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WORD GIRDLE™ – WORD PLACEMENT RULES

  1. There may never be more than 7 words in The Girdle.
  2. Each word in The Girdle must be 2 to 7 letters in length.
  3. Words are read orthogonally from left to right and top to bottom.
  4. Each word must be scored immediately after it is placed.
  5. Words 2 to 7 must use at least one letter from another word already in The Girdle.
  6. During a turn, letters may only be placed where they will create NEW words; eg. an ‘S’ may NOT be added to the end of a word to lengthen it during a later turn, BUT an ‘S’ could be placed next to a letter such as ‘I’ or ‘U’ in another word to create a NEW word such as ‘IS’ or ‘US’.
  7. Words must be valid according to a published print or online dictionary.

A. Locate 1st Word Position

Locate the 1st word icon in the Word Girdle™— this is where your 1st word MUST be placed.

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B1. Select Letters from A-Z Section

Select 2 to 7 letters from the A-Z section to make a word of 2 to 7 letters in the 1st word column or row in the Word Girdle™.

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B2. Place 1st Word

Place your selected letters in the spaces of the 1st word column or row, coloring the A- Z letters in as you use them in your word.

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C. Track 1st Word Score

  1. Add your word to the 1st row of the Score tracker.
  2. Tally the Victory Point values of the letters.
  3. Determine the word Length Bonus or Penalty, then calculate your word Total score.
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D. Activate New Letters

For each letter you used and colored in, activate an additional letter in the Supply by coloring in the dot below the letter. Activated letters are available for use in words 2 to 7.

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E. 2nd Word

  1. Locate the 2nd word icon in the Word Girdle™ — this is where you MUST place your 2nd word.
  2. Select 1 to 6 letters from the A-Z section and / or the activated Supply section to make a word of 2 to 7 letters in the 2nd word column or row. Your 2nd word MUST use a letter placed in your 1st word.
  3. Place your selected letters in the spaces of the 2nd word column or row, coloring the letters in as you use them in your word.
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F. Track 2nd Word Score

  1. Add your word to the 2nd row of the Score tracker.
  2. Tally the Victory Point values of the letters.
  3. Determine the word Length Bonus or Penalty and calculate your word Total score.
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G. Activate New Letters

For each letter you used and colored in, activate an additional letter in the Supply by coloring in the dot below the letter.

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H. Words 3 to 7

Continue selecting letters, placing words, scoring your words and activating letters until you have placed EXACTLY 7 words in the Word Girdle™.

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I. Sub-Total Words

Tally your word scores to arrive at your Sub-Total Words.

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J. 6 & 7-Letter Word Additional Bonuses

  1. For each word of 6 or 7 letters in length that you placed in the Word Girdle, if the Score Tracker contains a checkbox in the lower left corner of the Length Bonus / Penalty box for the word, cross out ONE unused letter in the A-Z or Supply sections.
  2. As you cross out the unused letter(s), color in the checkbox in the related Length Bonus / Penalty box for the word — this helps lower the Unused letter total used to calculate your final score.
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K. Unused Letter Costs

  1. Count the unused letters of each Victory Point value remaining in the A-Z and Supply.
  2. Add the counts to the appropriate boxes of the Unused row and multiply each total by its Victory Point value.
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L. Unused Letter Costs Total

Total the Unused letter sub-totals of each VP (Victory Point) value in the far right box of the Unused row.

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M. Final Score

Subtract the Unused total from the Sub-Total Words to arrive at your Final Score.

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N. Your Difficulty Rating

Rate the difficulty of the Word Girdle™ challenge.

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O. Share Your Words & Word Girdle™!

  1. Write a sentence, haiku or limerick that uses the words in your solution.
  2. Share your sentence, haiku or limerick and a picture of your solution with your Word Girdle™ friends!
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