Snatch

About this board game

Snatch is a word game for 2–10 players that takes about 45 minutes to play, reimplementing the classic game of Anagrams with a distinctive tile distribution.

Place the tiles face down and take turns revealing them. As letters appear, players race to spot and say a word of three or more letters. Whoever sees and announces a word first takes it, creating an immediate contest of observation, vocabulary, and timing.

The game becomes more competitive once claimed words enter play. Words can be formed from the central pool of letters, but players can also snatch words from one another by changing them with one or more letters. A simple CAT might become CART, only to be taken again as TRACK moments later.

• Reveal face-down tiles and search for words of at least three letters.
• Call out a word first to claim it.
• Transform and snatch opponents’ words by adding or changing letters.
• Continue until all 100 letters have been turned over and players agree to begin scoring.

Snatch uses a tile distribution that differs slightly from a Scrabble set. This distribution was reportedly based on analysis by World War II code-breakers, giving the familiar Anagrams format a distinctive letter mix.

Originally published by PortobelloGames in the UK, the game was released in 2001. In 2008, U.S. Game Systems changed its name to Snatch-It, likely in response to the original title’s slang meaning in the United States. Whether played as a head-to-head challenge or with a larger group, Snatch keeps the action moving through quick discoveries and constantly changing words.