Articulate Express Rules
Articulate Express has a Co-operative set of rules in which all players co-operate together to reach target scores during a 3 ROUND game.
CO-OPERATIVE PLAY
OUTLINE
Players must all work together to achieve a progressively higher score in each of the 3 Rounds. If you succeed in the third Round you can collectively pat yourselves on the back – it’s not easy. In one Round every player on the team has a 30 second turn at describing to the others. The more players there are the higher the target scores. The tables at the bottom of these rules show the cumulative number of correct descriptions the group must achieve by the end of each Round.
THE SCORE ON THE BOARD
The tables below show the cumulative number you must score by the end of each Round – so for 4 people playing the STANDARD game – they need to reach the 8th space by the end of Round 1. In Round 2 they must reach the 18th space (adding 10 to their Round 1 target of 8). In Round 3 they must reach the 30th space to win (adding 12 to their Round 2 target).
TO PLAY
There are three Rounds – in each of which every player has a 30 second turn at describing card entries. One player at a time acts as the DESCRIBER and the others are all GUESSERS.
Please see below (above the number tables at the end) for tweaks to the rules if you’re playing with only 2 or 3 players.
Look at the TARGET TABLES and decide which level you want to play. The TABLE shows the number you must score in ROUND 1 for the number of people playing.
Put the group’s playing piece on the START space on the board.
The youngest player goes first.
1. Turn the timer.
2. The first DESCRIBER takes the first card and describes the entry that is the same colour as the START space (green). As soon as the GUESSERS guess the word the DESCRIBER takes the next card from the pile and describes the same coloured entry and so on until the timer runs out – you must stop the moment the timer runs out.
3. Move the playing piece by the number of correctly guessed words to land on a new colour.
4. The next player becomes the DESCRIBER and they use the words that match the colour of the space the playing piece is now sitting on. Play continues until all the group members have had a turn at describing.
5. If the group does NOT reach the TARGET TOTAL they must return the playing piece to the START space and start Round 1 again.
6. If the group DOES score the TARGET TOTAL for Round 1 (or more) the group goes on to play Round 2 – and tries to reach the next cumulative score from the TARGET TABLE – playing exactly as in Round 1.
a. If the group scores MORE than the TARGET TOTAL in Round 1 they have a head start on reaching the Round 2 total.
7. If the group does NOT score the Round 2 TARGET TOTAL they must return the playing piece to the space that is numbered with the Round 1 TARGET TOTAL and start Round 2 again. i.e. if there are 4 people playing Standard TARGETs they need to return their playing piece to the 8th space.
8. If the group reaches the cumulative TARGET TOTAL for Round 2 (or more) the group goes on to play Round 3 – and tries to reach the Round 3 TARGET score from the TARGET TABLE – playing exactly as in Rounds 1 & 2.
a. If the group has scored MORE than the TARGET TOTAL in Round 2 they have a head start on reaching the Round 3 total.
9. The group only gets ONE try at Round 3. If they reach the TARGET TOTAL they WIN! If they do not reach the TARGET TOTAL – they lose.
For 2 players: during a ROUND – EACH PLAYER has three 30-second description turns. So equivalent to playing with a Team of 6 (2X3). Use the “Team of 6” column in the tables below.
For 3 players: during a ROUND – EACH PLAYER has two 30-second description turns. So equivalent to playing with a Team of 6 (3X2). Use the “Team of 6” column in the tables below.
TARGET TABLES
STANDARD CUMULATIVE SCORES FOR TEAMS OF THIS NUMBER
| Number of players: | 4 | 5 | 2, 3 & 6 | 7 | 8 |
| ROUND 1 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 |
| ROUND 2 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 33 | 38 |
| ROUND 3 | 30 | 38 | 50 | 58 | 66 |
HARDER CUMULATIVE SCORES FOR TEAMS OF THIS NUMBER
| Number of players: | 4 | 5 | 2, 3 & 6 | 7 | 8 |
| ROUND 1 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
| ROUND 2 | 21 | 25 | 31 | 37 | 43 |
| ROUND 3 | 35 | 44 | 56 | 65 | 74 |
DIFFICULT CUMULATIVE SCORES FOR TEAMS OF THIS NUMBER
| Number of players: | 4 | 5 | 2, 3 & 6 | 7 | 8 |
| ROUND 1 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 21 |
| ROUND 2 | 24 | 30 | 37 | 42 | 48 |
| ROUND 3 | 41 | 50 | 61 | 71 | 83 |