Let’s Play Word Slam! Here’s How:

Hey there! Are you ready for a fun-filled game of Word Slam? I’m excited to explain the rules to you! Get ready for some word-slamming action!

What is Word Slam?

Word Slam is a thrilling party game that will have you and your friends on the edge of your seats. The goal of the game is to guess the secret word before time runs out. It’s like charades, but with a twist!

How to Play:

The game is super easy to play, even for beginners. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Split into teams: Divide everyone into two teams. You can have as many people on each team as you want. Just make sure you have enough space and time to play.
2. Set up the game: Choose a card from the deck and slide it into the card holder. Make sure no one can see the word, it’s top secret! Each team will have a storyteller and a guesser. The storyteller will be in charge of giving clues.
3. Start the timer: Turn over the sand timer and get ready to slam some words!
4. The storytelling: The storyteller starts giving clues to their team by using any words except for the secret word itself. They can use gestures, act things out, or even make funny noises. The storyteller cannot say any part of the hidden word or any rhyming words. They need to get creative!
5. The guessing: While the storyteller is trying their best to give clues, the guesser from the same team needs to pay close attention and try to guess the word. The guesser can ask questions to the storyteller, but the storyteller can only respond with “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
6. Keep going: The gameplay continues until the timer runs out or the team guesses the word correctly.
7. Score points: If the team guesses the word, they get a point. If not, the other team gets a chance to steal and guess. The first team to reach a certain number of points wins the game!

In Conclusion:

Now that you know the rules, it’s time to gather your friends and family and start playing Word Slam! Get ready for a laughter-filled, fast-paced, and exciting game that will bring everyone together. Remember, the key to success is teamwork and creativity. So, grab a timer, shuffle those cards, and let the word-slamming fun begin!

“Hey there! Let’s play a fun guessing game, shall we? EAT, YELLOW, CIRCLE. Hmmm… What could that be? My mind immediately goes to pancakes or pineapple rings. Don’t you agree?

Wait a minute! The CIRCLE is DIVIDED, right? That changes things! Now we’re looking for something that’s yellow and semicircular. Hmm, let me think… Could it be… a banana? Yes! That’s the answer! The Blue Team scores one point!”

Components

• You’ll find 100 Answer cards in the box.
• There are 210 Story word cards.
• Also, inside you’ll find 210 Story word cards.
• Don’t forget to read the Instructions.

Note: The symbols at the bottoms of the story word cards are there just to help you organize the cards, they don’t have any special function in the game.

Some story word cards have a “?” in the corners. This means the card has two words! Simply rotate the card until the word you need is upright.

Setup

• First, split into two teams. It doesn’t matter if one team is bigger than the other. Place the teams on opposite sides of a table.
• Now decide together how close your guess needs to be to the answer. Do you have to guess the exact term, like “Tyrannosaurus rex,” or is it enough to be close, like just saying “Tyrannosaurus”?

I’m the oldest player on the team, so I’ll be the first storyteller. We each have 105 story word cards in our team color, either Blue or Orange. To set up, we place the two halves of the box in the middle of the table, with the inside of one half facing each team. This will be our screen.

Alright, let’s get started! First, grab two smartphones and place one on each side of the table as shown in the picture. Now, sort the story word cards by their colors or symbols on the front. You can either arrange them in four stacks for easy access or spread them out on the table.

If you’re on the other team, make sure you can read the words on the story word cards that your team’s storyteller will be placing on your side of the screen. Find a comfortable spot to sit or position yourselves for optimal visibility.

To start, let’s play an introductory game. This is especially helpful for newcomers to become familiar with the Word Slam cards and gameplay. For this first game, we’ll exclude the blue, gray, and turquoise categories of answer cards.

Take the answer cards from the red, yellow, green, and pink categories and shuffle them. Place them face down with the icons facing up. Now, draw the top three answer cards from each category. That’s it! You’re all set to begin the game.

Alright, let me break it down for you. We’ve got 12 answer cards right here, and they’re the ones we’ll be drawing from. Let’s give them a good shuffle and put them face down next to the screen where everyone can reach them.

Now, grab one more answer card and place it face down on the other side of the screen. We won’t be needing the rest of the answer cards, so let’s get rid of them.

Now, Let’s Play the Game

A game is made up of multiple rounds. In the first game, there are 12 rounds. Here’s how a round works:

The storyteller from the blue team picks the top card from the pile of answer cards.

This card is now active, and the number on the front of the next card in the pile tells you which term from the active card you need to help your team guess.

The blue team’s storyteller looks at the active card and then passes it to the storyteller from the orange team. Make sure only you can see the terms on the card – no one else on your team should see them!

For example: The next card shows a 6. In this round, your goal is to get your team to guess the word “Tiger”.

Note: Sometimes words can be difficult or unknown, and that’s okay! If you and your friends find the word too challenging, you can always choose a different word to play the game with.

But if you both know the answer word, you can place the card face down next to the draw pile. Then, it’s time to get started! One storyteller from the blue team says “WORD,” and the other from the orange team responds with “SLAM.” Now the guessing can begin!

Being the storyteller means you have to tell a story to help your team guess the answer word. You have four stacks of story word cards, so quickly look through them and choose the ones you think will give your team the best clues.

Put these cards on your team’s side of the screen. Remember, your team can talk and discuss together to figure out the answer word.

Rules for the Storytellers

• When we play this game, we have to remember a few important rules.
• We can’t use our voices or make any sounds at all.
• We also can’t act out words or use gestures to communicate.
• The only way we can communicate is by using the story word cards.
• We can’t use the cards to give away any part of the answer.
• We can arrange the cards on our side of the screen in any order.
• We can move them around or add new cards whenever we want.
• If a word on the story word card is important, we can even point to it.
• We can use as many story word cards as we need.
• If we want, we can use extra items like books or game boxes to make a bigger screen.

Let’s talk about the rules of the game! If no team is able to guess the correct answer, the round ends and the card is removed from the game. If the round is taking too long, the storytellers can decide to set a time limit. They can use a timer on their smartphones and give both teams 60 seconds to guess the answer.

Now, let me explain the rules for the team members who are guessing. You should wait until your team’s storyteller puts the first story word card in front of your team’s screen. It’s important not to start guessing until then. Also, it’s against the rules to send spies to the opposing team. However, you are allowed to hear what terms the other team is calling out. Who knows, maybe that will help you find the term you’re looking for faster!

Once a team correctly guesses the answer, the round is over. The winning team takes the answer card and places it face down on their side of the table.

Next Rounds

The role of the storyteller on each team shifts to the team member sitting to their left (clockwise). A new answer term is chosen.

The storyteller for the orange team says “WORD”, and the storyteller for the blue team responds with “SLAM”. The round continues as before.

End of the Game

For the last answer card in the draw pile, use the number on the extra answer card that was set aside at the beginning of the game to decide which term to use.

The game ends after all the answer cards in the draw pile have been played. The team with the most answer cards wins.

If there’s a tie, we can break it by choosing an extra answer card from the ones we set aside at the beginning of the game.

Remember to use the number on the extra card to determine which term you’ll use. Let’s play this tie-breaker round. The team that correctly guesses the answer in this round will win the game.

If you’ve already played the introductory game, use the following number of answer cards from each category:

• For 3 players: 15 answer cards
• For 4 – 5 players: 21 answer cards
• For 6+ players: 25 answer cards

Here’s an example to help you understand:

Let’s say the answer term is banana. I, as the blue storyteller, will search for the EAT story word card and show it. The blue team will then guess food, pizza, apple, and spaghetti.

In the game, we have the orange team and the blue team. Each team takes turns acting as the storyteller and guessing the correct word based on the clues given. Let me walk you through an example round:

The orange storyteller displays the cards YELLOW and PLANT. Since the blue team was guessing foods earlier, the orange team figures that the answer might be a yellow plant that you can eat. They make their guesses: pineapple, corn, and lemon.

The blue storyteller then displays CIRCLE and DIVIDED, while the orange storyteller displays EAT. The blue team realizes that the item is probably semicircular and confidently guesses banana, which turns out to be the correct answer! They win the round, and it’s time to start the next one.

Now, let’s talk about the rules for playing with three players:

Most of the rules remain the same, but there are a few changes:

• Instead of two sets of story word cards, you only use one set (either blue or orange).
• There is only one storyteller in this version of the game.
• The storyteller always starts a two-minute timer before showing the story word cards.

If you guess the right answer before time runs out, you win the answer card. Plus, the storyteller gets a new card from the unused pile. But if time runs out and you don’t guess it correctly, that answer card is out of the game. Then the storyteller passes the role to the next person, and a new round starts.