Company: Lakeside | Release date: 1956 | # of players: 2+ | Where to purchase: eBay
“The different word game that’s sweeping the country!”
Released by Lakeside in 1956, Perquackey was a fast-paced word-building game that had players race to form as many words as possible within a set time using lettered dice.
GAMEPLAY
The game was played with 13 dice: 10 with black letters and three with red letters. The black–lettered dice were referred to as Non-vulnerable cubes, while the red-lettered dice were called Vulnerable cubes.
At the start, each player rolled the 10 black-lettered dice onto the playing surface. After the dice roll, the three-minute hourglass timer was set and the players began to anagram as many different words as possible.
Words had to be formed in a single line from left to right, and only words found in a standard dictionary were allowed. No proper names, foreign words, or abbreviations were accepted.
Once a word was formed, the player had to pronounce and spell it out. At that point, another player recorded it on the score sheet. No more than five words using the same number of letters were allowed per turn.
When a player crossed the 2,000-point threshold, they became “vulnerable.” In this state, the three red-lettered dice were added to the mix. In addition to the red dice, vulnerable players were not allowed to use three-letter words and had to score at least 500 points during their turn — otherwise, 500 points were deducted from their score.
The first player to attain a score of 5,000 points won the game.
VARIANTS
After its initial release in 1956, Lakeside continued to release Perquackey under different box art. Later, Cardinal Industries sold the game.
IN THE BOX
A complete game included a dice cup, timer, and 13 dice (three with red letters and 10 with black). General instructions were printed inside the box lid, with a complete set of printed rules included in the box.
OTHER LAKESIDE GAMES
Other popular games from Lakeside include Barrel of Monkeys (1965), Reflex (1966), Mad Marbles (1970), Perfection (1973), Intercept (1978), and Chaos (1971).
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