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Dale of Merchants
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Royalty
1959
Rules assistance for Royalty
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–6 players
- 10 min
- 6+
- Complexity 1.8/5
Rules assistant for Royalty
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Royalty is a board game released in 1959 for 1–6 players, 10 minutes per game, and ages 6 and up. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Team-Based Game.
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About the game
Royalty is a word card game that combines aspects of Scrabble and Rummy. Players can build words from their hands as in Scrabble but may also steal other players' words to create different words by combining those letters with their own hand. The two 53 card decks are composed of red and black cards of equal frequency. The decks contain all the letters of the English alphabet (of varying frequency) and a Knave (wild card). A player scores every time they create a word or capture a word. There are bonus points for using all of your hand in one turn and for creating a word over four letters long of all one color. Players receive additional points at the end of the game for each card they managed to keep. And of course if any player manages to create the word 'ROYALTY' they can double their final score and tradition dictates that all players stand in tribute. Selected as a Games 100 Best Game!
Publishers
- U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
- Deluxe Games and Puzzles
- S. J. Miller
Questions and answers
Royalty supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Royalty is 10 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Royalty for ages 6 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Royalty has a complexity rating of 1.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Royalty belongs to these categories: Card Game and Word Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Set Collection, and Team-Based Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The catalogue lists Royalty as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.