Quiddler is a game that deserves a lot more love! It’s challenging and cerebral and a great way to give your brain a workout! Now, if you’ve never heard of this awesome word game before, don’t worry; we’ll be talking you through everything you need to know.
What is The Quiddler Card Game?
Quiddler was only released in late 2021, and while it won plenty of awards, it still felt under the radar for quite a few people. The game might seem like Scrabble at first glance; after all, the aim of the game is pretty much the same; you need to make words.
But the two games are very different in pretty much every other way. You don’t use cards in Scrabble, do you? Each round, players are dealt an increasing number of cards to make the biggest word they can.
Quiddler cards come in two forms; the majority of cards simply contain one letter. But there is a smaller section of special cards that contain double-letter cards. Each card in Quiddler is worth a set number of points, with the more uncommon letter cards being worth more.
Over the course of the game, players will have (hopefully) built plenty of words, and you’ll have to have one player be the scorekeeper to keep track of things. After the 8th round, the final scores are tallied at the end of the game, and the winner is decided.
That’s the basics of how the Quiddler card game worlds. But there are a few extra things we’ll talk you through in the rules section below. For example, you can challenge other players on words you think aren’t in the dictionary, and there are even a few popular house rules you can use.
Quiddler might not be as popular as Monopoly (right now at least), but it’s certainly a very versatile game that is surprisingly easy to customize. Now, before we take a look at the rules, let’s look at how to get a copy of the Quiddler card game.
What You’ll Need To Play?
Since Quiddler is quite a new game finding a copy in shops shouldn’t be overly difficult. However, heading online is always going to be the easiest way. The Quiddler card game should be easy to find, and it’s all you need to play.
Well, you could always bring along a dictionary as well if you wanted? The official Scrabble dictionary is a popular choice. While not strictly necessary to play the game, it will come in handy if anyone challenges a word.
While shopping for this game, you might also come across the Quiddler Junior card game. This is a great option for playing Quiddler with younger children. The rules are basically the same, but the cards are designed to help children with shorter words.
Rules And Gameplay
Here are the rules, set-up, and aim to play the Quiddler card game.
The Aim of The Game
Quiddler has the same aim as Scrabble! You’ll need to score the most points to win the game by making the longest or most complex words possible. However, there are also bonus points up for grabs and plenty of ways you can personalize the game as well. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know.
The Set-Up
Quiddler can be played with up to 8 people and can even make a fun single-player card game as well. To play, the first thing to do is nominate a scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will also be in charge of dealing the cards.
You can do this however you want, but nominating the oldest player is normally recommended. Once you’ve got your scorekeeper, they should shuffle the cards and get ready for the first deal of the game.
Quiddler is normally played over eight rounds, with the number of cards increasing each round. Follow the list below to see how the dealing works:
- Round 1 – 3 Cards
- Round 2 – 4 Cards
- Round 3 – 5 Cards
- Round 4 – 6 Cards
- Round 5 – 7 Cards
- Round 6 – 8 Cards
- Round 7 – 9 Cards
- Round 8 – 10 Cards
Cards should be dealt one at a time in a clockwise motion starting with the player to the left of the scorekeeper. Quiddler can be quite a long game sometimes, so you can always reduce the number of the rounds if you want something a little quicker.
Playing Quiddler
The player to the left of the scorekeeper should go first, with the player order continuing in a clockwise motion. On your turn, you should pick up a new card from the draw pile in the center; after the first round, players can also pick the top card from the discard pile.
In Quiddler, you should ideally aim to “go out” this means you can use all the cards in your hand to spell a word or all but one card. Normally, players will need to discard a card to end their turn, so you can still go out if you have one card you can use.
If you can “go out,” then simply lay your cards down on the table to show what word you’ve spelled. If you have one card left, you can discard it at this point. Once one player has managed to “go out” of the game, the other players get one last turn.
During this final turn, players can put down any words they can spell. They don’t have to use all their cards on this final turn. They can also discard one card after spelling their word; however, if other players can “go out” as well during this final turn, they can.
If no player is able to “go out” during their initial turn, players continue taking a card from the draw pile. The round can’t finish till one player successfully goes out. Now let’s look at how scoring works.
Quiddler Scoring
Scoring in Quiddler is pretty self-explanatory, but there are some essential things to remember. First, each letter card will have a number showing how many points it is worth. These points are added together to form your score.
But there are two bonuses that come into play as well; these are both worth 10 points. The first bonus is for the longest word put down, and the second is for the player who puts down the most words.
During the first few rounds, players will likely be only able to build one word. However, when you get more cards, you will likely be able to build multiple per round. This doesn’t impact “going out” either, as long as you can use all your cards.
Bonuses aren’t awarded if two (or more) players have the same total of words played or the same longest word. However, players with cards remaining in their hand after a round will have those points deducted from their total round score.
That’s why it’s important to remember to discard the card worth the most points if you can’t use it. The scorekeeper should keep track of everyone’s score during the game. After the final round, the total scores are tallied up, and the winner will be declared.
Penalties And House Rules
You can challenge a word at any point if you don’t think it’s in the dictionary. If it isn’t, that word’s score is deducted from the player’s total as a penalty. However, if you make a challenge and are incorrect, the word’s total is deducted from your score!
House rules are easy to use in Quiddler, and you can use your imagination and get creative. Some ideas are to say players can only spell names or can’t spell words with more than one vowel in them. Feel free to get creative if you want to add a new twist to the game.
Quiddler – A Splendid Scrabble Alternative!
Quiddler is a modern marvel and a great alternative to Scrabble. The game is sure to get you thinking and will make a fun addition to your next family game night!
