Word Game

Players in turn roll the 21 word cubes, set the timer and form sentences with the words appearing on the tops of the cubes in a crossword puzzle-like fashion (one word may be part of two sentences - one running vertically and one running horizontally). Turns end when the egg timer runs out. Players score 50 points for each sentence of 7 words or more. All other sentences score the square of the number of words in the sentence (i.e. a 4-word sentence scores 4 X 4, or 16 points). A bonus of 50 points is awarded if all 21 cubes are used. Two points are deducted for each unused cube.

The 1983 version of the game seems to differ in the number of cubes. The rules on the inside of the box lid still have a 1971 copyright date, but among other differences, they state that the game contains 27 cubes. Two of the new cubes are marked with stars on all six sides, making them wild. From the 1983 rules: "When playing a wild cube, a player must state what word it represents, after which it cannot be changed during that turn."

The 1988 version has 24 cubes - two of which are the starred wild dice. The box states that this is the 2nd edition of the game from Coleco Games. Selchow & Righter is credited in the directions as a subsidiary of Coleco Industries, Inc. The majority of the outer box is blue.

Jitters is a timed word game where players draw cards with pre-arranged crossword puzzles on them. A player starts the timer and then rolls "lettered" dice and must use the face up letters to fill in the crossword with qualifying words before time runs out. Each crossword puzzle card has a point value that increases with the card's difficulty. This game is somewhat stressful as you must think quickly, making words to fit the blanks on the card...of course when the timer runs out making a loud smacking noise as you were about to finish your last word - you jump every time...

A Scrabble-like game without the board -- much like Pick Two!, but without the letter values.

Using a selection of 144 plastic letter tiles in the English edition, each player works independently to create their own 'crossword'. When a player uses up all their letters, all players take a new tile from the pool. When all the tiles are gone, the first player to use up all the tiles in their hand wins.

There are also variants included in the rules, and the game is suitable for solo play.

Taboo Junior is a simpler version of the parent game, advertised for ages 8 to 12. Players divide into two teams, racing their tokens on parallel tracks to the finish line. A card is secretly drawn and a "clue giver" tries to get his team to say the word on it...without using any of three related words that are also on the card. The team has a timer during which they score as many clues as possible. The number correct is the number of squares the token is moved.

One difference from the original game is that the "buzzer" is actually a plastic squeak toy instead of the harsh electric buzzer. The clues are also much easier, common words than in the adult game.

Re-implements:

Taboo

This game is like Charades on 'Speed'. The active player gets four cards. Each card has two words on it, one easy, one difficult. The harder the word, the more points it's worth. The player picks one word from each card and loads them into the timer device. S/he then has about a minute to communicate the words to teammates; when a word is guessed correctly, the card must be snatched out of the timer. The timer, meanwhile, will "eat" the cards, one at a time, if they aren't snatched. You get points for each card successfully rescued from the timer.

Reimplemented with different rules: Electronic Guesstures