Players start with 20 points. A random 6-9 letter word is selected. Each player, in turn, must make an anagram of the current word, losing one point for each discarded letter and gaining one point if no letters are discarded. If no word can be formed, the player loses one point for each letter in the current word and selects a new random word. No word can be used twice in the game.

When one player has zero points, the game ends and the player with the highest score wins.

Strange Words was published (without the word list) in the Origins 2000 preregistration book. It was included in Chief Herman's Holiday Fun Pack.