Round & Revel / words
Carry the Letter
Build a four-word trail through four different categories.
Planning estimate only. This edition has not had a live group playtest.
What you need
24 printed round cards; One sheet of paper and a pen per player; A 90-second timer; A dictionary or agreed dictionary website for disputed words, if available
How to play
Print and prepare
Print one deck of round cards; all players may see the active card. Keep the sample-answer pages separate and out of sight until the relevant round has been scored. Blank paper is sufficient for answer sheets.
The aim
Write four nouns that fit four categories. The first starts with the card’s opening letter. Each later word starts with the last letter of the word you wrote immediately before it. Correct words earn points; correct answers nobody else used in the same box earn a bonus. Play six rounds.
Set up
Shuffle the 24 round cards without looking at the sample answers. Give everyone paper and a pen. Each player draws four numbered boxes for a round and a place to record its score. Choose one person to keep time; they still play. Agree on a dictionary or the group-vote fallback before beginning.
Reveal and write
Turn over one card, read its opening letter and four categories aloud, and leave it visible. Start a 90-second timer. Everyone privately writes one noun per box, in the printed category order. You may erase or change any answer before time is called, but recheck the links that follow it. No talking, dictionary searches, or copying while the timer runs.
The letter links
Box 1 must begin with the card’s opening letter. Boxes 2–4 must begin with the final letter of the entry in the immediately preceding box. Use the actual spelling on the sheet. For example, N: noodle → elephant → table → elm makes N–E–T–E links. A word that fails its category does not automatically invalidate later boxes; their links are still checked against what was written.
Leaving a gap
You may leave any box blank for 0 points. If the immediately preceding box is blank, restart with the card’s opening letter. For example, with opening letter B, a blank Box 2 means Box 3 must start with B, whatever you wrote in Box 1. A later word can therefore still score after a gap.
Allowed words
Use ordinary English nouns in singular or mass-noun form, such as pear, rice, or furniture. Closed compounds such as raincoat are allowed. No spaces, hyphens, proper names, abbreviations, invented spellings, or plural endings added just to make a link. Words normally used only in the plural, such as scissors, are allowed. Common British and American spellings are both valid. An identical word cannot appear twice on your own sheet in one round; only its first appearance can score.
What the categories mean
Food: an edible food or ingredient; not a drink. Animal: a real creature, living or extinct, including insects and fish. Household item: a movable item commonly kept or used at home. Outdoor thing: a natural object, organism, or feature commonly found outside. Wearable item: clothing or an accessory normally worn on the body. Place: a recognizable type of location a person can visit. Tool: an implement or device used for a practical task. Musical instrument: an object designed to make music. Categories can overlap; a natural fit is enough, but a far-fetched story is not.
Check one box at a time
When time is up, pens down. Go around the table reading Box 1, then Box 2, and so on. A word is valid only if it fits the category, obeys the word rules, and starts with the required letter. Players say the spelling when it matters. Mark validity first, then compare that box’s valid answers for the uniqueness bonus.
Scoring
Each valid answer earns 1 point. Add 1 more point if no other player wrote that exact valid answer in the same numbered box. Ignore capitalization. Alternate spellings, such as theater and theatre, count as the same answer for this bonus. Invalid or blank entries earn 0 and do not remove another player’s uniqueness bonus. Maximum: 8 points per round, 48 over six rounds.
Resolve a dispute
Use the agreed dictionary to check whether a word exists and how it is spelled. For category fit, or if no dictionary is available, the other players vote without the word’s author. A majority decides; on an equal split, accept a reasonable ordinary usage. Spend no more than 30 seconds on one dispute. The sample chains are examples only, never a list of all allowable answers.
For 4–12 players
The same card and 90 seconds work for every group size. With 7–12 players, read all answers for each box before discussing objections, and let one scorekeeper note repeated words. For mixed ages or English confidence, agree on a 2-minute timer for everyone. Players who cannot write comfortably may dictate privately to a non-playing scribe or use an accessible note-taking device without word suggestions.
A scored example
The card starts N and asks for Food → Animal → Household item → Outdoor thing. You write noodle, elephant, table, elm. All four words are valid, for 4 points. Two other players also wrote elephant in Box 2, and one wrote table in Box 3. Nobody else wrote noodle in Box 1 or elm in Box 4, so you earn 2 bonus points: 6 total.
End, ties, and replay
After six different cards, add each player’s round scores. The highest total wins; tied highest scorers share the win. If those players want a tiebreak, give only them one unused card and 90 seconds, with the other players judging. Highest extra-round score wins; another tie is shared. For a new six-round game, use six unused cards and rotate the timekeeper. The 24 cards provide four non-overlapping standard games.
Answer-sheet template
Copy once per round: Round ___ | 1. __________ | 2. __________ | 3. __________ | 4. __________ | Valid words ___ + unique-answer bonuses ___ = total ___.
Answer-page privacy
Do not circulate or consult sample chains before or during a round. A player acting as timekeeper should not study them either. Reveal a chain only after that card has been scored; no non-playing host is required.
Printable play cards
Print single-sided at 100%. Cut along the borders and follow the setup instructions.
OPENING LETTER: N
1. Food
2. Animal
3. Household item
4. Outdoor thing
OPENING LETTER: B
1. Animal
2. Food
3. Tool
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: C
1. Household item
2. Animal
3. Food
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: P
1. Food
2. Household item
3. Animal
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: S
1. Wearable item
2. Animal
3. Tool
4. Food
OPENING LETTER: T
1. Place
2. Food
3. Animal
4. Household item
OPENING LETTER: L
1. Food
2. Animal
3. Household item
4. Outdoor thing
OPENING LETTER: M
1. Musical instrument
2. Animal
3. Food
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: R
1. Food
2. Tool
3. Animal
4. Wearable item
OPENING LETTER: O
1. Place
2. Animal
3. Household item
4. Food
OPENING LETTER: A
1. Wearable item
2. Outdoor thing
3. Animal
4. Food
OPENING LETTER: F
1. Tool
2. Place
3. Food
4. Animal
OPENING LETTER: G
1. Animal
2. Household item
3. Food
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: H
1. Household item
2. Food
3. Animal
4. Tool
OPENING LETTER: D
1. Food
2. Tool
3. Place
4. Animal
OPENING LETTER: K
1. Wearable item
2. Animal
3. Household item
4. Food
OPENING LETTER: E
1. Animal
2. Food
3. Tool
4. Place
OPENING LETTER: W
1. Tool
2. Animal
3. Food
4. Wearable item
OPENING LETTER: I
1. Household item
2. Animal
3. Food
4. Outdoor thing
OPENING LETTER: V
1. Musical instrument
2. Place
3. Food
4. Animal
OPENING LETTER: U
1. Household item
2. Musical instrument
3. Animal
4. Food
OPENING LETTER: B
1. Place
2. Household item
3. Tool
4. Animal
OPENING LETTER: C
1. Musical instrument
2. Food
3. Animal
4. Household item
OPENING LETTER: S
1. Outdoor thing
2. Household item
3. Food
4. Animal
Host only: open answers and hosting notes (spoilers)
Keep this closed if you are playing. This section is excluded from the normal browser printout.
CL-01
noodle → elephant → table → elm. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-02
bear → rice → eraser → restaurant. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-03
candle → eel → lemon → nursery. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-04
pear → rug → goat → theater. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-05
scarf → fish → hammer → rice. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-06
theatre → egg → gorilla → armchair. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-07
lentil → lizard → desk → kelp. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-08
maraca → ant → tomato → orchard. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-09
radish → hammer → rabbit → tie. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-10
office → emu → umbrella → apple. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-11
apron → nettle → eagle → egg. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-12
file → embassy → yam → moth. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-13
goose → envelope → endive → eatery. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-14
hanger → raisin → newt → trowel. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-15
date → eraser → rink → koala. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-16
kimono → otter → radio → oat. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-17
elk → kiwi → iron → nursery. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-18
wrench → horse → eggplant → turban. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-19
iron → narwhal → leek → kelp. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-20
violin → nursery → yogurt → tiger. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-21
umbrella → accordion → newt → turnip. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-22
beach → heater → rake → echidna. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-23
cello → olive → egret → toaster. One valid example; many others may work.
CL-24
stream → mirror → radish → hare. One valid example; many others may work.
Original Round & Revel game text. Edition 1 / October 2026. Reuse the printed cards for future gatherings.