McNeill Designs: Board Games for Brighter Minds

Accepted sentences are scored as follows:

All words used are worth their marked point value, either 5, 10, or 20 points.
"Wild Cards" are worth 0 points.


Bonus Points:

A player receives a 10-point bonus to their score for a round if:
The player is the first to start the timer in a round and have the sentence accepted.
The player is able to use all 10 cards from their hand in a single accepted sentence.
Total possible bonus points for a single player per round: 20.

Notes/Rulings

Sentences can be as short as 2 cards, or as long as all 10 cards. You do not have to use all 10 cards in your sentence.

Sentences are acceptable as long as they are grammatically correct and make some sort of sense to the Jury.

Sentence fragments, like newspaper headlines, ARE NOT SENTENCES. They are sentence fragments and do not count.

Wild Cards may be used for any single word, a proper name, or the addition of an "apostrophe s" ('s) to an existing word.

All punctuation and capitalization is assumed, otherwise the words are used "as is." You cannot add -'s to a word. You may use a Wild Card for -'s to make a subject possessive if you wish.

A "Wild"_"Name" may be used for any name beginning with the letter featured on the card.

Unlike a standard "Wild Card," a "Wild"_"Name" is worth 5 points when used in an accepted sentence.

Once a sentence is submitted for Judgment, it cannot be altered in any way. This includes any Wild Card words.

Once read, the sentence stands "as is" to be Judged.

If no one objects to a sentence, no defense is necessary and the player receives the points.

Younger and beginning players may be given help if needed (called "Attorney's Advice").

How to Win in Court

After each round, when everyone has had a chance to present his or her sentence to be Judged and scored, draw a line on the score pad up to the total value of the sentence plus any previous round's score. The first player to reach a score of 200 (or more) points wins the game and becomes the "Sentence Champ." If two or more players meet or exceed 200 points, the player with the highest point total is determined the winner.

Hung Jury

In the unlikely event of a tied score of 200 or above, those players go into a "Final Summation" round. Each tied player draws a new hand of 10 cards and attempts to make a last, best sentence. During this round, no one is allowed to Object. Each finalist then reads his sentence to the Jury and the Jury votes on which sentence is best. The winner of the vote is the "Sentence Champ." In the event that the vote is tied, the Jury is "Deadlocked" and all tied players are declared winners.

There are many different ways to play "You've been Sentenced!" Here are a few variations we like. Use one at a time, several, or all at once for a truly insane game.

Casual: A good way to play the first couple of games. Instead of using the sand timer, the first player to form a sentence knocks on the table. Once a player "knocks," they cannot change their sentence. This process continues until all players have knocked the table, signaling that they too are ready for sentence presentation and judgment. The first player that knocked presents first. All other rules remain the same.

Move On!: If players are taking too long to debate a sentence, any player may start the sand timer. Sentences may be discussed only until timer runs out. When the time is up, the Jury must cast a vote.

Team: If you have a large number of players, divide up into teams. Each team draws 10 cards and makes/defends their sentences together.

Popular Vote: After all sentences are judged, players take a vote to determine who had the "best" sentence this round. Everyone gets one vote. The winner gets a 10-point bonus. In the event of ties, no one gets the bonus.

Not-So-Casual: Same as Casual, except the last person who knocks gets ZERO POINTS for the round.

Card Discard: After the deal, but before making sentences, a player has 30 seconds to discard and re-draw 1, 2, or 3 cards from the Word Pool. A player can only redraw once per round. Since you will likely end up with larger sentences, we suggest playing to 300 points.

Lightning: After the cards have been drawn, and everyone is ready, start the timer and turn your cards face-up. Everyone has until the sand runs out (90 seconds) to make a sentence.

Longer/Shorter: Play to fewer (100, 150) or a greater number of points (300, 400, 500). You can also play a set number of rounds (3, 5, 10, etc.) and the highest score at that point wins.

Wild: Every player gets, at the start of the game, one "wild card" to keep. Players draw 9 cards per round, using the wild card as the 10th card. When you discard, keep a wild card and draw 9 cards for all subsequent rounds.

Description:
A competitive Poker version of YBS, where players wager that the sentence in their hand has the highest point total.

For 3-6 players

Goal:
To end the game with the largest amount of chips.

Equipment needed:
YBS Game, A standard set of Poker Chips.

Game preparation:
Give each player $50 of Poker Chips to start.

Game play:
The Dealer deals out two cards face down to each of the players at the table. The deal rotates after each round. Each player, and no one else, is allowed to look at these two cards.

The first round of betting occurs after the players look at their first two cards.

Then four cards are dealt face up to each player, one at a time, with a round of betting between each round of cards dealt. Some players may begin to arrange their cards on the table but the most creative players will not. Players are allowed to fold at any time if they think they cannot form a justifiable, grammatically correct sentence.

The last card is dealt face down, giving each remaining player seven cards with which to form a sentence. One final round of betting is allowed. Then, remaining players reveal their sentences.

Add up the point value of the words used in the sentence, as in Standard YBS. Point value is the final determining factor as to the winner of the hand. Just like in regular YBS, any player still in the running for the pot may object to another player's sentence.

Anyone who has folded cannot object to a sentence, but may still vote in the jury. All of the players, other than the defender and the objector, still form the jury and can vote if they believe the grammar or sensibility of the sentence is incorrect. Majority rules, with ties going to the defending player, and if a player's sentence is voted off, it does not matter what the point value is, the sentence is removed from play, as if they had folded.

Scoring and Winning:
The player with the sentence that is accepted and has the highest point value wins the hand and the pot. In the case of a tie, the pot is split among the tied players. Play ends at a predetermined time (10 hands, one hour, whatever you like) and the player with the most chips wins!

Variations:
For a more competitive game, use this additional rule. If a player objects to a sentence, and the objection is voted down by the Jury, the objecting player must fold his hand, giving up his claim to the pot.