Scrabble Slam! is a 2009 card game from Hasbro that comes in 2 editions: a basic 55-card edition for 2 to 4 players and a deluxe 84-card edition for 2 to 6 players. The object of the fast-paced game is to be the first player to get rid of your cards by playing them on the word in play to make new words. Scrabble Slam! teaches vocabulary and word-recognition skills; the rules for how to play Scrabble Slam! are given below.
Method 1 of 2: Setting Up the Game
1Decide how many players there will be. As noted above, the 55-card edition is designed for up to 4 players and the 84-card edition is designed for up to 6. As the deck will be divided among all the players after the starting word is made, more players means fewer cards in each person's hand.Ad
2Decide what the starting word will be. The starting word must have 4 letters and should be a word that can easily be made into another 4-letter word by changing 1 of its letters.
- Good starting words include "GAME," which can be turned into "FAME," "LAME," "GATE," or "GAZE," and "WARE," which can be changed into "WERE," "WARM," "WARN," or "WART."
- Bad starting words include "ECHO" and "EXAM," which cannot readily be turned into recognizable English 4-letter words.
3Withdraw 4 cards from the deck to make the word.
4Divide the remaining cards among the players. Cards are printed with either 1 letter on each side, or a letter on one side and a blank space on the other. Either side of the card may be played to make a legal word, with the blank serving as a "wild letter" as in the Scrabble board game. At the upper left edge are the 2 letters that the card represents.
Method 2 of 2: Playing Scrabble Slam!
1Begin play. The official call to begin play is "Ready, set, slam"; however, you can call "Go," "Start," or something similar, if you wish.
2Place a letter on the word to make a new word as soon as you recognize you have a play. Scrabble Slam! is a speed game; players do not take turns placing new letters on the word.
- Words in Scrabble Slam! are restricted the same as in the Scrabble crossword game: you can't use slang, acronyms, proper names for people or places, hyphenated words, or words with apostrophes.
- You cannot play the same letter immediately on top of a previously played letter. If the current word is "BALE," you cannot play another "B" immediately on top of the "B" in the word. You can, however, play a "G" to change the word to "GALE" and then play a "B" to change the word back to "BALE" if you can do so before another player changes the word to something else.
3Call "Time out!" to challenge a word. Play stops at this point for players to discuss the word's legitimacy and consult a dictionary if necessary. If the word is not a legal Scrabble Slam! word, the player making the word must take back the letter card used to make it.
4Continue play until 1 player has no more cards or no more legal plays can be made. At this point, the game is over. Whoever has the fewest cards left is the winner.Ad
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- Scrabble Slam! Is also available in electronic formats for the Nintendo DSiWare and on the Hub.
Things You'll Need
- Access to a dictionary (for word challenges)