Crack List rules: how to play and how to score
Reviewed on 15 October 2026 against the publisher’s rulebook. How we check
Crack List plays 2 to 8 players in about 30 minutes: a category word game played with cards, where you get rid of your letters by finding answers. Here are the essential rules, setup and scoring, based on the official Yaqua rulebook.
- Players
- 2 to 8
- Play time
- About 30 minutes
- Winner
- First to 3 round wins
Crack List quick rules
- The goal
- A list is announced, like “Yellow things”, and your answers must start with the letters on your cards. The first to get rid of all their cards wins the round; the first to win three rounds wins the game.
- Your turn
- Taking turns clockwise, you have 20 seconds to play a Letter card with a correct answer, or an Action card. Otherwise, you draw a card from the draw pile.
- Wrong answers
- A wrong or repeated answer: take your card back, draw and lose your turn. A disputed factual answer is checked with a search engine; a subjective one is put to a show-of-hands vote.
- Hard letters
- Some Letter cards show +1, +2 or +3: with a correct answer, you give that many cards from the draw pile to the opponents of your choice, to one player or split among several.
- Action cards
- Reverse changes direction, Stop makes the next player skip, Swap exchanges your hand with an opponent’s, and Crack List changes the list: you draw a new one, then the player on your left plays.
- End of the round
- With one card left, you only have 10 seconds to play it, and it must be a Letter card: you never finish on an Action card. The round’s winner chooses the next list.
- End of the game
- Each round won is worth 1 point; the first to 3 points wins. In a variant, the winner of a round scores the cards left in the others’ hands, over an agreed number of rounds.
- Beginner traps
- Play your Action cards before your last card, don’t repeat an answer already given, and watch the timer: 20 seconds, 10 for the last card.
How to score Crack List
- Rounds won
- A round won by playing your last Letter card is worth 1 point. The first to 3 wins the game.
Worked example
With 4 players, Emma plays her last card, a B for “Bananas” in “Yellow things”: she wins the round and goes to 2 points. Leo also has 2, so the game goes on, and Emma chooses the next list. She wins the next round too: 3 points, victory.
Common mistakes
- Finishing on an Action card: your last card must be a Letter card.
- Scoring the others’ remaining cards outside the variant: under the normal rules, a round is worth 1 point.
- Forgetting the 10 seconds for the last card.
How to set up Crack List
Setup takes about 2 minutes and is redone every round.
The cards
- Shuffle the List deck well.For your very first game, shuffle both decks several times.
- Shuffle the Letter and Action deck.
The round
- The youngest player draws a List card and chooses one of its three lists.In later rounds, the winner of the previous round does.
- Meanwhile, the dealer deals 8 Letter and Action cards to each player.
- Place the rest of that deck face down in the center: the draw pile.
- The list is announced, and play goes clockwise.Everyone has 20 seconds to play.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards do you start with in Crack List?
8 Letter and Action cards per player; the rest forms the draw pile.
What does the Crack List card do?
It pauses the game: the player draws a new List card and chooses the new list, then the player on their left plays.
How many rounds do you need to win Crack List?
Three: each round won is worth 1 point, and the first to 3 points wins the game.
Ludingo’s Crack List sheet was last reviewed on 15 October 2026, based on: rulebook (PDF), BoardGameGeek.