Game: Word Jam

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thorndor — 2008-04-16T04:21:49+00:00

front of rulebook with contents list

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thorndor — 2008-04-16T04:02:57+00:00

back of box

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Scrabblette — 2007-09-05T01:06:21+00:00

Word Jam

Thread: Re: Rules Jam

wallover — 2007-07-12T07:42:22+00:00

Paul Mackie wrote:
We then ran into some difficulty when the topic of “verbs” was drawn in the second last turn. Guidance in the rules stated that conjugated forms were not allowed, ...
Hello Paul, I gone to the rules:
"Verbs and Adjectives: verbs, but only the infinitive tense and adjectives."
It's seems clear, I think you have read this:
"Free: all words in the dictionary. Names and conjugated verbs are not valid."
Because conjugated verbs are not in a dictionary :-)
Of course, if you don't like this you are free to change and make you own "Style" cards.

Paul Mackie wrote:
...but only after multiple rules issues were fixed.
Please tell me something about this. Some reviewers explain the game very well and read them can help you.

Best regards, WO

Thread: Rules Jam

Paul Mackie — 2007-07-04T04:11:52+00:00

An Arabian Nights-themed word game - what??
Ok, so the idea is that a topic is drawn (eg., food), then five letter cards are drawn (random consonants) with each assigned a value between 1 and 3, and players must try to work out the most valuable word they can formed from a combination of these letters. The first player to claim they have one announces this word and its value, and they then assume the mantle of Ali Babar, who believes he knows the secret word to open the cave. All other players must then immediately decide whether they join Ali Babar’s gang, or instead join the thieves. Then, after 20s worth of sand runs out, the first thief to Ali Babar’s right either announces a higher-scoring word than Ali Babar, or else they pass, and hand off the privelege to the next thief. Whichever team has scored the best will open the vault and score points that round (with the higher points value going to the leader (first chooser)).

Simple enough in principle, but there was considerable confusion around the sequence of play and when the sand timer was supposed to start. The rules might also be flawed in that they fail to recognise or reward a player who thinks of a better word, but is simply seated further clockwise from the first caller.

We then ran into some difficulty when the topic of “verbs” was drawn in the second last turn. Guidance in the rules stated that conjugated forms were not allowed, and so some discussion ensued over exactly what a conjugated verb was. As an additional task I agreed to check Wikipedia and report on this here, and the answer seems to be that a conjugated verb is simply one that is modified by the object or subject of the sentence. Hence for the verb “to be”, conjugated forms include “am”, “is”, and “are ” (as in, I am; he is; they are).
This is all very interesting, but doesn’t seem to help the game any. I suspect that Word Jam was originally published in another language (French, perhaps?) in which the conjugated verb issue is more significant than it is in English, and that the rules were not really playtested in English once they were translated. But of course that’s just speculation.

In summary then, I could see myself playing Word Jam again, but only after multiple rules issues were fixed. I doubt, however, that anyone would have the inclination to do this.
10 mins rules; 20 mins game time.
Results: Richard: 21. Brad, Paul, Neil: 16. Brian: 15. Alex: 9. Pat: 8.

(Originally posted in The Mine Shaft Gap.)

Thread: 3-4 players variant (translated from author original one)

lycaone — 2006-01-26T17:22:47+00:00

WORD JAM

Rules for three - four players.
In order to play in three or four players you have to apply
each turn rules of turn eight and last turn, applying the score of the
Sesame Card in a different way.

After the usual preparation each players chooses if play like Ali Baba'
or like Thief, turning secretely is own card and keeping it under his hand. When a player wants to
decleare his word, he says "Open Sesame!", he says the word and its value are tallied and the sand timer is started.
When the time is over, every player shows his bet card and,
starting from the player sitting to the left of the player that said "Open Sesame!", and proceding clockwise say is own word
if they find another. At the end of the turn the player who finds the best word as Ali Baba' will
take the main score, and who finds the best word as Thief will take the secondary one. The eigth
turn is a bit different in this variant too. You put away the bet cards, it is proceeded with the
usual setup and everybody shut up until the term of the sand timer. The player who has the lower
score begins to pronounce his word for first and then the other players clockwise. The best
word will have the main score and the second one will have the secondary score. At the end of the
eigth turns the player with the higher score will be the winner.

Thread: Word Jam: For Those Gamers Looking to Replace Scrabble

Verkisto — 2005-10-05T00:07:03+00:00

I had never heard of Word Jam before seeing it on sale at a store, so I did some research into the game. I like word games, and the description of the game here at the Geek seemed to be Euro enough to get other people interested in it, too. It plays between 5 and 12 people, and even if I couldn't get my gaming friends to play it, I figured it sounded enough like a party game to get family interested in it, and hey, it was only $8.

In a nutshell, you have 5 cards on the table, with 1 gold, 2 gold, 3 gold, 3 gold, and 2 swords on them. These are place marker cards, and never leave the table. You then deal out 5 consonant cards, 1 each above each of the aforementioned cards, and each letter is worth as much gold as indicated by the card beneath them. The card above the 2 swords cannot be used when making words. You also have a deck of cards with categories listed on them, from which you draw one each turn. You create a word within those parameters, and the first person to think he or she has a good word calls out the word, and points are counted. If the word meets the requirements, a 20-second timer is turned, and the other players decide in silence to vote for the person who called out the word, or to side with one of the other people in the game, who might come up with a better word. The person who could come up with a better word can be yourself, so it's fine to side against the leader if you have a better word in mind. This procedure is done in a blind-bidding/simultaneous reveal sort of way. In other words, is that word good enough to get the highest score? If you think you can come up with a better word, you can vote against the leader and steal the points from that player, and whomever votes with the person who gets the highest word gets points, as well, though not as much as the leader.

I like this game, because it's fun, and tense, and gets people laughing. There's an aspect to the game where you can challenge words (ultimately, players can vote for whether or not a word is applicable to the category), but you have to be fast, and have a good vocabulary, to win the game. I think some people may be turned off by the time element of the game (20 seconds isn't a lot of time to think of a word if you're not a quick thinker), but if you get the right people together in a crowd, I think this would be a huge success.

I can see that this wouldn't be for everyone, in the same respect that Boggle isn't for everyone, but I think it's fun, and it could be a good game to play with the family if you're burned out on either Scrabble or Boggle.

(Review based on one play.)

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wallover — 2005-08-07T15:28:31+00:00

Mayfair Edition

Thread: User Review

TomVasel — 2005-02-20T15:37:15+00:00

I have a lot of party games, many of them favorites of those I introduce them to. Sadly, however, many of them are restricted by the number of players - most working well with six people or less. I’m always on the lookout for something that I can take with me to parties. Word Jam (DaVinci and Mayfair Games, 2004 - Walter Obert) provides a lot of punch for how small it is. It’s not often that you play a word game that accommodates up to twelve people easily, but Word Jam does so effortlessly.

The problem with many word games is that they do not work well if one of the players is a word genius. However, using alliances, bluffing a bit, and quick responses can help one even the court. I really enjoyed this game, and found that it can be taught and played in a very short time. The setup seems a little odd, but it’s actually a rather simple game to run. If I have very little room when traveling, this is one of the best choices I can make to take with me.

Five cards are set up in the middle of the table, one with one coin on it, another with two coins, two with three coins, and one with a pair of crossed swords. A stack of consonant cards (twenty-one) are shuffled and placed near by. Each player is given an Ali Baba / Thieves card, and another deck of fifteen style cards is shuffled and placed face-down. One Cave card, with eight columns on it - each with two numbers - is placed under a “Sesame” card, which covers all but the first column. A timer is placed on the table, and the first round is ready to begin.

At the beginning of each round, five of the consonant cards are placed face down next to each of the coin and sword cards. The top style card is turned over, and the topic on the card is read. Each “style” card is of a different category. Examples include:
- Animals - any animal name found in the dictionary
- Singers - last names of singers or names of bands
- 8 Letters - Words that are exactly eight letters long and found in the dictionary
- 1 Gold Coin - Words found in the dictionary that start with the consonant next to the one gold coin card.
- Fictional Characters - names of people from movies, books, etc.
- And seven more...
The consonant card next to each card is flipped over. Players then immediately try to think of a word that contains the most of the consonants next to the coin cards, especially the higher valued ones. The word may not have the consonant that appears on the card next to the crossed swords. As soon as one player thinks of a word, they place their Ali Baba card on the table and state the word. They become “Ali Baba” for this round. The points for the word are calculated - with the letters on the table scoring points equal to the number of coins on the matching card for each time they appear in the word. All the other players then immediately and secretly place their card on the table, covering it with their hand - with either the Ali Baba side up or the thief side up.

Players who place their card with the Ali Baba side up are basically trusting the person who stated the word, and sticking with them. The thieves are trying to come up with a better word. The twenty-second timer is flipped, and all the thieves try to think of a word that fits the category and is worth more points than the word that “Ali Baba” said. When the time is up, each thief must state in clockwise order their word. The thief with the highest value word (as long as it is higher than Ali Baba’s) scores points (recorded on scrap paper) equal to the highest visible number on the cave card. All other thieves score points equal to the highest yellow visible number on the cave card. If none of the thieves have a higher valued word (or if there are no thieves), then Ali Baba scores the highest visible number, with all the people supporting him scoring the highest yellow number on the card.

After scoring, the consonant cards are reshuffled, and five new ones are laid out face down. The next style card is flipped over, and the cave card is moved over one column, revealing more scoring numbers. The first seven rounds all occur in this manner. On the eighth round, all players secretly pick the Ali Baba side or the Thief side BEFORE the round begins. The round proceeds as normal, but each player gives a word. The thief with the highest valued word scores four points, and the player with Ali Baba showing with the highest valued word scores six points. Points are then totaled, and the player with the highest score wins the game!

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: As I said earlier, I really like how compact the game is. It’s simply a small box that still provides ample room for all the cards and the timer. The cards themselves are of good quality, and the different decks and types of cards all have different colored backs, making them a cinch to sort out. The artwork is fairly comical and adds a bit of theme (if possible) to the game. The only thing I wasn’t thrilled about were the letters themselves. Some of them could get confusing when viewed upside down. Dots were placed on the “M” and “W” to show which side was up, but in the heat of the moment these things can easily be forgotten. I just usually pause the game long enough to clearly explain to everyone just which letters are which.

2.) Rules: The rules are fairly lengthy (they aren’t that long but compared to the simplicity of the game they are), but a good portion of them is just a detailed setup and explanation of the different styles. I was thankful for the style descriptions; they told EXACTLY what words were allowed. Arguments are settled by votes, but rarely have I run across arguments in the game. The rules did include examples, which helped me easily teach the game in less than a minute.

3.) Players: One of the biggest advantages of the game is the fact that it supports up to twelve players. As long as everyone can see the letters clearly, the added players are no problem. A twelve-player game (and I’ve done it) doesn’t take much longer than a five-player game (which is the game minimum). Having stated that, it does mean that Word Jam does have a minimum restriction; so if you’re looking for a party game that works well for four, then you’re out of luck.

4.) Thinking on Your Feet: Speed is of essence in this game. Players want to be the first to shout out a word; but if you just shout the first word you think of, the thieves will easily bypass you with a better one. Once someone states a good word, the thieves start sweating a bit. That twenty-second timer is pretty stinkin’ fast! You’d be surprised how hard it is to not only think of a word that has a high calculated value, but to think of a word that even is IN the category!

5.) Strategy and Fun Factor: The game plays very quickly, in less than thirty minutes - thanks to the time constraints. That, and the fact that it can handle twelve people, really makes it an excellent choice to bring out at a large gathering. Word Gab isn’t simply about who can think of the best words, however - it’s knowing which side to join. Is the word that Ali Baba said good enough, or will a thief do better? Knowing which side of the card to play, and when, can decide whether you win the game or not. The game flows fast enough, and isn’t brain-burning enough, that it’s quite fun. All the people I’ve introduced it to have enjoyed it.

It’s always good to have a small-sized party game that works in large groups. Word Jam works well, even for those who haven’t memorized the dictionary. Categories such as “Singers”, “Things you See”, and “Cinema” help pop culture people compete with the word brainiacs. Either way, the game is over quickly enough, and people have a good time and are involved the entire time. Considering the inexpensive price amongst all these other positive factors, I would say that Word Jam is a very good idea when searching for a party game.

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games.”

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RoSKoMaNTe — 2004-12-13T13:49:34+00:00

set-up, some letters, box, 20" hourglass, some arguments.

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wallover — 2004-11-29T12:58:50+00:00

The author at Essen 2004 with a young tuscan friend called Leo

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wallover — 2004-11-29T12:58:50+00:00

The guy on the right is Leonardo, a young tuscan author

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Aldie — 2004-11-28T14:18:31+00:00