In this article, you can read about the basic rules of the game Last Word and learn how to play. The object of the game is to be the first player to advance to the finish.
Setup
Place both boards within easy reach of all players. Each player picks upon and places it on start. Shuffle both decks and place them face down on their correct spots on the deck board. On the back of the buzzer, switch the random interval two on and put it next to the card stacking board.
Give each player one trade-in token. Each player draws one subject card from the top of the deck, looks at it and keeps it hidden from the other players. Any player turns over the top letter card face-up and reads it. All players try to come up with a word that starts with the letter of the face-up card within the category of the card in their hand.
The first player who sets his subject card face-up on the board reads the subject aloud. He then says a word that fits the category and starts the timer by pressing the button. Any player, including the starting player, now says another word that starts with the letter and fits the category played.
The last player to have said a correct word for the category and letter when the timer runs out moves forward one space. The player who played the subject card draws a new one to their hand. A new letter card is drawn and the process repeats.
Jumpstart Challenge
At any time, any player may jumpstart challenge the other players. To jumpstart challenge, a player says ‘jumpstart’ and presses the timer without playing a subject card.
The JumpStart Challenger does not participate but all the other players are now racing to think of one word for their subject card in their hand that starts with the current letter.
The first player to play down their subject card and say an acceptable word within the time limit moves forward two spaces. If no player does before the time runs out then the JumpStart Challenger moves forward two spaces. One time during the game, each player may trade in their trade-in token to discard his current subject card and draw a new one.
All words given must be real words. You may challenge the legitimacy of a word by a player. The majority rule on the legitimacy of words. If the last word was ruled false than the previously accepted word will advance.
Once the timer begins to sound, the round is over. Any word being spoken midway when the timer sounds do not count. You may also play in teams using the same rules. The first player or team to finish wins.