Alphabet Rush

How to play Alphabet Rush

1. Add 2 to 8 players in the order you sit. Turns go around the table in that order.
2. Pick a deck: Classic, Family, Pop Culture, Food & Drink, a holiday deck or your own theme.
3. Read the category out loud and tap Start. The first player's 10 seconds begin.
4. Say an answer that fits and tap its first letter. The turn passes straight to the next player with a fresh clock.
5. If your time runs out, you are out of the round. The last player still in wins the category card.
6. Play new rounds with new categories until someone collects three cards.

Rules in detail

The clock

Every turn gets 10 seconds by default. Choose 5, 15 or 20 seconds in Settings for faster or more relaxed games.

Locked letters

The standard board has 20 letters. Q, U, V, X, Y and Z are left out because few common words start with them. Turn on the full alphabet for a harder game.

What counts

The answer must fit the category and start with an unused letter. Accents don't matter, and a leading "the" or "a" doesn't count. The group decides; a tie means the answer stands.

Challenges

Think an answer doesn't fit? Tap Challenge before the next letter is locked. The clock pauses and the group votes. If it doesn't count, that player is out and the letter goes back on the board.

Overtime

If every letter is used and two or more players are still in, overtime starts: a new category, a fresh board, and every turn needs two answers inside the same 10 seconds. Then three. The winner takes every card from that round.

Undo and pause

Tapped the wrong letter, or the buzzer went off while you were passing the phone? Undo goes back one step. Pause stops the clock any time, and the game pauses itself if the phone locks.

Example round

Category: Things in a kitchen. Sam starts and says "Blender", taps B, and the clock jumps to Noah.

Noah says "Colander" and taps C. Mia freezes, the buzzer goes and Mia is out.

Sam takes K for "Kettle". Noah needs another letter fast, says "Oven" and taps O. Sam runs out of time, so Noah wins the card.

Ways to play

Two players

A quick duel for couples and roommates. The first slip ends the round, so it is tense from the first letter.

Big groups

Up to 8 players around one phone. Lay it flat in the middle of the table or pass it along.

Video calls

Share your screen and play with the keyboard: type a letter to lock it, Space to start and Esc to pause.

Kids and classrooms

Use the Family deck and 20-second turns. On a projector, the whole class can call out answers.

Co-op and solo

Play as one team with three lives and try to clear all 20 letters. Each cleared board wins back a life. It works for one player too.

Your own theme

Type a theme, like Harry Potter, our office or the 90s, and get 12 categories made for it.

Category ideas

A few categories from the Classic and Family decks. Every category in Alphabet Rush is checked to work for most letters.

• Things in a kitchen
• Animals
• Jobs
• Countries
• Things that are round
• Things you pack for a trip
• Things with buttons
• Things in an office
• Sports
• Things that are cold
• Clothing
• Things in a bathroom
• Zoo animals
• Things in a classroom
• Toys
• Things at the beach
• Birds
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Things in a backpack

Tips to stay in

• Use the hard letters early. Once the easy ones are gone, J, I and O get much harder.
• Keep a backup answer ready while other players take their turn.
• In overtime, find your two answers before your turn starts.
• Short answers are fine. "Ice" counts just as much as "Iceberg lettuce".

Alphabet Rush FAQ

More quick word games