CAB! The Vocabulary Card Game

CAB! is an educational card game based on the parts of speech. It involves turn-taking, incidental learning, peer teaching, spelling and grouping. The game has the potential to improve vocabulary and literacy skills while engaging students in a fun experience.

OBJECTIVE Be the first person to get rid of all your cards   SETUP Each person draws a card. The player who’s card has the greatest number of letters is the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and gives each player 7 cards.

Then places the remainder of the deck face down to create a ‘pick up’ pile. The dealer takes the top card off the ‘pick up’ pile and puts it face up, to begin the ‘put down’ pile.

START PLAYING The person to the left of the dealer begins the game.

When it’s your turn you must put down a card matching the top card on the ‘put down’ pile, either being the same type of word (adjective, noun, verb or conjunction) or having a matching punctuation sign (! , ? ‘ : “” . ). You can also put down any ‘action card’ (see action card).   EXAMPLE: If the top card on the “put down’ pile is the word ‘happy’ with a : on it, the next person must put down either another adjective card, a card with a : on it or a action card (see Action Cards).   If you don’t have a card that matches the card on top of the ‘put down’ pile you must pick up a card from the top of the ‘pick up’ pile. This is the end of your turn.

ACTION CARDS The following action cards can be placed on the ‘put down’ pile at any point during your turn, no matter what the top card on the pile is. When an action card is played the word type is automatically changed to the same as the word on the card being played.

Pick Up 2 – When this card is played the next player must pick up two cards and cannot put down any cards. If they have a ‘pick up’ card as well they can then play that card, making the next person pick up four etc. Miss A Go – When this card is played the next person misses their turn. Go Back – When this card is played the direction of play is reversed. Spell It – When this card is played the player putting the card down picks up a card from the ’pick up’ pile and asks the player, who's turn it is next, to spell the word. If the word is spelt correctly, the card is placed on the ‘put down’ pile and the speller takes his turn. If the word is spelt incorrectly, the card is given to the speller and they miss their turn. The next player in the sequence then starts their turn.

WINNING The first person to get rid of all their cards is the winner!

-description from designer