UeStop!
UeStop! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 48 Category/Letter Cards
- 4 Customizable Category/Letter Cards
- 6 Action Cards
- 5 Number Cards
- 1 Victory Card
- This Rulebook
Understanding the Category and Letter Cards
The cards can be told apart in two ways: by their colour and by the shape of the speech bubble containing the letters.
The bubbles allow colour-blind people to identify the cards.
The Categories are the texts written on each side of the coloured areas (the outer areas of the bubbles) of the card. The white part will always contain a set of four different letters, each one in a bubble of a different colour and shape.
Although they are the same component, this card is called a Letter Card or a Category Card depending on how it is used in a given round.
UeStop! offers four game modes:
- Tome-lhe Tapão
- Chá da Tarde
- Numerologia
- Tudo Junto e Misturado
Tome-lhe Tapão Mode
Setup
Separate and shuffle the Category cards to form the Word Deck, leaving it face down in the centre of the play area. Number Cards and Action Cards are not used in this mode and are returned to the box.
The first player is chosen at random: they will be responsible for opening the cards in this round. Turn over the first card of the Word Deck and place it parallel to the Word Deck, leaving a space between the two. This will be the Category Card.
How to Play
One of the players must read aloud the categories on the Category Card. When everyone is ready, turn over the top card of the Word Deck and place it between the Category Card and the deck. This will be the Letter Card. On it, all players must analyse the colour and shape of the bubble on the Category Card. This determines which letter on the Letter Card will be the Mandatory Letter.
Because the Category Card is red with a square bubble, the round's Mandatory Letter is the letter V, since it has the matching characteristics.
All players then try to place their hand on the Category Card. The first person to do so wins the right to answer.
In this mode, the players must choose one of the categories on the Category Card and use the Mandatory Letter to answer it.
If the card revealed is a Letter Card… the round proceeds as described in the Chá da Tarde Mode.
If the card revealed is a Number Card… the players must place their hands on it instead of on the Category Card. The first player to do so wins the right to answer. That player must then answer one of the categories with a word that has the number of letters shown on the open Number Card. In this case, the player may use any letter of the alphabet as the first letter of the word, since there is no Mandatory Letter. If the player is correct, they take the Number Card for themselves; if they are wrong, the Number Card is discarded and a new Letter Card is revealed. In addition, that player does not take part in the next round. The Category Card stays the same. The player who obtains 5 cards (that is, 5 points) first is the winner!
Rafael is the first to place his hand on the Number Card and gets the right to answer. Then he answers the category "Toys" with the word "Boneca" (doll). Since "Boneca" has the same number indicated on the card (6 letters), Rafael scores in this round.
Chá da Tarde Mode
Setup
Follow the setup instructions of the Tome-lhe Tapão Mode.
How to Play
In this mode, the players must answer all the categories on the Category Card, but they may answer them using any letters from the Letter Card, as long as they use the Mandatory Letter at least once. Once the hand of the player with the right to answer is on the Category Card, they may not remove it. For this reason, memorise the categories well before answering them, because it is not permitted to peek at the categories!
If the player answers the categories correctly, they take the Category Card for that round for themselves – it will count 1 point at the end of the game. If they fail, however, that card is discarded and the player does not take part in the next round.
Rafael memorises the four categories and is the first to place his hand on the Category Card. He answers as follows:
- "Turmalina" (tourmaline) in the category "Pedras Preciosas" (precious stones);
- "Patrícia" in the category "Nomes Femininos" (female names);
- "Motocicleta" (motorcycle) in the category "Eu queria andar de…" (I wanted to ride…);
- "Milk Shake" in the category "Coisas Geladas" (cold things).
As he answered at least one category with the Mandatory Letter "M", Rafael scores in this round, taking the Category Card for himself.
The Letter Card of the round is placed in the place of the former Category Card and becomes the new Category Card. Then, the player who scored opens a new card to be the Letter Card, and the round repeats. The player who obtains 5 cards (that is, 5 points) first is the winner!
Numerology Mode
Setup
Follow the setup instructions of the Tome-lhe Tapão Mode, this time including the Number Cards, as explained below.
How to Play
One of the players is chosen at random: they will be responsible for opening the cards in this round. Turn over the first card of the Word Deck and place it parallel to the Word Deck, leaving a space between the two. This will be the Category Card.
That same player must then shuffle the 5 Number Cards together with the rest of the cards to form the Word Deck. The deck must be placed in the same spot where it was.
Next, the player must read aloud the categories on the card. When everyone is ready, turn over the next card from the top of the Word Deck and place it between the Category Card and the deck. In this mode, this may be your Letter Card or your Number Card.
If the player answers the category correctly, they take the Category Card for that round for themselves – it will count 1 point at the end of the game. If they fail, however, that card is discarded and the player does not take part in the next round.
Example: "Tenho saudades de…" ("I miss…") with the letter V? From "Viajar" (travel)!
In either case, the Letter Card of the round is placed in the place of the former Category Card and becomes the new Category Card. Then, the player who scored opens a new card to be the Letter Card, and the round repeats. The player who obtains 5 cards (that is, 5 points) first is the winner!
Tudo Junto e Misturado Mode
Setup
Follow the setup instructions of the Numerology Mode, including the Number Cards, which will be shuffled into the Word Deck after the first Category Card is opened. Finally, deal one Action Card to each player. Each player must keep their card near their play area with the "Pular" (Skip) side face up.
How to Play
This mode is played following all the rules of the Numerology Mode, with the exception that players may "Skip" a category (that is, stop answering one of the categories of their choice) using the Action Card. When doing so, the player turns the card over to the "Usado" (Used) side.
Scoring
When correctly answering the categories of a card, the player may receive different benefits according to how many times they use the Mandatory Letter:
- Using the Mandatory Letter 1 time, the player will gain one card. This card is worth 1 point at the end of the game.
- Using the Mandatory Letter 2 times, in addition to gaining the current round's card, the player may flip their Action Card back to the "Pular" (Skip) side.
- Using the Mandatory Letter 3 times, in addition to gaining the current round's card, the player may choose any other player to lose 1 card from their score, and place it on the discard pile.
- Using the Mandatory Letter 4 times, in addition to gaining the current round's card, the player gains a new card from the deck, totalling 2 points at the end of the game.
If all the players agree that it is not possible to answer one of the categories, the Category Card is discarded and replaced by a new card from the top of the deck, and a new turn begins. If the Word Deck runs out of cards, shuffle the discard pile to form a new Word Deck. The player who obtains 5 cards (that is, 5 points) first is the winner!
Quick Reference
- Category Card / Letter Card (Carta de Categorias / Letras): The Category Card shows, in the coloured (outer) area of the bubble, the categories that will be answered in the round in question.
- Letter Card (Carta de Letras): Shows a set of four different letters, in the white area inside the bubble, that will be used to answer the categories of the round in question.
- Mandatory Letter (Letra Obrigatória): A letter that players must use, at least once (depending on the game mode), so as not to fail the round when answering a category. To find the round's Mandatory Letter, players must analyse the colour and shape of the bubble on the Category Card and look for the letter inside the bubble of the matching colour and shape on the Letter Card. That determines which letter on the Letter Card will be the Mandatory Letter.
- Number Card (Carta de Números): Shows how many letters the word to be spoken in answer to a category must have for the player to score.
- Action Card (Carta de Ação): Lets the player "Skip" one of the categories of the round (that is, they stop answering one of the categories), of their choice. When using an Action Card, the player must turn it to the "Used" (Usado) side.
- Victory Card (Carta de Vitória): Won a game of UeStop!? Congratulations!
The game's printed invitation to share a photo of the Victory Card on social media is promotional and is omitted here.