Sentence Cube Game


Sentence Cube Box

This game produced by the makers of "Scrabble", the Selchow & Righter Co., was donated to the Museum in 1978. Unlike other crossword games, this one focuses upon complete sentences.

The box in the photograph to the left (13.3cm long 27.2cm wide x 6.6cm high) illustrates how the game is played. There is no game board as such, a flat surface is used along with the game pieces.

Sentence Cube playing pieces

The photograph on the right is of the box bottom with the pieces required to play the game. The box includes a timer 3.3cm diameter x 8.9cm high (lower right in the photograph) which sits on a plastic base at either end. The white sand inside passes the sand from one end to other in approximately three and a half minutes when the timer is turned upside down. Next to the timer in the box is a "dice cup" (6.4cm diameter x 7.7cm high). The interior of the cup is lined with green cardboard and the exterior is covered with a brown textured plastic. The bottom is circular piece of metal. The cup is open at the top and is used to randomize the "word cubes". In the center of the box is a score pad (12.4cm long x 10.5cm wide). The pad has 25 sheets in chart form with space for player names, 12 game scores, and total score.

There are 21 two inch square wooden word cubes in a plastic bag at the top of the box. On each cube is a word printed in black. The words are simple nouns, verbs, prepositions, and articles, such as "if", "or", "he", "at", "gave", "later", "hear", "what".

Up to 8 players can take part in the game. The object is to put the cubes into the "dice cup", shake them up, roll the cubes onto a flat surface, and make sentences in crossword fashion from the words on the top face of the cubes. Score is accumulated based upon the number of words used in a sentence.


Quip Qubes box

Quip Qubes

This is a somewhat related game also produced by the Selchow & Righter Co. and donated to the Museum in 1978. Somewhat like the "Sentence Cube" game described above, rather than letters, the playing cubes have printed words on them.

A difference between the two games, is that this one makes use of a game board - somewhat like a "Scrabble" game board. Printed on the "Quip Qubes" game board is a matrix of 15x15 cells and scoring values in certain cells which a player accumulates when they place a cube on that cell on the board.

Quip Qubes game

Another difference between the games, is that this one has two dice cups (6.4cm diameter x 7.7cm high) - one red, and one blue. In addition, each player has their own set of 26 word tiles to use in playing - one set imprinted in red, and one set imprinted in blue. Simple words like "cat", "help", "plan", etc. are imprinted on all four sides of each cube. Thus, in playing, a player may put their word of choice "face up" to complete a sentence or block their opponent's sentence. Like in the game of "Scrabble", each player alternatively places a cube on the board.

Also included in the game box is a score pad and an instruction booklet.


Last update May 31, 2010