Really Loud Librarians Board Game: Rules for How to Play

Setup

Snap the plastic rings together so the largest ring is on one end and the smallest ring is on the other end.
Assemble the black and gray Score Trackers by sliding one piece into the other in order to create an X.
Place the gameboard in the middle of the table.
Place the two Score Markers on the zero spaces on the score track in the middle of the gameboard.
Set all of the Letter Tiles face down to the side of the gameboard.
Place both of the Librarians next to the E on the gameboard.
Place the rings on the gameboard so the largest chain is on the letter E and the smallest circle is over the letter K.
Place the Bonus Token and Lap Tokens next to the gameboard.
The players should choose which category (1-4) they will use from each card during the game. Both teams will use the corresponding number when using cards during the game. Shuffle the cards. You should place the cards on the table so the chosen number is face down.
The players should divide into two teams: Team Gertrude Birdwhistle and Team Wilfred Dankworth.

How to Play Really Loud Librarians

Really Loud Librarians is played over a number of rounds. In each round both teams will take one turn. Team Gertrude Birdwhistle starts each round and Team Wilfred Dankworth takes the second turn. Both teams will start their turn with the chain on the same start space.

Team Gertrude begins their turn by placing their Librarian marker inside the largest circle in the chain.

One of the player’s from the team then flips over the top Category Card so the number chosen at the beginning of the game is visible. You should place the card on the table where everyone can see it. A player on the other team then flips over the 60 second timer to start the turn.

Topic card for the round — For this round the current team will have to come up with answers that match the category “winter-related things”.

All of the players on the current team will look at the three letters inside the Chain. They will try to think of a word that starts with one of the letters inside the Chain that matches the category on the card they drew this round. When someone on the current team comes up with an answer, they should shout it out as quickly as possible.

Coming up with an answer — For their first winter-related thing, the current team has to come up with an answer that starts with L, S, or K. A player on the current team answers with “Santa”.

If someone doesn’t think the answer should count, they can object to the answer. They can object because they don’t think the answer fits the category, it is not a real word, it does not start with one of the letters in the chain, or it has already been used this turn. The game is temporarily paused by turning the timer on its side. The players will discuss the objection and decide whether the answer should count. If it is determined that the answer should not count and the chain has already been pushed forward, it will be slid back to its former position. The timer is then turned upright and the current turn continues.

The team then slides the chain counter-clockwise around the board until their Librarian is on the space corresponding to the first letter of the word their team gave as an answer.

Moving a character after giving an answer. — Since the team gave the answer Santa, they will slide their Librarian until it covers up the S. The players will now have to come up with an answer that starts with K, B, or D.

Three new letters will now be inside the chain. The players on the current team then try to come up with an answer that matches the category and starts with one of the three letters now inside the chain. You will try to keep shouting out answers and moving the chain until the timer runs out. The goal of the game is to move your Librarian as far as you can each turn. Each answer can only be given once each turn.

Should you ever make a complete lap around the board, you will collect your team’s Lap Token from the middle of the table. Place it in front of you with the “1 Lap” side face up. If you complete another full lap, turn the tile so the “2 Laps” side is face up.

Completing a lap — The current team has moved their Librarian around the entire track. They will take their 1 Lap token to indicate they went around the whole track once.

End of Turn

When the timer runs out, remove the Gertrude Librarian from the chain and place it to the side of the board next to the letter it was on when time ran out. Move the Chain back to the space that Librarian Wilfred is currently on. Team Wilfred Dankworth then takes their turn from the same start place as the first team. Team Wilfred places their Librarian in the largest circle of the chain and draws a new Category card for their turn.

After both teams have taken their turn, you will move onto scoring the round. See the Scoring section below for more details.

Letter Tiles

Before each round begins, one of the players randomly draws one of the Letter Tiles. They will flip it over and place the tile next to the corresponding space on the gameboard. Letter Tiles will remain on their corresponding space for the rest of the game.

Place letter tile on gameboard — The players revealed the C Letter Tile at the beginning of the round. They will place it next to the corresponding space on the track.

During the game you want to try and give answers that start with letters that have a Letter Tile next to them. Should you give an answer that starts with letter that has a Letter Tile next to it (the letter has to be in the chain when giving the answer), you will collect one of the Bonus Tokens. These tiles are worth one point each at the end of the round if your team wins the round. Each team can only collect six bonus tokens each round.

Come up with answer that matches Letter Tile — The current team currently has the opportunity to earn a Bonus Token if they can come up with an answer that starts with a C. With the category winter-related things they could answer with Christmas or Cocoa.

Scoring

Compare the positions of the two Librarians. Whichever team moved their Librarian further wins the current round. They will score points, while the other team scores zero points.

Determining which team moved further — The Gertrude team moved their Librarian further along the track. They have won the round.

The winning team scores one point for winning the round. They will score one additional point for each Bonus Tokens they collected during their turn. The winning team moves their Score Marker forward the corresponding number of spaces on the Score Track.

Scoring in Really Loud Librarians — The Gertrude collected two Bonus Tokens during the round. Adding in the point they scored for winning the round, they earn three points this round. They move their marker forward three spaces on the Score Track.

If the two teams moved their piece the same number of spaces, neither team scores any points.

To start the next round, remove the Wilfred piece form the Chain. Leave the Chain where it currently is. Insert the Gertrude piece into the largest circle. Both teams will start their next turn from the space that Team Wilfred ended their turn on. Return all Bonus Tokens to the middle of the table.

Reset the board for the next round — To start the next round the Gertrude piece is moved back to the space that Wilfred ended the last round on. Both teams start the next round on the same letter.

Winning the Game

The game ends as soon as either team reaches twelve points. The first team to reach twelve points wins the game.

Winning Really Loud Librarians — The Gertrude/white team has scored twelve points. They have won the game.

Components

Gameboard
60 Category Cards
20 Letter Tiles
14 Bonus Tokens
2 Librarians
2 Score Markers
Chain
60 Second Timer
Instructions

Year: 2023 | Publisher: Exploding Kittens | Designer: Ian Clayman, Ken Gruhl, Quentin Weir

Genres: Party, Speed, Word

Ages: 8+ | Number of Players: 2-12 | Length of Game: 15-20 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: Moderate

For more board and card game rules/how to plays, check out our complete alphabetical list of card and board game rules posts.

Written By:

Eric Mortensen

Eric Mortensen is an owner and head writer on Geeky Hobbies since 2014. He is an avid board game player and collector with over 3,000 board and card games in his collection. Since 2014 he has written more than 1,100 board game how to play guides.