FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT STRUDEL
If you have opened your copy of Strudel, the following Q+A may be helpful.
Q. Is there any significance to the colour (red or black) of the words on each card?
A. No.
Q. Can a player earn points by finding words that use fewer than all of the letters in the word displayed in the card sleeve? (For example, if the word displayed in the card sleeve is “diapers”, does the player get points for creating the word “spread”?)
A. No. Only words that use all of the letters in the displayed word can earn points.
Q. If the strudeler (the first player who is entitled to play the card) incorrectly declares the card to be a “Strudel” card in the belief that the word displayed in the sleeve does not turn around to form any other words, does the dealer have to prove the strudeler wrong by revealing another word on the card?
A. No. But the strudeler’s turn with that card is over.
Q. Can any player make a correct “Strudel!” call on a card during his or her turn?
A. Yes, as long as the card is in play. (After the first correct “Strudel!” call, the card is “burned” – that is, it is placed in the discard pile in the card well.)
Q. Once all of the hidden words have been selected, does the dealer disclose that fact ?
A. No. It is to the dealer’s strategic advantage to induce a player to spend some of his or her precious time with no prospect of earning points.
Q. Is it fair for a player to study the word on the card for several seconds before announcing an intention to play that card (that is without starting his or her timer)?
A. The best way to address this potential unfairness is to have the player start his or her timer immediately upon being shown the word on the card and stop the timer upon deciding not to play the card.
Q. Can a player earn points by turning around the letters in the displayed word to make another word that is not one of the hidden words on the card?
A. No – unless all players (including the dealer) agree the word should earn points.
Q. Is it fair for a player who has called out a hidden word to be forced to let his or her timer run while the dealer looks at the card to see if that word is on the card?
A. The best way to address this potential unfairness is for the dealer to show the player the card in the sleeve long enough for the player to write down the word and then take back the card and remove it from the sleeve so as to be able to see at a glance whether any word called out by the player is on the card.
Q. Does the dealer show the card in the sleeve to only one player at a time?
A. Yes.