How to Play Telma

Game Objective

The goal in Telma is to use your memory and vocal agility to get rid of all your cards and accumulate more points than the other players by the end of the rounds.

Setup

1. Deal all 48 cards among the players until none are left. If someone ends up with an extra card, that is part of the game.
2. Each player must keep their stack of cards in front of them, face down.
3. Dynamic Tip: For games with 4 or 5 players, you may choose to remove the cards with the specific symbol indicated in the manual.
4. Each player must choose a nickname (a common noun, such as "table" or "ghost") and say it out loud so everyone memorizes it. Choose balanced nicknames so as not to make pronunciation too easy or too difficult compared to your opponents.

Game Flow

The game is structured in rounds. The first player to receive cards during the initial deal starts the game.

• Revealing cards: Players, one by one, in clockwise order, reveal the top card of their stack and place it in front of them so that everyone sees it at the same time.
• Continuity: If there are no matching symbols, players continue revealing the next card on top of the previous one, keeping only the last card of each player visible.
• Duel: When two players reveal cards with the same symbol, a duel begins.
• Restart: After a duel, the round restarts with the player who lost the dispute. The player who runs out of cards first wins the round and earns points.

Actions and How to Play

The main mechanic revolves around duels and the use of nicknames:

• Duel: When identical symbols appear, the involved players must say the other's nickname as quickly as possible. The first to speak correctly wins; the loser collects all the cards revealed on the table and places them at the bottom of their stack.
• Double Cards: These have two symbols. Either one is valid to start a duel. If a double card is revealed and both symbols are already on the table, a three-way duel occurs. Anyone can try to say the other's nickname to win the dispute.
• The Outbreak: When revealing the card with the Telma drawing, a multiple duel begins. Everyone participates and anyone can say the nickname of any other player. The first nickname said correctly defines who collects the cards.
• Duel Tie: If everyone agrees there was a tie, the cards on the table are divided equally among those involved. If one card remains, it stays in the center and will be collected by the next loser of a duel.

End of Game and Scoring

The game is played in up to three rounds:

• 1st Round: The winner earns 1 point. Nicknames are simple nouns.
• 2nd Round: The winner earns 1 point. Nicknames must now consist of a noun + an adjective. If the winner of the 2nd round also won the 1st, they are declared the winner of the match.
• 3rd Round: The winner earns 2 points. Players must add a place of origin to the nickname (3 words) OR add a gesture to the nickname from the second round.

After the third round, the player with the highest total score is the MATCH WINNER.

Tips for Winning

• Balance in nicknames: Choose nicknames that are easy to pronounce under pressure, but avoid names that are too short or too long, which could unbalance the competition against the names chosen by your opponents.
• Watch out for double cards: Stay alert, as they can trigger three-way duels, increasing your chances of being the target or the attacker in a more complex situation.