Unspeakable Words

SETUP: Each player starts with 0 points and 0 sanity tokens (typically starting at 5). Place the letter tiles face-down in a central pool. Set the sanity tracker where both players can see it.

GAMEPLAY: On your turn, draw letter tiles one at a time from the pool to spell a word. Each letter has a point value printed on it. After spelling your word, you must roll the sanity die. If you roll successfully (avoiding the "madness" symbol), you score the points for your word and keep your sanity intact. If you fail the sanity check, you lose sanity tokens equal to the difficulty of your word (longer words are riskier). Players alternate turns drawing and spelling words.

WORD REQUIREMENTS: Words must be valid English words found in a standard dictionary. You cannot reuse letters from previous turns—each turn requires drawing new tiles. You may pass your turn without spelling a word to avoid the sanity roll, but you gain no points.

SANITY MECHANIC: Sanity tokens represent your character's grip on reality. When you fail a sanity check, discard tokens equal to the word's length minus 3 (minimum 1). If your sanity reaches 0, you're eliminated from the game. Other players continue until only one remains or time expires.

WINNING CONDITIONS: The player with the highest score when the letter pool is exhausted wins. Alternatively, if you're playing with a time limit (20-30 minutes), the player with the most points when time expires wins. If only one player maintains sanity while others go mad, that player wins automatically regardless of score.

2-PLAYER ADAPTATION: In the standard game designed for 3-4 players, the 2-player version intensifies competition by making sanity more precious—you cannot rely on other players to deplete the tile pool. Each turn matters more strategically, as you're directly competing for the remaining high-value letters.