Round & Revel / Collaborative word editing
Exact Edit
One sentence, six edits, and four promises to keep.
Original printable party game. Timing is a planning estimate; this edition has not had a live group playtest.
Good for: A small group of word-game fans who want to solve together.
What you need
- One copy of the 12 sentence cards; keep the example-answer pages covered
- A large shared writing sheet and pencil, or loose word slips
- A six-box turn counter and a score sheet
- Optional large-print copies of the current card
How to play
Your shared job
A quiet family-table or small-group word challenge, with shared decisions instead of speed. Revise one printed sentence until it satisfies four mechanical checks. Each turn changes just one word or its position. This is an editing task, so you are not adding a plot, giving a performance, or trying to be funny. The final line should read as an ordinary sentence, but the four printed checks determine points. An awkward yet understandable line is not a reason to erase earned points. Nobody judges literary style.
Set out a sentence
Choose three different cards without reading their example answers. Copy the first SOURCE exactly, leaving generous gaps, or write every word on its own slip. Copy its four checks beside it and mark the two locked words with a box. Read the source aloud. A terminal full stop shown in the source is punctuation, not part of a word. All supplied sources contain plain space-separated words; upper- and lowercase versions count as the same word.
What stays and what can enter
The two locked words must remain present exactly once, in their original relative order. Never delete, replace, or directly move a locked word, though editing other words can change its numbered position. You may insert only a word from the printed bank, or a word that appeared in the original source. Reusing an allowed word is permitted unless a check limits its count. You cannot import a clever synonym from outside this vocabulary, combine two words into one, use abbreviations, or turn spaces into hyphens to change a count.
Plan before spending turns
Everyone gets up to one minute to discuss possible final sentences. Notes are allowed; the original shared sentence cannot change yet. Choose the first editor and rotate that starting role clockwise on later cards. Announce six available editing turns. During the editing phase, continue discussing as much as you like, but only the current editor may authorize the next change. That player may ask somebody else to write or move slips for them. Decisions need not follow the initial plan.
One editing turn
Choose exactly one operation: INSERT one permitted word in one gap; DELETE one unlocked word; REPLACE one unlocked word with one permitted word; or MOVE one unlocked word to one different gap. Each operation costs one turn. Moving is a single operation, even though you lift and replace a slip. Replacing two adjacent words costs two turns. Punctuation changes cost nothing and cannot affect a scoring condition. A player may PASS, which still costs one turn. Mark the used turn immediately and pass the editor role clockwise.
Check legality without losing the puzzle
Intermediate lines may be incomplete or ungrammatical. Check only the locked-word and allowed-vocabulary rules before applying each move. If someone proposes an illegal operation, explain why and let that same editor choose again; an unapplied proposal does not use a turn. If you discover an illegal applied move before scoring, undo it and restore that turn, along with any later moves that depended on it. This is a cooperative puzzle rather than a penalty trap. Keep crossed-out drafts readable so repairs are possible.
Stop and score literally
The group may stop early by unanimous agreement, or must stop after its sixth turn. Read the final line once. Award 1 point for each printed CHECK that is satisfied, for 0–4 per card. Count words as runs of letters separated by spaces. A required word means that exact written word: “quietly” is not satisfied by “quiet.” A banned word must be absent everywhere. Assess every check independently, so a failed word count does not wipe out the other three. The locked-word and vocabulary rules are required for any scored final line. “Immediately before” or “immediately after” means adjacent words with nothing between them. First and last refer to the whole sentence, ignoring punctuation.
Worked edit and the final total
For an off-deck practice, begin “our old gardener carries heavy pots past the shed,” locking gardener and shed. The checks are nine words, neither old nor heavy, gently exactly once, and today exactly once; the bank is gently and today. Delete old and heavy, insert gently before carries, and insert today at the end. The result is “our gardener gently carries pots past the shed today,” satisfying all four checks in four turns. Stop with two unused. Do not award extra points for saving turns. Play all three cards and total 0–12 together: 12 means every check met. There is no individual winner or tie-break. Compare with the covered examples only after locking each result. Enlarge the sentence, permit spoken edits, and extend planning time when useful.
Printable cards and components
Print single-sided and cut on the borders. Read the setup before sorting the cards; some games use separate card types or fewer copies for smaller groups.
Quiet gate
SOURCE: the little birds wait beside the open gate. Locked words, kept in that order: birds, gate. WORD BANK: quietly, today. CHECK 1: Exactly 8 words. CHECK 2: Neither little nor open appears. CHECK 3: quietly appears exactly once. CHECK 4: today appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Useful bench
SOURCE: a painter leaves brushes on the bench today. Locked words, kept in that order: painter, bench. WORD BANK: clean. CHECK 1: Exactly 9 words. CHECK 2: First word is today. CHECK 3: clean appears exactly once. CHECK 4: Last word is bench. Six editing turns.
Early delivery
SOURCE: the cart slowly carries red parcels into the yard. Locked words, kept in that order: cart, yard. WORD BANK: today, blue. CHECK 1: Exactly 9 words. CHECK 2: First word is today. CHECK 3: Neither slowly nor red appears. CHECK 4: blue appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Library shelf
SOURCE: our robot puts books on the shelf gently. Locked words, kept in that order: robot, shelf. WORD BANK: new. CHECK 1: Exactly 9 words. CHECK 2: gently is immediately before puts. CHECK 3: new appears exactly once. CHECK 4: Last word is shelf. Six editing turns.
Soft lanterns
SOURCE: the lanterns hang above the path tonight. Locked words, kept in that order: lanterns, path. WORD BANK: quiet. CHECK 1: Exactly 8 words. CHECK 2: First word is tonight. CHECK 3: quiet is immediately before path. CHECK 4: Last word is path. Six editing turns.
Clean window
SOURCE: a cheerful potter places a blue bowl near the window. Locked words, kept in that order: potter, window. WORD BANK: carefully, small. CHECK 1: Exactly 10 words. CHECK 2: Neither cheerful nor blue appears. CHECK 3: carefully appears exactly once. CHECK 4: small appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Steady crossing
SOURCE: the courier walks very slowly over the bridge today. Locked words, kept in that order: courier, bridge. WORD BANK: steadily. CHECK 1: Exactly 8 words. CHECK 2: First word is today. CHECK 3: Neither very nor slowly appears. CHECK 4: steadily appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Garden notice
SOURCE: our neighbours read the old notice together in the garden. Locked words, kept in that order: neighbours, garden. WORD BANK: new. CHECK 1: Exactly 10 words. CHECK 2: First word is together. CHECK 3: old does not appear. CHECK 4: new appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Supper setting
SOURCE: the host sets six plates beside the jug neatly. Locked words, kept in that order: host, jug. WORD BANK: four, clean. CHECK 1: Exactly 10 words. CHECK 2: neatly is immediately after host. CHECK 3: four appears exactly once. CHECK 4: clean appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Open workshop
SOURCE: today a bell rings inside the quiet workshop. Locked words, kept in that order: bell, workshop. WORD BANK: twice, open. CHECK 1: Exactly 9 words. CHECK 2: Last word is today. CHECK 3: quiet does not appear. CHECK 4: twice appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Station basket
SOURCE: the baker leaves an empty basket at the station early. Locked words, kept in that order: baker, station. WORD BANK: a, full. CHECK 1: Exactly 10 words. CHECK 2: First word is early. CHECK 3: full is immediately before basket. CHECK 4: empty does not appear. Six editing turns.
Corner umbrella
SOURCE: our guide puts the wet umbrella by the corner safely. Locked words, kept in that order: guide, corner. WORD BANK: dry. CHECK 1: Exactly 10 words. CHECK 2: safely is immediately before puts. CHECK 3: wet does not appear. CHECK 4: dry appears exactly once. Six editing turns.
Answer notes: open only when the rules tell you to check
Keep these notes away from players during a puzzle or writing round. This section is excluded from the website print view. The PDF player kit includes a separate answer appendix.
EE01
One solution: the birds wait quietly beside the gate today. Delete little and open; insert quietly after wait and today at the end. Four edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE02
One solution: today a painter leaves clean brushes on the bench. Move today to the beginning; insert clean before brushes. Two edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE03
One solution: today the cart carries blue parcels into the yard. Delete slowly; replace red with blue; insert today at the beginning. Three edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE04
One solution: our robot gently puts new books on the shelf. Move gently immediately before puts; insert new before books. Two edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE05
One solution: tonight the lanterns hang above the quiet path. Move tonight to the beginning; insert quiet before path. Two edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE06
One solution: a potter carefully places a small bowl near the window. Delete cheerful and blue; insert carefully after potter and small before bowl. Four edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE07
One solution: today the courier walks steadily over the bridge. Move today to the beginning; delete very; replace slowly with steadily. Three edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE08
One solution: together our neighbours read the new notice in the garden. Move together to the beginning; replace old with new. Two edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE09
One solution: the host neatly sets four clean plates beside the jug. Move neatly after host; replace six with four; insert clean before plates. Three edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE10
One solution: a bell rings twice inside the open workshop today. Move today to the end; replace quiet with open; insert twice after rings. Three edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE11
One solution: early the baker leaves a full basket at the station. Move early to the beginning; replace an with a and empty with full. Three edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
EE12
One solution: our guide safely puts the dry umbrella by the corner. Move safely immediately before puts; replace wet with dry. Two edits. Other final sentences can qualify.
Round & Revel. Edition 1 / October 2026. No purchases, accounts or specialist equipment beyond the listed materials are required.