
                    SCRABBLE RULES FOR 2 TO 4 PLAYERS. 

CONTENTS: Gameboard, 100 letter tiles, letter bag, 4 racks 

In Scrabble, players form interlocking words crossword fashion on the
board using letter tiles of different values. Each player competes for
high score by taking advantage of the letter values, as well as the
premium squares on the board. The value of any letter placed on a light 
blue (dark blue) square gets multiplied by two (by three). The value of
any word passing over an orange square (red square) gets multiplied
by two (by three). The latter rule is applied after having taken into
account the effect of blue squeres. Any player who simpultaneously 
places his or her seven letter tiles gets a "scrabble", i.e. a bonus of
50 points in addition to the word score. In a 2-player game, a good 
player scores in the 300-400 point range.

SETUP: Turn all letter tiles facedown at the side of the board or pour
them into the bag or another container and shuffle. Draw for first
play. The player drawing the letter nearest the beginning of the
alphabet plays first. A blank tile supersedes all other tiles. Return
the exposed letters to the pool and reshuffle. Each player then draws
seven new letters and places them in his or her rack.

GAME PLAY:
1. The first player combines two or more of his or her letters to form
a word, and places it on the board to read either across or down with
one letter on the center square. Diagonal words are not permitted.

2. A player completes a turn by counting and announcing the score for
the turn. The player then draws as many new letters as played, thus
always keeping seven letters in his or her rack.

3. Play passes to the left. The second player, and then each in turn,
adds one or more letters to those already played to form new
words. All letters played in a turn must be placed in one row across
or down the board, to form one complete word. If, at the same time,
they touch others letters in adjacent rows, they must form complete
words, crossword fashion, with all such letters. The player gets full
credit for all words formed or modified on his or her turn.

4. New words may be formed by: 

   a. Adding one or more letters to a word or letters already on the board. 

   b. Placing a word at right angles to a word already on the
board. The new word must use one of the letters already on the board
or must add a letter to it.
 
   c. Placing a complete word parallel to a word already played so
that adjacent letters also form complete words.

5. No letter may be shifted after it has been played. 

6. The two blank tiles may be used as any letters. When playing a
blank, the player must state which letter it represents. It remains
that letter for the rest of the game.

7. A player may use a turn to exchange all, some, or none of the
letters in his or her rack. To do this, place your discarded letter(s)
apart, facedown. Draw the same number of letters from the pool, then 
mix your discarded letters with those in the pool. This ends your turn.

8. A player may decide to miss his or her turn, especially if he or she
cannot form any valid word.

