Word Heist Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Overview
• Setup
• Valid and Invalid Words
• Gameplay
• Heist Phase
  • Make a Word
  • Drop Clues
• Halt Phase
• Score Phase
• New Round
• Game End

Contents

• 36 Clue tokens (in 6 colors)
• 26 Letter cards
  • 13 common consonants
  • 8 rare consonants
  • 5 vowels
• 20 Bonus Vault cards
• 6 Player boards
• 6 dry erase markers
• 1 Word Gallery board
• 1 game board

A GAME of LIFTED LETTERS — 2-6 Players | Ages 10+

Overview

Are you a master word thief? Using only the letters in the Tableau, come up with a secret word to steal. Then press your luck by dropping clues to as many of your word's letters as you dare. Collect points for keeping your own word elusive, satisfying Vault bonuses, and figuring out other players' words. Whoever pulls off the biggest score by the end of three rounds wins!

Setup

1. Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the play area.

2. Sort the Letter cards into 3 piles, by type, and shuffle each pile individually. Then randomly create a Letter Card deck based on the number of players:

   Players	Common Consonants	Rare Consonants	Vowels
   2	3	1	2
   3-4	4	1	2
   5-6	4	2	2

   Return the remaining unused Letter cards back to the box. Shuffle the Letter Card deck and deal the cards face up in a row below the game board, to form the Letter Tableau. Important: Make sure to place the first 2 letters beneath the +1 and +2 (Showcase Letter) indicators.

3. Shuffle the Bonus Vault cards, and randomly deal 2 face up above the game board, in the two "Bonus Vault" spots. Set the remaining Bonus Vault cards face down to the side. (Example cards: "Your word is the longest (or tied for longest)"; "Your word must contain at least 2 vowels".)

Valid and Invalid Words

Most words in Word Heist are valid, however you cannot use Proper Nouns, hyphenated-words, or contr'ctions. Slang is allowed as long as your group agrees that it's valid ahead of time. And if you're playing with an especially competitive group, agree on a dictionary to use if there are questions about a word's validity.

The following types of words are considered invalid and do not score:

• Words containing letters not in the Letter Tableau: You can only use the letters from the Tableau.
• Reused words: Words from previous rounds cannot be reused in later rounds. This includes Heist and Halt words, as well as minor variations that share the same root word. (For example: if "SHELL" was used in one round, the plural "SHELLS" would not be a valid word in a future round.)
• Misspelled words: If you're unsure how to spell a word, double check before the current phase ends. The correct spelling of a misspelled word still counts as a "reused word" in future rounds. Misspelled words do not prevent other players (who spelled them correctly) from scoring in the current round (see: "Score Phase" for more).
• Words with the incorrect number of Clue tokens are invalid. If you give a clue about a letter that appears in your Heist word, you must put the appropriate number of tokens on that letter (see: "Drop Clues" for more). The word will still count as a "reused word" in future rounds, however in the current round it is considered invalid.

Note: You can always challenge the validity of another player's word. All players then determine if the word is valid or not by simple majority, with ties in favor of the challenged player.

Gameplay

The game consists of 3 rounds, each with 3 phases:

1. Heist Phase
2. Halt Phase
3. Score Phase

Heist Phase

1. HEIST PHASE (MAKE A WORD & DROP CLUES)

Make a Word

Using only letters from the Tableau (though you may use letters more than once), all players have roughly 1 minute to come up with a secret Heist word they think they can get away with 'stealing'. Write your word in the top section of your Player board (but keep it hidden from the other players). If a player is taking too long to come up with a Heist word, feel free to set a formal countdown timer.

Tip: For maximum points, try to make a word that uses the Showcase Letters and/or Bonus Vault card parameters.

Drop Clues

After all players have come up with their secret Heist word, everyone must drop at least 1 — but up to 5 — clues about their word by simultaneously placing Clue tokens on letters in the Tableau. You do not have to reveal every letter in your word, but any letters that you place a token on must be present in your word. (The more Clue tokens you drop, the more points you can score. However, you also increase your risk of getting caught!)

Important! If you want to drop a clue about a letter, you must place exactly as many Clue tokens on it as the number of times the letter appears in your word.

Example: If your Heist word was "SHELL", to give a clue about "S", "H", or "E" you would only place 1 token on that letter. However in order to give a clue about "L", you would have to place exactly 2 tokens on the "L" card.

The Q(u) Card: When using a "Q" in your word, you can optionally use a "U" directly after it, however Clue tokens placed on this Letter card only pertain to the number of times "Q" appears in the word.

Example: If your word was "SQUISH", giving a clue about the letters "QU" would only require 1 token.

Halt Phase

2. HALT PHASE (GUESS ANOTHER PLAYER'S WORD)

Once everyone has placed at least 1 of their Clue tokens in the Tableau, all players have roughly 1 minute to try to 'halt' another player's Heist word. Using the clues on the Letter cards, make your best guess as to what another player chose for their Heist word, and write a Halt word in the bottom half of your Player board. (As with your Heist word, keep it secret!)

Note: Your Heist and Halt words cannot be the same.

Score Phase

3. SCORE PHASE

All players reveal their words. Go around and have each player say their Heist word aloud. Players who correctly guessed another player's Heist word should call out, "Halt!" to indicate they've caught that player. Words are then scored:

WORD SCORE = CLUE TOKENS + SHOWCASE LETTERS + VAULT BONUSES

• Clue Tokens: 1 point for each Clue token you used.
• Showcase Letters: If you used either (or both) of the letters under the +1 or +2 indicators, you receive the corresponding bonus(es). You may only collect each bonus once per word, even if your Heist (or Halt) word used a Showcase Letter multiple times.
• Vault Bonuses: If your Heist word meets the conditions of either Bonus Vault card you gain the points on that card. (You can score both.)

You only score points for your Heist word if it is unique and valid. Players with matching Heist words, or players who had their Heist word guessed by another player do not score. Invalid words neither score, nor do they count as "matching".

If you correctly guessed a player's exact Heist word by writing it in your Halt word space, you collect the points they would have otherwise scored.

If multiple players Halt a player's Heist word, each collects full points for that word.

If you Halt matching Heist words, collect the points for whichever was worth more. (Values may be different based on how many clues a player dropped.)

Move your token forward on the game board the number of points you scored.

Scoring example: Your Heist word is "LILIES". No other player wrote this as either their Heist or Halt word, so you score it. You placed 4 total tokens on "I" and "L". Since "I" was a Showcase Letter you receive an additional bonus of +1. You also met both Bonus Vault conditions for a further bonus of +3. Lastly, you correctly guessed Orange's Heist word, "SHELL", nabbing the 4 points they would have otherwise scored. This gives you 12 points (4+1+3+4).

New Round

To start a new round, first ensure all players' Heist and Halt words have been recorded on the Word Gallery board for future reference. Next, collect the Letter cards in the Tableau, shuffle them, and deal out the same letters as before to form a new Tableau. Then discard the 2 Bonus Vault cards and replace them with new ones. All players erase their Player boards. Play out the next round as before, with the reminder that you cannot reuse words from prior rounds! (Refer to the Word Gallery board if you need a reminder.)

Game End

The game ends after the third round. Words scored in the third round receive a Final Round bonus and are worth double points (FINAL ROUND WORD BONUS X2). The player with the most points wins! In the case of a tie, the tied player with the longest Heist word in the final round is the winner. If there is still a tie, all tied players share in the victory!