Serve a word's start (or an entire word) using your 7 letter cards. Your opponent returns it stronger (extended or transformed): reload your hand and hit back ! The exchange so far polite will quickly intensify until one of you cracks! Your opponent just did ? Game to you, you collect all the exchanged cards! Service to your opponent, etc.
The player who ends up with the most points (0 to 8 pts by card) wins the set. The first player to win 2 sets wins the match!
Requires : vocabulary, syntax, reasoning, strategy and nerves of steel 💪🏻 Bluffing is forbidden but tolerated 🤫
96 letters A…Z
11 jokers ★■●◀
0,1,2,3,5,8 points
(263 pts in total)
1 pt x8
2 pt x5
3 pt x3
5 pt x2
8 pt x1
any letter
consonant
vowel
doubles previous letter ◀ (or next ▶)
BAL▶◀ balEEns
BAL◀▶ baLLOOns
The first player serves: he lays 1 to 7 of his cards on the table to form a valid word or beginning of a word (a sequel) with a value at least equal to the weight. Then he draws the same amount of cards that he played (ALWAYS 7 in hand).
🎾 Fair play : If the player serves below the weight (NET), the played cards are dumped in the stash and the player is entitled to a second serve. If he makes NET again, the same applies but he loses his serve. The stash remains untouched until someone wins a game. The next player serves.
The next player can:
🎾 remove cards (which join the stash)
🎾 reorder any card
Then he draws as many cards as he has played.
🎾🎾🎾 The sequel must remain valid and be worth at least its initial value plus the weight. 🎾🎾🎾
right handside insert
FOREHANDleft handside insert
REVERSERearrangement
LIFTED REVERSEScattered inserts
LIFTED FOREHANDJoker replaces letter
DROP SHOT E joins the stashEntire replacement
LOB T, E, N join the stashAny shot below the weight is called NET. It has the same result as passing but allows you to discard weak/unwanted cards.
Any shot of 13 points or more is considered on the BASELINE .
🎾 CHAIR UMPIRE rule 🎾 Any shot NET or BASELINE may be reviewed upon anyone's request, without any risk to the requester. (cf Penalties )
Then it's the next player's turn and so on until someone passes or is being challenged.
The last player who hasn't passed wins the exchange (GAME). He takes all cards from the table and the stash, and adds them to his pile of tricks (face down).
B = 5 points
=> 5 cards
🎾 This rule remains valid as long as all players have 7 cards in hand.
🎾 If the stack is insufficient for the bonus, the server wins ALL remaining cards in the game (opponents' hands) and the set ends immediately!
🎾 There's no ace nor second service any more.
A player who nets won't be able to serve anymore.
🎾 Any shot can be challenged without risk (CHAIR UMPIRE).
The set ends when :
🎾 a player wins a game with no card left in his hand : he wins all the potential remaining hands.
🎾 no one left is able to serve (systematic NET): all remaining hands are simply discarded and no one wins them.
🎾 a penalty applies: all remaining cards (table, stash, hands) go to the "right" player, and the "wrong" is inflicted a 13 points malus to be substracted from his final score.
After the set the players count their tricks which determine the final score.
Who has the highest score wins the set, and therefore scores 1 point in the overall match score.
Then a new set begins, and so on.
🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
The rules are identical, expect these two following:
Pass : the first player to pass during a game can no longer play (lay cards or challenge) for the remainder of this game.
Penalties: In the event of a dispute, the player who is proved "right" collects the table and the stash, but the malus cards are given to the third player.
Penalties: the bonus cards will go to the third player if this one hasn't passed yet (otherwise to the player in the "right").
🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
Two teams of two face off: each consists of one "baseline" player (who also serves) and one "volley" player. Players keep their positions till the end of the set then swap.
(Baseline-Volley-NET-Volley-Baseline).Naturally, the baseline players need to hit harder: we will say that baseline must hit "heavy" weight and volley "light" weight. Therefore before starting the players must define a pair of weights among 1-2, 2-3, 3-5 and 5-8.
Subsequently, the harder you hit the ball, the further it will go; so that you can "aim" your opponent: hard shots will touch baseline, soft shots will touch volley.
If the receiver can't play (MISS), his partner can rush in to the rescue and "SMASH", provided an extra effort equal to his partner's weight.
🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾🎾
Blue baseline serves. If his sequel is worth :
a/ less than 5 pts, he NETs. 2d Service, etc.
b/ between 5 and 8 (8=5+3, or heavy weight + light weight), the ball lands on Red Volley, who must add min 3 points (L.W.) to the sequel.
c/ above 8, the ball lands on Red Baseline, who must add min 5 points (H.W.).
b/ If Red Volley misses the ball, Red Baseline can "SMASH", but needs to add the light weight to his shot, so 5+3=8 pts minimum.
Reversely if Red Baseline passes, Red Volley can SMASH, and needs to add the heavy weight to his shot, so 3+5=8 pts as well.
Any red player can spontaneously decide to smash before his partner plays.
After smashing, the ball lands on volley if you added less than 11pts (8+3), on baseline beyond.
If you missed but your partner smashed, you're still in the game (missing is not passing).
A game is won when no member of a team can play.