Hole Up
2023Mark Kolb
2 - 6 players
20 - 30 min
From BoardGameGeek
Hole Up is a "holey" word game for two or more players, generally aged 7+. Players take turns stacking up letter cards to make three-letter words. The cards have one or two letters and one or two holes. The holes line up with missing letters such that when two or more cards are stacked, underlying letters appear through the holes and a new word becomes visible. COMPONENTS 72 double-sided letter cards Six dry erase score boards Two dry erase markers. OVERVIEW The goal of HOLE UP is score the most points from the words stacked. MODES There are three ways of playing HOLE UP: • Stack - single stack • Square - four-sided square stack • Crosswords - like Scrabble. All modes can be played solo or with two or more players. COMMON SETUP Shuffle the letter cards. Place the cards within easy reach of all players. Draw the the top card and place it between the players as the base card in the “heap”. Give each player one card. Give each player a score card. GAME PLAY On their turn, a player can perform the following actions: Try to form a word on the heap. Draw a new card if they cannot make a word. Stack one of their cards to make a word or combine two of their cards (if available) to make and stack a word. Players can lay either side of a card. The stacked card must form a valid three-letter word using the letters beneath and on their card. If not a single stack, all words formed must be valid. At all times, at least one hole will be present and the letter in the hole will be used to form the next word. FORMING A WORD A three-letter word is formed using a combination of the letters beneath (as seen through the hole) and those on the card played. For example, with the stack showing H A T and the current card showing [ ] I P , the new word would be H I P, scoring 8 points. The "H" in the hole is used. SCORING Add up the point values of the three letters in the word made. Add the value to the score card. ENDING THE GAME The game is over once the draw pile has been exhausted and no more words can be formed by the player(s). STRATEGIES Examine both sides of a card to optimize a score. Hold on to a valuable card to use later, for example one with high point value letter like X or Z. -description from the publisher
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Which Hole Up video should I watch?
Hole Up has 3 videos from 2 creators: 1 how-to-play guide and 2 playthroughs. They date from 2023 to November 2024.
To learn the rules, start with "Hole Up is a new kind of tactile crossword." by Brainy Games, which runs 1 min.
To see it played, watch "Hole Up Square Mode Demo" by mark kolb, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try WayWord Connections, Connect Five, Silos and Pet Parade, also by Mark Kolb.
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Creators who cover this
Brainy Games
2 videos of this game
mark kolb
1 video of this game
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About Hole Up
From BoardGameGeek:
Hole Up is a "holey" word game for two or more players, generally aged 7+. Players take turns stacking up letter cards to make three-letter words. The cards have one or two letters and one or two holes. The holes line up with missing letters such that when two or more cards are stacked, underlying letters appear through the holes and a new word becomes visible. COMPONENTS 72 double-sided letter cards Six dry erase score boards Two dry erase markers. OVERVIEW The goal of HOLE UP is score the most points from the words stacked. MODES There are three ways of playing HOLE UP: • Stack - single stack • Square - four-sided square stack • Crosswords - like Scrabble. All modes can be played solo or with two or more players. COMMON SETUP Shuffle the letter cards. Place the cards within easy reach of all players. Draw the the top card and place it between the players as the base card in the “heap”. Give each player one card. Give each player a score card. GAME PLAY On their turn, a player can perform the following actions: Try to form a word on the heap. Draw a new card if they cannot make a word. Stack one of their cards to make a word or combine two of their cards (if available) to make and stack a word. Players can lay either side of a card. The stacked card must form a valid three-letter word using the letters beneath and on their card. If not a single stack, all words formed must be valid. At all times, at least one hole will be present and the letter in the hole will be used to form the next word. FORMING A WORD A three-letter word is formed using a combination of the letters beneath (as seen through the hole) and those on the card played. For example, with the stack showing H A T and the current card showing [ ] I P , the new word would be H I P, scoring 8 points. The "H" in the hole is used. SCORING Add up the point values of the three letters in the word made. Add the value to the score card. ENDING THE GAME The game is over once the draw pile has been exhausted and no more words can be formed by the player(s). STRATEGIES Examine both sides of a card to optimize a score. Hold on to a valuable card to use later, for example one with high point value letter like X or Z. -description from the publisher
Designer
Mark Kolb
Publisher
Knowledge Probe Inc (Brainy Games)
Categories
Card GameWord Game
Mechanics
Pattern Building