There are a lot of vocabulary games (word games) out there that just aren’t games because they are based entirely on vocabulary. Whoever has the bigger vocabulary will win. The games below attempt to level the playing field by adding additional dimensions to gameplay. Even people who don’t find Scrabble or Boggle exciting should consider taking a stab at these.
Word in the Street
Outside the Box Publishing Inc.
The word in Vico pits two men, or teams, against each other. The letters of the alphabet (17 of them to be exact) are placed in the middle of the square, and the teams with the most useful word try to ascend to the card category in the traditional turn. After they decide the word, they need to write it correctly, to move the letters of the alphabet closer to their parts and finally catch them. The game requires not only a good vocabulary, but the ability to think quickly and strategize on which words are going to give you the most bang for your letter. Knowledge of uncertain things comes readily available, even, quickly, to name a part of the camp in arms. One downside to this game is that it sometimes draws near the end when both teams are focused on 2 or 3 letters to win the game. Kind of like a tug of war and each team is looking for a word killer with 3 p’s to get their 8th and final letter… who’s the puppy?
Ratings:
Vocabulary: 3.5 out of 5
Strategy: 3 out of 5
Fun: 4 out of 5
Playing time: ~ 30-40 minutes
He played well in at least 2 teams.
Konexi
Wonderful Forge
Konexi is a game that tries to marry Jenga with Boggle. You are required to pull the letter off the board, in the dying catalog, and add it to the structure without causing it to fall. If you want points though, you’ll have to form the words using the letter you’re adding and the ones you’re currently connecting to. Creating the longest word for a given letter does not always give you an advantage. If you happen to knock over the tower, you lose points and maybe die. Most words between 3 and 5 letters are placed with a 6 letter word once in a while. So the vocabulary is not too complicated.
It may seem like a daunting task at first, but the letters are strong and the connections are not too difficult. We were able to build at least 1 tower with all the letters. If you really get into the game, you can even add some advice. If I can’t make a word here… I’ll throw Q into the mix and hope you hit.
Ratings:
Vocabulary: 2 out of 5
Strategy: 3 out of 5
Patience: 5 out of 5
Fun: 5 out of 5
Playing time: ~ 20-30 minutes
Type
University games
Typing is a vocabulary game that requires some strategic thinking and knowing your opponent. Four letters were placed on the table and each player dealt a set of cards with each letter, of course. You have a letter in your hand that has been put together on the board to form the beginning of a new word. Of course, if you want to add T after A to make ‘attic’, the best hope is that the opponent doesn’t throw a key in your plans and add U to A for ‘hope’. That’s the idea of the game, what word(s) are they thinking and I can block them, forcing them to take more cards. It helps to have a large vocabulary, but good planning goes a long way in using it.
Another good aspect of this game is that the number of cards never increases. They go from your hand to the board. Then, if you need to take something away, only take half of what is on the table. So the amount of cards in the game is always staggering, making the game not too long.
Ratings:
Vocabulary: 4 out of 5
Strategy: 4 out of 5
Fun: 4.5 out of 5
Playing time: ~ 20-30 minutes
* Playing times have been introduced for playing games where you actually set a limit for each player to come up with a word. If he is playing with younger children, he thinks it would be worth it to take it a little further and give them a chance to move by himself. In this case, the games will be played longer.
