KNOCKOUT GAME

The "KNOCKOUT" style of play is the fastest and easiest to learn and the most popular. It can be played ANYWHERE. It is a great first step into the SAYWORD!®️ concept. The fast pace makes it great for game night.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Beginner

OBJECT: Collect 10 cards by outlasting your opponents. (2 or more players)

SETUP & GAME PLAY:

1. Place the deck facing down among all players. 
2. The first player plucks a card, reads it out loud, and places it face up next to the deck. 
3. The player then says, "sayword!" to start the hand. 
4. The next player to the left says a word that contains the root form from the drawn card. For example, if the card drawn is "CAP, CEP, CIP, CUP", the player can say words such as: reCUPerate, CAPture, reCIPient, acCEPt, etc. Game play continues to the left with each player saying a word based on the root. 
5. If a player cannot come up with a word in 20 seconds, they are eliminated from that hand. Click here to use our official knockout timer.
6. If a player says an invalid word they are eliminated. Invalid words include correct spellings with incorrect origins, proper nouns, multi-word phrases, and repeat answers from that hand/card.
7. The hand continues until there is one player remaining who then becomes the winner.  The winner says, "That's my word!" and keeps the card until the end of the round. 
8. The winner draws the next card to start the next hand. 

USE THE FOLLOWING PHRASES AND ACTIONS TO PLAY THE GAME:

SAY: "SAYWORD!" when dealing a new card from the deck.

DO: Pluck a card from the deck. Place it facing up on the table. Then the player to the left says a word based upon the root that appears on the card.

SAY: "THAT'S MY WORD!" if you have eliminated all other players.

DO: Pick up the card and keep it until the end of the round.

SAY: "THAT'S NOT A WORD!" to challenge a word said by an opponent.

DO: Confirm the word and origin (etymology) using one of our approved dictionaries. If the word is not valid, the player who has lost the challenge is eliminated from that round and must let the challenger take one of their cards. If the word is valid, the challenger must give a card to the player they challenged and sit out for that round.

SAY: "THAT'S THE LAST WORD!" if you are the first to collect your tenth card.

DO: Place the used cards to the side and then start the next round.

SAY: "THAT'S YOUR WORD!" if there are two players remaining and you can't think of a word.

DO: Forfeit your turn and surrender the card to the other player.

SCORING & WINNING THE GAME: Hands continue until one player has collected 10 cards and won the round. Players also have the option to play for points. In this variation, players keep count of the points from the cards they have collected during the round. Players can choose to play up to 50 points (novice), 100 points (standard), or 250 points (master). 

WILD CARDS: When playing for the most cards, wild cards multiply the card value of the card it precedes. If a 2X wild card is drawn, the next card is worth 2 cards. If a 3X is drawn, the next card is worth 3 cards. When playing for points, the wild card is used as a point multiplier for the second card. For example, if a 2X wild card is drawn, and a root card worth 3 points is drawn second, the new point value for that card is 6 points. Make sure to keep the wild card and the additional card together to count the score at the end of the game.

STRATEGIES:

HOARDING: To more easily outlast your opponents, start by saying the more obvious words first. Save your complex or more obscure words for when most of the competition has been eliminated. Then come out with your heavy hitters!

CONJUGATION: Exhaust all the prefixes and suffixes that a word can have. One word can sometimes take on as many as 10 variations. Adding "S", "ED", or "ING" are easy to think of but be careful, these suffixes can't be added to every word! Sometimes the tense can change the form of a word. For example, LEAD in the past tense becomes LED. This would be a valid play.

TIME PRESSURING: Time to come up with an answer is limited. The faster you answer the less time your opponent has to think of their next word. Answering quickly is a great intimidation tactic and forces people out of the round quickly.

VARIATIONS:

PLAYING FOR POINTS: Use the point value on the card to determine a winner. Players can choose to play up to 50 points (novice), 100 points (standard), or 250 points (master). 

PLAYING IN TEAMS: Divide players into two teams. One representative for each team compete for a card, The winner wins those points for their team. All other standard rules apply. If a table is available, the two teams move to either side of a table. While competing for the card, they slide the card to their side of the table are giving a valid answer. The opposing team must give a valid answer to bring the card back over to their side. The card starts in the middle of the table.

FREE PLAY: This is an easier style of play that allows players under 8 years old to join in. All basic rules apply, but the answers are only required to have accurate spelling. No connection to the definition is required.

ADULTS ONLY: When a player is eliminated, come up with a penalty of your choice! House rules rule.

"BOX" style of play is slightly more challenging and is played with less players. This game gets players thinking about how to combine roots and maximize points. BOX requires a table top and is best played at a slower pace.

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Intermediate

OBJECT: Match a card from the deck with as many cards on the board as possible to form all or part of a word. (1 to 4 players)

SETUP & GAME PLAY: 

1. Deal 8 cards from the deck and arrange them face up in a 2 x 4 grid. Place the remaining cards from the deck next to the grid.
2. The first player draws a card from the deck and tries to think of a word that contains both the root on the drawn card and one or more from the grid.
3. If the player is able to think of a word, they say, "WORD"
4. The player then picks up the card or cards from the grid and groups them with their drawn card.
5. The player then places the group (book) facing down in front of themselves.
6. Draw cards from the deck to replace any cards that were removed from the grid during their turn.
7. If the player draws a card and is unable to think of a word, they place the drawn card facing up next to the deck to start a pile of drawn cards.
8. The next player may pick the top card from the deck or the top card from the pile of drawn cards and repeat the process.
9. A hand is over when one player creates 10 groups (books). 

USE THE FOLLOWING PHRASES AND ACTIONS TO PLAY THE GAME:

SAY: "WORD!" if you think that your plucked card and one or more cards from the grid form all or part of a word. You do not have to announce what word you intend.

DO: Show the cards to the other players for them to confirm. Then place the cards in a group (book) facing down in front of you.

SAY: "SAYWORD!" when you want to verify an opponent's word.

DO: The opponent then says the intended word out loud.

SAY: "THAT'S NOT A WORD!" to challenge a word said by an opponent.

DO: Confirm the word and origin (etymology) using one of our approved dictionaries listed below. If the word is not valid, the player being challenged loses a turn and a book to the challenger. If the word is valid, the player that made their challenge loses their turn and must give up a book to the opponent.  When taking penalty books from another player, the cards must remain face down.

SCORING & WINNING THE GAME: Hands continue until one player has collected 10 books and wins the round. Advanced players also have the option to play for points. In this variation, players keep count of the points from the cards they have collected during the round. Players can choose to play up to 50 points (novice), 100 points (standard), or 250 points (master). 

WILD CARDS: Wild cards must remain with their book and can only count towards multiplying the score from that book.

ADDITONAL RULES:

• When starting a word group or adding to one, you do not have to say what word you intend to make unless you are asked to "SAYWORD!"
• A word can only be challenged when it is first played.

ABOUT: "STACK & STEAL" is essentially the chess of SAYWORD! After having honed your wordsmith skills with KNOCKOUT and BOX, STACK & STEAL challenges you to outsmart others to break and build complex words, take words from others, defend your own, and outplay your opponents. This game is  for SAYWORD!®️ experts only! 

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Expert

OBJECT: Score the most points by constructing all or part of a word using the cards in your hand.  (2 to 5 players)

SETUP & GAME PLAY:

1. Deal each player 7 cards. 
2. Place the rest of the deck facing down and turn one card facing up to start a pile of drawn cards.
3. The first player draws the top card from the deck or from the pile of drawn cards. 
4. The player then discards one of their cards and places it facing up on top of the pile of drawn cards. 
5. The player can then attempt to score by placing down 2 or more of their cards facing up in front of them that form all or part of a word, (”WORD!”).
6. The player also has the choice to add cards to one of their existing groups instead, (“WORD!”).
7. Any opposing player may challenge the word by asking the player to say the word out loud, (”SAYWORD!“). 
8. Any player at any time may steal an opponent’s word by adding cards to an opponent’s group, (”THAT’S MY WORD!”). 

USE THE FOLLOWING PHRASES AND ACTIONS TO PLAY THE GAME:

SAY: "WORD!" if you think that two or more of your cards form all or part of a word.

DO: Place the cards face up in front you and turned towards the other players. Note: You must draw a card and discard a card before making this play.

SAY: "WORD!" if you have a card to expand, complete, or recreate one of your existing words. 

DO: Add the card to a group that you have already begun building. Note: You must draw a card and discard a card before making this play.

SAY: "SAYWORD!" when you want to verify an opponent's initial play, stack, or steal.

DO: The opponent then says the intended word out loud.

SAY: "WORD." to accept an opponent's word you have chosen to verify.

DO: Go on to the next player.

SAY: "THAT'S NOT A WORD!" to reject verification and challenge a word an opponent has said out loud.

DO: Confirm the word and origin using one of our approved dictionaries listed below. The loser of the challenge loses their next turn and collects two penalty cards.

SAY: "THAT'S MY WORD!" if you have a card to expand, complete or recreate an opponent's word. 

DO: Add the card to the opponent's group of cards. Take all the cards and place them in front of you. This can be done at any time in the game.

SAY: "THAT'S THE LAST WORD!" if you think that your remaining cards form all or part of a word.

DO: Place the cards face up in front of you and turned towards the other players. When forming their last word, a player does not need to discard any cards from their hand.

SCORING & WINNING THE GAME: 

To make a group of cards, a player must first pluck a card from the pile, place a card on the stack of discarded cards, and place the group of cards facing up and turned towards the other players. The point value is determined by the point value indicated on the bottom left of each card. Wild cards are multipliers but do not have their own point value. 

At the end of each hand, players count the point values of all the groups they were able to form. The points played on the last word are worth double! Hands are played until one player reaches 100 points (novice), 250 points (standard), or 500 points (master). Proper nouns and phrases are not allowed.

STACKING: If a player has a card that can be added to a set of roots they have already placed in front of them, they can add the card to those cards to expand or create a new word during their turn. For example, if a player has already combined "AUTO" and "GRAPH" and then draws "BIO", they can add it to their word to recreate a new word, "AUTOBIOGRAPHY". The player announces the stack by saying, "WORD."

STEALING: Players are also able to add a card to an opponent's word to steal their word at any time. It does not have to be their turn. After adding the card, the word becomes theirs and the player announces the steal by saying, "THAT'S MY WORD!!" Stealing plays are also subject to verification and challenges. When a player's last word is stolen, they must draw two penalty cards and continue playing. Players may only steal whole groups. 

BLUFFING: A player does not need to know the definition of the word. When challenged to "SAYWORD!", the player only needs to say it. If a player can create realistic card combinations or play (and say) a word with confidence, they may be able to bluff their opponents into believing they have created a valid word. Opponents can only ask for verification ("sayword!") or challenge ("That's not a word!") when they are first played, stacked, or stolen.

ADDITONAL RULES:

• When starting a word group or adding to one, you do not have to say what word you intend to make unless you are asked to "sayword!"
• A player can only make one scoring attempt per turn. They can either play a new word or add on to their own word, or steal from another opponent.
• A word can only be challenged when it is first played, when someone stacks onto a word, or when a word is stolen.

SCORING STRATEGY: Below is a group of cards that all share a common word. The word is “UNNATURALLY”. If you look at the letters on the cards THEY DO NOT EXACTLY MATCH THE SPELLING of “UNNATURALLY”, but they absolutely match in terms of meaning and origin. In this game you are looking to make meaning out of language. If a player were to play or build all of these cards, this would be a valid and powerful play. Any combination of these cards can be used to score but the STRONGEST play is the 5-card play. The 5-card play completely builds out a specific meaning and leaves no room for anyone to steal. It is also worth more points! The 2-card play shown below using only “UN” and “AL” can be stolen with a number of different root cards. So it is easy to play, but also easily stolen. Each time a new card is added to a group, a new meaning can be created by the owner of that group who is stacking or by an opponent who is making a steal.

MAXING OUT: It is always a good idea to think of ways to expand a word as much as you can. For example, if a player plays “BIO” and “GRAPH”, any other player can expand it by adding the roots “AUTO” or “Y”, creating a higher scoring word. This group of cards can be expanded on even further by adding “IC” and/or “AL”. The Biggest play possible would be “AUTOBIOGRAPHICALLY”. Again, a player only needs 2 cards to be able to form this word, but using only 2 cards out of a possible 6-card play leaves 4 opportunities for the word to be stolen.