OBJECT:
Teammates try to be the first to go around the playing board by communicating secret messages to each other through a series of clue words or message cues. To send message cues, players roll the four letter dice and give clues to their teammates using words whose first letters match those on the four letter dice. For example, a player with the secret message BARBER SHOP, who rolls the letters P T S 0, might give the message cue "Scissoring Place" or "People Sheared There" or "Twirling Peppermint Sign Outside", or "Trims - Shampoos."

CONTENTS:
Playing Board, 400 Message Cards: 200 Level I (green), 200 Level 11 (purple), 4 Letter Dice, I Number Die, 4 Playing Pieces, Two- Minute Timer, 4 Board Moves Cards and Instruction Sheet.

TO PREPARE:
Form teams of two players each. Place a playing piece for each team on the START space, and give each team a BOARD MOVES card. Place a deck of MESSAGE CARDS, face down, beside the playing board. Level I cards will challenge most players. Highly skilled players may prefer Level 11 cards or may wish to combine cards from both sets.

TO PLAY:
(1) Roll the number die to determine which team goes first. The "STAR" (*) on the number die counts as high roll. The team with the highest roll begins, with play continuing clockwise. Team partners alternate turns as Sender and Receiver. The Sender gives a message cue; the Receiver tries to guess the secret message.

(2) Partners decide who will go first as Sender. The Sender draws the top message card from the deck and throws the number die. The number die determines which message is to be sent from the card. The "STAR" (*) on the number die gives the Sender the option of sending either the starred (*) Bonus Message or any one of the other four messages on the card. Correctly guessing the starred (*) Bonus Message adds two spaces to any regular board move (See BOARD MOVES).

The Sender tells the Receiver the number of words in the message, the category (PERSON, PLACE, THING or EVENT - see below) and, if the category is a proper name (marked PN).

SECRET MESSAGE CATEGORIES:
PERSON - a type of person (plumber, mayor, bully) or the proper name of a real or fictitious person (Shakespeare, Pinocchio).
PLACE - a type of place (closet, motel, rain forest) or the proper name of a real or fictitious place (White House, Shangri-La)
THING - an object, plant, animal, substance, intangible thing, or concept (ball, turtle, sand, budget, gravity)
EVENT - a type of occasion, incident or activity, (graduation, collision, home run) or the proper name of an occasion or event (Halloween, Super Bowl)

(3) The Sender shows the Message Card to all but the Receiver, throws the letter dice, starts the timer and gives message cues.

HOW TO SEND A MESSAGE CUE:
4a. Using only words which begin with the letters shown on the dice, and using each letter only once, the Sender gives a I to 4 word message cue that in some way communicates the secret message to the Receiver. For example: with the letters D E B R, the message BELL might be sent by saying "Ringing Device," or "Ends Boxing Round" or "Dong! Bong! Ring-g-g!".

4b. If the J/K or Q/Z combination is thrown, either or both letters may be used. A star (*) is wild and may be used as any letter.

4c. No part or form of the secret message may be used as a message cue.

4d. Foreign words, proper names, and slang are acceptable cues. Also, players may give their cue words endings they do not normally have, such as '-'ized': 'Ier': "ish." For example, a player rolling T A W F might cue APPLE by saying "Fruit William Tell ArrowED."

5a. Each turn lasts two minutes. During their turn, if time permits, a team may make up to three attempts to guess the secret message. An attempt consists of a dice throw and a message cue by the Sender, and one guess by the Receiver. (Any extra guesses count as additional attempts.) Note: For each roll of the dice all four letter dice must be thrown.

5b. Making a successful attempt is called scoffing and earns the scoring team a move on the board. (See BOARD MOVES.)

6. After their turn, if they have scored, players move their playing piece ahead on the board. Whether they have scored or not, the Sender returns the Message Card to the bottom of the deck and play then passes to the Sender for the next team.

ONE-ON-ONE:
7. A One-On-One occurs whenever the Sender, on the first roll of the dice, gives a ONE-WORD message cue and the Receiver correctly identifies the Message on the first guess. A team executing a One-On-One earns an eight space move on the board. (See BOARD MOVES).

FREE-FOR-ALL:
8a. A Free-For-All, marked "F" on the board, gives opposing teams the opportunity to score on the sending team's secret message, but also offers the sending team a chance to score double spaces. (See BOARD MOVES).

8b. If a team lands on a Free-For-All space, the scoring sender immediately gets an additional turn. The Sender draws a Message Card and conceals the message from everyone. The Sender rolls the dice, starts the timer and gives the first message cue. Simultaneously, the Receiver and all other players guess freely and continue guessing until someone correctly guesses the message. In this turn, the Sender may without penalty roll the dice up to three times and send up to three message cues before time runs out. There is no penalty for multiple guesses.
8c. If no one guesses the message before time runs out, regular play resumes and passes to the next team. A team landing on a Free-For-All space as a result of scoring on a Free-For-All does not get a Free-For-All turn.

WINNING THE GAME:
The first team to reach the END space wins the game. In order to move to the END space from a starred (*) space, a team must score a One-On-One.

BOARD MOVES: When a team scores (guesses a message correctly), their playing piece should be moved as follows:
Guessing the message on the first attempt = 4
Guessing the message on the second attempt = 3
Guessing the message on the third attempt = 2
ONE-ON-ONE (one cue word, one guess) = 8
BONUS MESSAGE: add to any move = 2
Winning a FREE-FOR-ALL: Sender's team = 8
Winning a FREE-FOR-ALL: Other teams = 4

VARIATIONS OF PLAY:
1. Three Player Game: Players take turns sending message cues. While one sends cues, the other two compete to guess the secret message as in a FREE-FOR-ALL turn. The player who guesses correctly and the Sender both earn board moves, determined by a toss of the number die. The star on the die counts for 5 spaces.

2. Challenge Play: Whenever a team lands on a FREE-FOR-ALL space on a regular turn, they have the option of playing a Challenge, which is played as follows: The sender shows the message to upcoming senders only and rolls the dice -- once only. All senders must base all their cues on the original dice roll. Until someone scores, senders, in two rounds of turns, either pass or attempt to score as follows:

2a. First round: one-on-one attempts only

2b. Second round (if no team has scored yet): cues using any or all letters.

Players may wish to suspend use of the timer in this variation. If not, restart it for each attempt. The scoring is the same as for a FREE-FOR-ALL. After a Challenge, play resumes in the regular order.