Semannix

How to Play

Draft words, build sentences, outscore your opponent.

Overview

Semannix is a head-to-head word game where you compete against an opponent. Each game revolves around a pool of word tiles. You draft tiles from the shared pool to build your hand, then use those tiles to construct valid sentences. The player who uses the most tiles in valid sentences wins. Each tile shows its part of speech — (N) for noun, (V) for verb, (W) for with — to help you plan.

Game Phases

1

Drafting

6 turns (first 35s, then 20s)

Both players start with a hand of 4 tiles (3 nouns and 1 verb). A pool of tiles is revealed, including “with” tiles that can only be obtained by drafting. The first turn gives you 35 seconds to survey the pool and make your pick. Subsequent turns are 20 seconds each.

You and the opponent take turns picking one tile at a time from the shared pool. Who goes first alternates each turn. Each round, 3 new tiles are introduced to the pool (highlighted with a glow). After 6 turns, each player will have 10 tiles total (4 starting + 6 drafted).

If the timer runs out on your turn, a tile is picked for you at random. Choose strategically — tiles you skip may be grabbed by the opponent.

2

Construction

60 seconds

Arrange the tiles in your hand into up to 3 sentences. Each tile can only be used in one sentence. Tiles you don’t use are simply left unused — there’s no penalty, but they won’t earn points. Submit your sentences before time runs out.

3

Scoring

Automatic

Both your sentences and the opponent's sentences are evaluated for both grammatical and semantic validity. Valid sentences earn points equal to the number of tiles used. Invalid sentences score zero. The player with the higher total wins. In the event of a tie, the player who spent less time overall wins. In the event of a tie on time, the player who went second in round 1 wins.

Sentence Examples

Sentences are judged on both grammar (correct structure) and meaning (real-world plausibility). Here are examples of what works and what doesn’t.

Valid Sentences

“sailors navigate waters”

Sailors can navigate waters. Clear noun-verb-noun structure.

“wolves hunt prey”

Wolves can hunt prey. Straightforward 3-word sentence.

“zookeepers feed tourists with potatoes”

"With potatoes" — potatoes are the instrument for feeding. Valid 5-word instrument sentence.

“zookeepers with veterinarians feed sheep”

"With veterinarians" — veterinarians can also feed sheep. Valid 5-word companion sentence.

“zookeepers with veterinarians feed sheep with potatoes”

Veterinarians can feed sheep AND potatoes can be used to feed. Valid 7-word combined sentence.

Grammatically Invalid

“tall ancient forests green”No verb

Every sentence needs a main verb.

“sailors explorers navigate waters”Multiple subjects

"Sailors" and "explorers" are each independent nouns before the verb — pick one.

“navigate sailors waters”No noun before verb

A noun must come before the verb to act as the subject.

“dogs chase cats hunt mice”Multiple main verbs

Two independent verb phrases crammed into one sentence.

Semantically Invalid (grammar is fine, meaning is not)

“rocks eat dogs”Subject can't act

Rocks are inanimate — they cannot eat anything.

“farmers harvest buildings”Impossible action

The verb-object pairing is nonsensical — you cannot harvest a building.

“farmers water crops with theories”Invalid instrument

Theories cannot be used as an instrument to water things.

“zookeepers with rocks feed sheep”Invalid companion

Rocks cannot feed sheep — the companion must be able to perform the action.

Special Notes

  • Determiners (the, a, an) and conjunctions (and, but, or) are not available as tiles — their absence is expected and sentences are judged accordingly.
  • All nouns appear in plural form.
  • “With” tiles are draftable only — they never appear in starting hands. There are 4 identical “with” tiles in every game pool.
  • Valid sentence patterns:
    • N V N (3 words) — basic sentence
    • N V N with N (5 words) — the “with” noun is either an instrument used to perform the action, or a modifier describing the object (e.g. “enclosures with gorillas”)
    • N with N V N (5 words) — the “with” noun is a companion who can also perform the action
    • N with N V N with N (7 words) — companion combined with instrument or object modifier

Scoring

Your score is simply the total number of tiles used across all valid sentences. Each player has 10 tiles, so the maximum score is 10.

Example

  • Sentence 1: “zookeepers with veterinarians feed sheep with potatoes” → 7 points (valid, 7 tiles)
  • Sentence 2: “wolves hunt prey” → 3 points (valid, 3 tiles)
  • Sentence 3: “rocks eat dogs” → 0 points (invalid — rocks can’t eat)
  • Total: 10 points

Ties are possible. If both players score the same, the game is a draw.

Tips & Strategy

  • Use the first turn wisely. You have 35 seconds to survey the pool, identify which tiles pair well together, and make your first pick.
  • Draft with a plan. Don’t just grab high-value-looking tiles — think about which tiles will help you form complete, valid sentences.
  • Maximize tile usage. Three short valid sentences using all 10 tiles (scoring 10) will always beat two elegant sentences using only 7 tiles (scoring 7).
  • Draft “with” tiles. They aren’t in your starting hand, so you’ll need to draft them. A 5-word sentence scores 5 points versus 3 for a basic sentence, and a 7-word sentence with both companion and instrument scores 7 — it’s worth the investment.