Overview

Jarnac is a two-player (or two-team) word game where players form words of 3 to 9 letters on their personal boards. Each player has 8 lines on which to place words. The game’s signature mechanic is the “Jarnac” steal – when a player passes, their opponent can call “Jarnac!” to claim a word the passing player could have made, placing it on their own board instead.

Components

• 2 player boards (each with 8 word lines, accommodating words of 3-9 letters)
• Letter tiles
• Tile draw bag or pile

Setup

1. Each player receives their player board with 8 empty lines.
2. Each player starts with 6 letter tiles on their carpet/rack.
3. Determine first player.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Try to form or extend words on your board using your available letters.
2. When you form a word, draw a new letter and continue trying to place more words.
3. When you cannot or choose not to play, say “I pass.”
4. After you pass, your opponent may immediately call “Jarnac!” if they see a word you could have made.

Actions

Forming a New Word

• Place a word of 3-9 letters on an empty line of your board using letters from your carpet.
• After placing a word, draw a new letter tile and continue your turn.

Modifying a Word

• Add one or more letters to an existing word on your board to create a longer word.
• You may rearrange the letters (anagram) but you may NOT remove any letters that are already in the word.
• The new word must be longer than the previous word on that line.

Passing

• When you cannot or do not want to make any more words, declare “I pass.”
• Your turn ends and your opponent may attempt a Jarnac steal.

Jarnac Steal

• Immediately after your opponent passes, if you see a valid word they could have formed or extended on their board, you may call “Jarnac!”
• You take the word and place it on your own board instead.
• This must be done instantly – no extended thinking time after the pass is declared.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when one player has formed a word on each of their 8 available lines (filling their board).

Points are scored based on the length and value of words on each line. The player with the higher total score wins.

Longer words score significantly more points, creating incentive to extend words rather than play many short ones.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• You may rearrange letters within a word when extending it (anagramming is allowed).
• Removing letters from an existing word is never allowed – you can only add.
• The Jarnac steal must be immediate – once the stealing player’s turn begins normally, the opportunity is lost.
• Words must be valid dictionary words.
• Each line can hold progressively longer words (3 letters minimum, 9 letters maximum).

Player Reference

Key Numbers	Value
Players	2 (or 2 teams)
Lines per player	8
Min word length	3 letters
Max word length	9 letters
Starting letters	6
Game end	One player fills all 8 lines