What is word on the street game

Components

• 17 Letter Tiles
• 216 Category Cards (432 categories)
• Divider Card
• Card Tray
• Timer (30 Seconds)
• Game Board
• Rule Sheet

Object of the Game

Capture Letter Tiles by selecting words that contain the desired letters and pulling the letters off the street before the opposing team can pull them back.

The first team to capture eight Letter Tiles wins Word on the Street!

Setup

1. Divide the players into two teams. If there is an odd number of players, decide which team should have the extra player.

2. Place the game board between the two teams, as shown in the graphic below.

   

3. Place each Letter Tile on the corresponding letter on the «Median Strip» (middle lane) of the game board.

4. Select which side of the Category Cards will be used for the game. The categories on the blue side are a bit more challenging than those on the green side. Place the Category Cards in the card tray, with the selected side facing forward.

5. Place the timer and the card tray at one end of the game board, within reach of both teams.

6. Determine which team will take the first turn.

Game Play

Teams alternate taking turns «on the street» until one team has captured eight Letter Tiles. A turn on the street consists of the following five steps:

A player from the team on the street draws the first card from the card tray, and places it on the table, with the selected color facing up, and reads the category aloud. At the same time as the card is drawn, a player from the opposing team flips over the timer.

Players from the team on the street brainstorm words that fit the category printed on the Category Card. See Allowable Words.

The team must agree on one word, say the word aloud, and move each Letter Tile that corresponds with a letter in the selected word, before the time runs out. See Moving the Tiles.

When time runs out, a player from the opposing team says «Stop» and the team on the street must immediately stop moving Letter Tiles. That team’s turn is now over and the Category Card is placed in the back of the card tray. See Challenging a Word Selection or Spelling.

The opposing team becomes the new team on the street and begins its turn with Step 1 of Playing the Game. Note: Make sure that all the sand in the timer has run through before starting a new turn.

Allowable Words

• Word selections must be in the form of a single word.

• Any word in the English language is allowed, including words that are capitalized, such as the names of persons and places.

• Singular and plural forms of words are both allowed as long as the selected word fits the category named on the Category Card.

  For example, «Olives» would be allowed for the Category Card «A Pizza Topping» because olives are generally considered one topping. However, «Pineapples» would not be allowed because it is generally written as «Pineapple» when listed as a pizza topping.

• Present and past tense forms of words are allowed as long as the selected word fits the category named on the Category Card.

  For example, «Cooked» would be allowed for the Category Card «Something a Player did Today» because it is the correct tense, but «Cooked» would not be the correct tense for the Category Card «Something you can do with an Onion».

• Hyphenated words are only allowed when the hyphen is part of a name, such as in «Zeta-Jones» or «Winston-Salem».

• Compound words are allowed because they are a single word.

  For example, «Sandbox» is allowed because it’s a single word, but «Sand Dollar» is not allowed because it is two words.

Challenging a Word Selection or Spelling

During the brainstorming phase of the game, players from either team are free to suggest any words they wish. After the time is up and the tiles have been moved, if the opposing team thinks that the team on the street has made an error in either spelling or word selection, they may raise a «Challenge».

A challenge may result in either the team on the street having to move tiles back, or the team raising the challenge losing their next turn.

Spelling, Hyphenated Word, and Compound Word Challenges:

All players should work together to attempt to determine if the selection is a single word and is spelled correctly. If the dispute is not resolved by consensus, a dictionary or other reference may be checked.

• If the spelling is found to be correct, the Letter Tiles remain in their new positions and the team raising the challenge loses their next turn.

• If the spelling is found to be incorrect, all tiles moved before the error remain in their new positions and the tile moved in error and all subsequent tiles are returned to their previous positions.

• If the selection is in fact two words rather than a compound word, or is not allowed because of the use of the hyphen, all Letter Tiles for the word, or words, are returned to their previous positions.

Word Selection Challenge:

If the opposing team challenges a word selection, the team on the street must explain why they believe their selection fits the category on the card. If a majority of the players accept the explanation, the Letter Tiles remain in their new positions.

If a majority of the players reject the explanation, all Letter Tiles for the word are returned to their previous positions. If there is an equal number for and against, the Letter Tiles for the word are returned to their previous positions and the team on the street restarts their turn with a new card.

Moving the Tiles

Each Letter Tile is moved one space, toward the team on the street, for each time that letter appears in the selected word.

Sidetracking

Part of the fun, and challenge, of Word on the Street is trying to throw the team on the street «off course».

During the brainstorming phase, the opposing team is encouraged to suggest words for the category, regardless of how helpful or distracting they may be.

For example, the opposing team might suggest «Red» for the Category Card «A Color» because it would limit the team on the street to only two Letter Tiles. The opposing team might even suggest «Rhinoceros», which does not work at all, but might distract the team on the street and waste their valuable time!

Although «Sidetracking» is permitted during word selection, in the spirit of the game, players should be honest when addressing questions of allowable words. See Allowable Words.

End of the Game

The first team to capture eight Letter Tiles wins Word on the Street!

Continue Reading

How do you play word on the street game?

What is word on the street game?

Word on the street is a game that encourages kids to answer a question with answers that start with a certain letter of the alphabet. My 6 1/2 year old can read and come up with interesting answers in this game, so he has to be able to read to use it.

What word has all 26 letters in it?

There are 26 letters of the English alphabet in an English panogram. “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is a well-known English pangram. Most discotheques don’t provide music.

Is word collect a free game?

Word Collect is one of the best free word games.

What’s the word on the street Sesame Street?

A regular feature on Sesame Street was What’s the Word on the Street? The corporate sponsor spots precede the segment hosted by Murray Monster.

How do you play Street Junior on word?

How do you get word on the street?

Pick words that contain the letters you want and pull them from the street before the opposing team can pull them back. Word on the Street was won by the team that captured eight Letter Tiles.

How much money do you start with in life junior?

There is a person who is a bank teller. The player with the most money will be the bank player. Each person is given $10,000 by the bankers after they organize the money. Each player has a choice of a peg or a car to put in the driver’s seat.

How long is the timer in Word on the street?

How long is the timer in last word?

The timer emits an annoying buzz after a five to ten second period, but it’s neat. The cards are of good quality, and the box is large enough to hold everything.

How long is the taboo timer?

Can you tell me how long the Taboo timer is? When you flip it, the timer lasts one minute.

What are some good categories?

When playing the categories game, you can use these categories: countries, games and sports, cities, animals, food and drink, verbs, adjectives, jobs, famous people, things you find in the bathroom/ kitchen, and fruit and vegetables.

What are the rules for outburst?

Two teams are playing a game of quick thinking and talking. Each team is given a topic and given a minute to answer questions. You will score one point for your team if you yell out one of the answers.

What is that game where you have to guess the word?

Taboo is a word, guessing, and party game that was published by theParker Brothers. The goal of the game is for the player to have their partners guess the word on the player’s card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card.

HOW TO PLAY

WHAT’S INCLUDED

The game Word On The Street should come with the following components. These are based off of the original game and don’t include components from any expansion packs or different editions.

HOW TO WIN

OFFICIAL GAME RULES

COMMENTS / QUESTIONS

OTHER GAME RULES

When we here at iSlaytheDragon put together our gift guide last Christmas, I chose Word on the Street as my recommendation for best social game. After I picked it, I realized that we’d never properly reviewed it. Whoops. It took a while, but Word on the Street is finally getting the review it deserves… Just in time for “Christmas in July.”

How It Plays

Word on the Street is a simple tug-of-war-like word game. The object of the game is to the be first player/team to collect eight letter tiles by coming up with words that will bring those tiles off the board and into your possession on your side of the street.

The playing area consists of a long board designed to look like a four lane road. The letter tiles are placed in the “median” at the beginning of the game. (The tiles are bakelite tiles that are chunky and fun to play with.) Most of the letters of the alphabet are in the game, except for vowels and the hard to use J, Q, X, and Z. Before play begins, decide if you will use the blue or green side of the category cards and arrange them in the card tray accordingly. (The categories on the blue side are a bit more difficult than those on the green side.) Players divide up into two teams (if more than two players are playing) and play begins.

On your turn, draw the first card from the category tray, read the category aloud, and place it on the table, category side up, so that all can see. At the same time, the opposing player/team flips over the sand timer to start your 30 seconds.

Now you must brainstorm to come up with words that fit the category you’ve drawn. Once a word is chosen, say the word aloud and move each letter tile that corresponds to a letter in the word one space toward you for each occurrence of the letter. So if, for example, on the first turn of the game when all letters are still in play, the word “Success” is chosen, the S tile is moved three spaces toward you (which would also remove it from the board, winning you that tile), and the C tile is moved two spaces. U and E, being vowels, aren’t on the board so no moves are made. (The chosen word may contain letters which are not on the board or which have already been won by other players. Those letters are simply ignored.)

When the timer runs out, an opposing player says, “Stop” and you must stop moving letter tiles, even if more tiles could be moved. If the opposing players wish, they may challenge either your word choice (i.e. if it doesn’t match the category) or your spelling of the word. If the challengers are incorrect, the tiles are left in their new positions and the challengers may lose their next turn, depending on the type of challenge issued. If the challengers are correct, any tiles in question must be moved back to their previous positions and play passes to the challengers.

Once any challenges are resolved, the category card is returned to the back of the tray and play passes to the next player/team, unless that team lost their turn due to an unsuccessful challenge, in which case the current player/team takes another turn. Play continues back and forth until one player/team has captured eight letter tiles.

Word Up or Words Fail Me?

Word on the Street is a very different entry in the word game genre. Most word games either challenge your knowledge of big/obscure words (Scrabble), or they’re a speed race to find the most words (Boggle). In either case, you’re rewarded for having the biggest, weirdest vocabulary. This is often frustrating to players who simply can’t compete on weird word knowledge alone and it’s a primary reason why word games are often the most polarizing games on the market. You either love them because you win all the time, or you hate them because you lose all the time. There’s almost no middle ground. Word on the Street is, pun intended, the best middle of the road word game I’ve ever seen.

What makes Word on the Street different from other word games is that it forces you to come up with words that will move the most letters, not just words that use every letter in your possession or the letters already on the table. Even more challenging, the word you come up with has to fit the category card that you draw. So while the word, “Success” might lure that S-tile over to your side of the board, it’s not going to help you if the category is “A Color.” A winning plan must be two-pronged: Coming up with a word that matches your category and which also contains the letters you need to move tiles to your side of the board. The good news is that, unlike in many word games, proper nouns, place names, etc. are allowed as long as they fit the category and adhere to the other rules of word choice. This opens up your choices quite a bit.

While a big vocabulary is helpful in Word on the Street, it’s not required to win the game. This game doesn’t simply challenge your word knowledge, it also challenges your general knowledge and your ability to think quickly. It’s helpful to know many different items that could fit many different categories because you’ll have a better chance of coming up with words that will move the most letters. Unlike in Scrabble, however, they can all be common words like Success, Pudding, or Busses and you’ll be rewarded. And that “common touch” is part of what makes this game so great. A team of engineers can play against a team of word nerds and still be competitive. Throw in the timer that makes you think quickly under pressure and you have almost a perfect hybrid of trivia, word, and party game. 

About that timer… Thirty seconds might seem like a lot, but when you first have to come up with a word, spell it, and then move the corresponding tiles, you realize that it’s not much time at all. I don’t know how many times I’ve come up with a great word, only to start moving tiles and have the other player say, “Stop.” That’s painful, especially when you could have won a tile if you’d been able to keep moving. You have to be accurate and quick to win this game. This isn’t Scrabble where you can spend 20 minutes laboring over the board and trying to come up with the absolute best word to play. A lot of time in Word on the Street, you’re just going to have to play something that’s good enough.

Further complicating things, you need to think ahead a little bit and try to decide whether you want your next turn to help you or hinder your opponent. If you see that your opponent is getting close to capturing their seventh or eighth tile, you might not want to come up with a word that moves tiles for you. Instead, you might want to come up with a word that will back some of your opponent’s tiles up so that you can buy yourself more time in the game. But this isn’t something you want to be trying to decide once you’re on the clock. You need to think ahead and know what your goal is before that timer is flipped over.

As if all of this isn’t enough, you get to try to bother your opponents and try to lure them into mistakes. It’s called “Sidetracking.” During the brainstorming phase, opposing players can suggest words for the category, even if they don’t fit or are silly and distracting. You’re trying to get the other team to settle for a less-advantageous word, or else simply distract them enough so that their time runs out before they come up with something great.

The timer, word choice, strategic options, distractions… It’s a lot to manage; much more than is found in most party or word games. The game moves fast, though, despite all that’s going on. The timer keeps the game moving and prevents someone from bogging things down as they search for the perfect word. Most games end in 20-30 minutes, making it a good filler or get-together game. It scores high on the “let’s go again” meter, so it may end up consuming much of a night as teams try to avenge their losses.

The box says that Word on the Street is for ages 12 and up and I’d say that’s fair. While younger kids might be able to play, the game does reward a broader life experience. Little kids might not know enough “Things That Come In A Can,” for example, to be competitive and they may not be able to come up with words quickly enough. However, you could put younger kids on a team with adults and older kids so that they can feel like part of the group, even if they can’t contribute as much. And they might even learn something, as this game does promote building a bigger vocabulary and can be a bit educational.

There are a couple of negatives to Word on the Street, but they are mostly nitpicky. First is the relatively small number of category cards in the game. While there are many words you can use for each category, the categories are going to get repetitive if you play this often. That doesn’t mean that the game isn’t replayable. The word you need to come up with for each category will be different based on the tiles available and their placement on the street. For example, using the word “Yellow” for the category “A Color” won’t be the best choice for every game because the “L” tile may already be off the board when you draw that category. But while the game is very replayable as it is, you may just get tired of seeing the same categories over and over again. Thankfully, there is an expansion available if you want some more cards.

A related issue is the ability for experienced players to game the system a bit by memorizing the most useful words for each category. For example, a good word for the category “A Container” might be Tupperware. If you need to move the P and R tiles, this would be a good choice. An experienced player might be more readily able to come up with that word, having seen the category before and committed that option to memory. Granted, this isn’t likely to happen often or even be useful (if you pull the Container category and P and R have already been taken, the word “Tupperware” isn’t going to help you much), but it can happen and experienced players may have a bit of an edge if they’re good at remembering useful words.

One other minor drawback of the game is that, like many party games, the challenge system relies on players forming a consensus about what counts and what doesn’t. A dictionary can be helpful here, but sometimes it’s going to be a judgment call, especially when the challenge concerns whether the chosen word fits the category or not. While many things will be clear, there will always be those cases where someone who wants to be a jerk can impose his or her feelings on the group and penalize other players on questionable grounds. If you play with bad sports or people who like to make other people miserable, this might be a game to avoid or else come up with some bulletproof house rules to keep it fun.

For a game that will take five minutes to explain (at most), Word on the Street has a lot going on and quite a bit to think about. Yes, it’s a party game, but it’s a party game that requires you and your teammates to strategize a bit and think in order to do well. It’s not simply about shouting out answers or being the best actor or illustrator in the group. If you play individually, Word on the Street can actually become a fairly thinky game, although there’s no chance of analysis paralysis dragging the game down because that timer keeps turns moving. I guess the greatest compliment this game can get comes from someone like my friend who refuses to play word games with me because I usually win due to the fact that I have a larger vocabulary. After I coaxed him into playing a game of Word on the Street (and he won) he said, “Sure, I’ll play it again.”