Scrabinoes Bahai Word-Matching Card Game

Instructions

Here is the information that you will find on the instruction sheet in the pouch along with your cards, plus some extra clarification.

We will add instructions for additional variations as we create them, or as people send their ideas. We will also add clarification as people ask questions or try new ways to cheat ;)

The Bahá’í Writings contain many repeating themes and words. Finding those common words on the Scrabinoes cards earns you points. The more connections you can find, the more points you earn. Color coding makes it easy. Multi-directional play makes it challenging.

What you need:
1) A deck of Scrabinoes cards,
2) A large table that is well-lit so you can read the words and distinguish their colors,
3) A pad & pencil to record your points.
4) 1-6 players Ages 10 and up.
With more than 6 players, form teams.

The Goal:
Earn points by playing a quotation card from your hand beside a card on the table that contains at least one word (or partial word) in common with it. The more words the quotations have in common, the more points you earn. The fewer times the word is used in the deck, the more that word is worth. Each word that can earn points is color-coded to the number of points it is worth. Cards can be played along any edge of the matching card, and cards can create a grid in which words can score points in more than one direction. Cards must have at least one word in common with every card they touch.

How to play multi-player Scrabinoes:
Deal five cards to each player. The remaining cards become the draw pile. Take the top card from the draw pile and place it in the middle of the play area. Choose who goes first. First player lays down a card that contains at least one color-coded word in common with the center card.
Line any edge of the card up beside any edge of the center card. Total the points earned. Player one draws a new card from the draw pile. Then play moves to the left. If a player is unable to play any card in their hand, they may pass.
The second player can play a card along any edge of either of the two cards in play, as long as at least one word matches that card. Player three can play a card along any edge of all THREE cards on the table. As play progresses, the cards will form an open grid. A card may touch two, three or four other cards as long as it shares at least one word in common with every card that it touches.

Scoring:
For every colored word that the cards have in common, you earn points. Use the color coding to determine the number of points each word is worth. The point value is at the bottom of each card, with red words worth one point, pink worth two, etc. Note, both the color and the word (or partial word) have to match.
When the card played touches more than one other card, points are scored in each direction independently. If the same word is common to more than one adjacent card, then that word earns points for each card that it touches. Add the point score for each matching word in each adjacent card. If a card uses the same word twice, it scores twice.

Here is an example of a starter card, drawn from the top of the deck and placed in the middle of the table, followed by the first player’s first card. You can see that the first card earns two points for the pink partial-word “kind” and three points for the purple partial word “human” for a total of five points.

The second player scores one point for the red “spirit,” one point for the red “love” and two points for the pink partial word “kind” for a total of four points.

The third player is now able to score in two directions, earning one point for the red “spirit,” two points for the pink “kind” in each direction, and five points for the green “words” for a total of ten points.  Note: this card CANNOT score off the starter card, going diagonally, even though they both have the word “spirit.” Diagonals don’t count.

Here you can see that, because the fourth card has the purple word “human” twice, it scores three points twice. Note, however, that if someone were to play a card with the word “human” on it beside this one, it would only score three points if the word “human” appeared once, and six points if the word human appeared twice. The score would not be doubled just because the card being played ON has the word twice.

Also note that this card can’t be played it across both of the two cards at the top of this set to earn points from both cards even though it has the words “human” from the first card played and “heart” from the second card played. There is no spanning cracks. The full edge must line up with the full edge of each card.

Variations:
Like Poker, you can create lots of variations of Scrabinoes using the same deck and basic scoring principles. Some people like games that take a long time to play and fill an entire evening, like a long game of Scrabble or Monopoly. Others like lots of short games like hands of Poker, or each number in a game of Dominoes. Here are some suggestions as to how to stretch out a game or break it up into smaller pieces.

Educational Variation:
Encourage each player to read the quotation on their card out loud as they play it. This will lengthen playing time and encourage discussion of the quotations.

Five-Card Shorthand Variation:
For a quick-playing variation, deal 5 cards to each player and don’t use a draw pile. Players can pass on their turn, but when one player runs out of cards, every other player has one last chance to play a single card. For any card left in a player’s hand, subtract the highest value word’s points from their score.

Advanced Strategy Variation: Each player has the option of taking two turns in a row, as long as the two cards played touch each other. This variation slows down play, but increases the amount of strategy involved.

Philosophical Variation: Discuss the relationship between the quotations and the subtle differences that the words have in their different contexts. (This version can go on for years.)

Seven Valleys Variation:
There are 49 cards, so you can restrict play to a 7×7 grid. The first card does NOT have to stay in the center. Play ends when all 49 cards are played, or there are no plays to be made that stay within the grid.

Four Valleys Variation:
For a shorter game, all cards must be played within a 4×4 grid. Game ends when no cards can be played within that space. Not only is this variation faster, but it requires less table space. This variation can be combined with the 5-card shorthand, in which no one draws, and the highest point word on each card remaining in your hand gets subtracted from your score. Obviously there are many additional variations on this idea, with 5 & 6-card grids, and allowing a draw pile or not.

Solitaire/Cooperative Variation: Scrabinoes can be played alone or as a single team just to see how many points you can score. If you play the Seven Valley variation, then add 50 points if you play all 49 cards within the 7×7 grid.

Wildcard Variation:
The card that lists all of the words used and their point value can be used as the starter card. This will speed up play, especially if used in the shorter-playing variations like the Four Valley Variation and Five-Card Shorthand Variation.

Group Unity-Building Game:
This is a completely different way to use these card to create connections between people the way the cards create connections between quotations.  At a gathering, pass out one Scrabinoes card to each person in attendance. Then ask them to arrange themselves in a circle in such a way that their card has one colored word in common with the person on either side of them. (It probably won’t be the same word.) Depending on how many people you have, this can take a bit of time and consultation, with people rearranging themselves until the full circle is complete. Then explain that we are bound together in unity by the Writings. Go around the circle and have each person say “I am bound to (person to their left) by (the word they have in common) and I am bound to (person on their right) by (the word they have in common), then read their quotation.  Since the most common words are Love, God, Heart and Spirit, this will result in many people saying things like “I am bound to Mary by Love,” or “I am bound to Tom by God.” This generates a very positive atmosphere. Note that if your group is small, remove the 8 cards that have no red or pink words on them before you start, so no one will be left out. If you have a big group and not much time, don’t read the quotation as you go around the circle.

For a more challenging version of this group game, you could have people form a circle and calculate how many points the group earned based on the point value of the words that people beside each other had in common.  Then challenge the group to rearrange itself to generate the most points possible given the cards in people’s hands.

Additional variations such as “Go Fish” and “Play God” versions, will be added as we figure them out!

If you make up your own games using these versatile cards please send us the rules.

Also check out our other fun games and activities including:
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Quintessence Playing Cards
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Coloring & Activities Book
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Also:
Watch for these forthcoming games:
Interfaith Scrabinoes
Virtues Scrabinoes
New Testament Scrabinoes