Glom

"Glom" logotype.

A riot of rewording remarks!

Rewrite the Phrase, while following the Rule, to meet the Goal.
The card/word game from the hosts of Nice Games Club.

Designed by Ellen Burns-Johnson, Dale LaCroix, Mark LaCroix, and Stephen McGregor.

Published by Indie Boards and Cards, 2023.

Rate Glom on BoardGameGeek!

Alternate Rules

Alternate Rules for Regular Play | Reverse Glom | Solo Play | Alternate Rules for Solo Play

ORDER NOW!

Amazon | Miniature Market | GameNerdz | TGG Games | Board Game Bliss

See the videos below for a quick introduction to the game, and a play along session from Hand-Eye Society's online WordPlay festival:

 

Alternate Rules for Regular Play

In addition to the regular rules outlined in the included rulebook, players may choose to use any of the following rules, in any combination, to create more restrictions and/or freedoms, and get more creative with your Gloms.

Apostrophe No:

If a Phrase has a word that is a contraction, it’s not okay to use its root words in your Glom. For example, if the Phrase contains the word don’t, you may not use the words do or not in your Glom. Similarly, if a Phrase contains a set of words which can be combined into a contraction, that contraction is also not allowed.

Phrase Deadweight:

Players may use words from the Phrase in their Glom. However, words from the Phrase are not allowed to contribute to the Goal condition.

Conjugtivitis:

No conjugations of words in the Phrase are not allowed. For example, Gloms using the Phrase “Tell me a story” may not use words including told, I, my, or an.

Secret Rule/Secret Goal:

For a more casual game with surprising results, do not reveal a Rule or Goal card (or both) for the round until after players have created their Gloms.

Passphrase:

At the start of the game, each player draws their own Phrase card to use in the first round. After each round, each player passes their Phrase card to the player on their left to use in the next round. A new Rule and Goal card are revealed in each round, and are shared by players, as they are in a regular game. To track winning Gloms, players collect the Rule card instead of the Phrase card. The game ends when every Phrase card has been used by every player.

My Glom, My Rules:

Each player draws their own Rule card at the start of the game. After the first round, players may either discard their Rule card, or pass it to another player of their choice to use in the next round. If a player is given a Rule card that they have previously used in this game, it is discarded. Then, any player without a new Rule card will draw from the Rule deck for the next round. Play precedes as normal otherwise.

Ggooaall!:

Two Goal cards are revealed per round. Players may write their Glom with one or both Goals in mind (of course, some pairs of Goals may be incompatible). When the timer is up, but before players reveal their Glom, players vote on which Goal to score Gloms with. In the case of a tie, both Goals are in play and players’ scores are combined.

 

Reverse Glom

When playing a regular round of Glom, players write their Gloms down and may also write down the code stamped on the corner of each Phrase, Rule, and Goal card, for later reference. If players collect and store these scoresheets, they can be used to play “Reverse Glom.”

A game of reverse Glom is conducted by a non-player host who collects records of previously played games of Glom, and any number of players who were either not part of the original rounds of Glom in question (or played so long ago that they have likely forgotten the original rounds!).

Play is simple and casual. The host reads off a Glom, and players try to guess the original Phrase from which the Glom was created. First to shout out the correct Phrase wins a point.

The host can one-by-one reveal multiple Gloms from the same round, or reveal Gloms randomly drawn from a pile. It’s up to them. For an extra challenge (and/or extra points), Reverse Glom can also be played where players try to guess the Rule or Goal of a written Glom.

 

Solo Play

Solo Play Glom is a high-score game where you compete progressively against yourself, trying to complete as many rounds as possible. It is a fast-paced, highly replayable form of Glom.

Set up the Phrase, Rule, and Goal decks as in regular Glom. Then, reveal a single Goal card. This will be the Goal you are trying to meet for the entire game.

For each round:

  • Reveal a Phrase and Rule card.
  • Start the timer. (It is recommended, but not required, that players impose a tighter time limit of 90 seconds per round in Solo Play.)
  • Write a Glom as in regular play, stopping when the timer runs out. You may preemptively stop the timer at any point if you are satisfied with your Glom.
  • Evaluate your Glom:
    • In the first round: If you were able to write a valid Glom, and at least minimally meet the Goal, award the round’s Phrase card to yourself by placing it in front of you, and record your Glom’s score according to the Goal. If you were not able to write a valid Glom, or your Glom did not meet the Goal at all, the game is over.
    • In each subsequent round: If your Glom better met the Goal in this round than in the previous round, award the round’s Phrase card to yourself by placing it in front of you, and replace your previous Glom’s score according to the Goal with your current Glom’s score. If your Glom performed equally against the Goal as in the previous round, proceed to the next round but do not award yourself that round’s Phrase card. If your Glom performed worse against the Goal than in the previous round, or you were not able to write a valid Glom, the game is over.
  • Once the game is over, the number of Phrase cards you have in front of you is your final score. You may wish to record which Goal card you were playing with along with your score, to aid in recordkeeping. If you choose to play again, you may use the same Goal card, or draw a new Goal card.

Solo Play Glom is a game of pacing and strategy. For most Goals, you should aim for your first Glom to “perform” poorly (which can present its own challenge) in order to ensure that you can progressively earn the greatest number of Phrase cards. Different Goal cards inspire different strategies.

 

Alternate Rules for Solo Play

Repeat After Me:

As with the Goal card, also keep the same Phrase card throughout the game, and only reveal a new Rule card for each round (award yourself the Rule card when completing a round).

Prisoners’ Glom:

Two players play simultaneously using Solo Play rules, using the same cards. The player whose Glom best meets the Goal in each round is awarded the Phrase card (the card is awarded to neither player in the event of a tie), and sets the scoring threshold for the next round. The game ends when a player is eliminated using Solo Play rules, but no player can “win” if they have more Phrase cards than their opponent.