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How Quiddler Works

cards from QUIDDLER® word game
The calligraphy on the cards was inspired by Celtic works like "The Book of Kells," so you could say the monks were Quiddlers.
Cards and game © 1998 Cannei, LLC. All rights reserved. QUIDDLER® and all associated logos and taglines are registered trademarks of Cannei, LLC. Used with permission from Set Enterprises, Inc.

You're probably wondering: What in the world is a Quiddler? According to some definitions, it's a seldom-used term for someone who wastes time doing silly things, or a dawdler (although dawdling certainly isn't encouraged in the game) [source: Webster's].) The game's Web site, on the other hand, defines a Quiddler as a person who "spends a great deal of time on very small details" [source: SETGAME]. This definition makes a lot more sense, given how sophisticated a word game it can be.

QUIDDLER® is a cross between Scrabble and the card game gin rummy. Using a deck of cards marked with single letters (and a few two-letter combos, like QU and ER), players are tasked with creating words from the letters in their hand. (Each card has a point value, and the person with the highest number of points wins.)

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We'll get more into the rules of the game in the next few pages, but suffice it to say that QUIDDLER is a game of both word savvy and strategy. Don't be fooled: The person with the largest vocabulary isn't always going to win. The game is even billed as a "short word game," and it's those small words that can curry a lot of points. In fact, the game is cited time and again as a great family game, where both kids and adults have a shot at winning.

Speaking of winning, QUIDDLER has nabbed its fair share of awards and accolades: the Mensa Select award, an Educational Clearinghouse A+ award and a Toy Directory Monthly Classic Game award, among others.

And here's a curious fact: A newspaper search for the word "Quiddler" turns up in a fairly surprising number of obituaries. No, these aren't people who suffered mortal injuries after a particularly raucous game -- rather, it's mentioned quite often as a game people were passionate about in life.

Now who can deny that advertisement? Let's play our hand on the next page and find out a little more about how this game is played.