carrying it out. Here are some:
Headlines with five words. With five letters instead of four, the game becomes more complicated and fun.
Two players. The scheme of play is kept, with the exception that there is no editor, so both players take turns placing the cards in the holder. In this mode the participant who first manages to create an intelligible headline related to the marked theme wins. The game is won by the first to obtain 10 chips.
Team play. The participants in the game are grouped into two or more teams, and may create the headlines individually or as teams. The chips a player wins become part of the team.