Word Games
People have been playing word games since words were first invented. I’m not talking about the puns and double entendres and other clever and ironic word plays that writers use, but the actual word games and word puzzles that are marketed in games stores and on online gaming sites. These word games test out your vocabulary and spelling abilities, which is something any writer likes to show off. Frankly, I love trying out any kind of word game. There are actually quite a few out on the market, involving several subcategories of word games: word puzzles, letter arrangement games, structured word games, linguistic recreations, televised word games and even a few miscellaneous word games.
Playing a word game let’s you take a look at the building blocks of language and communication. Since we deal with words all day long, we tend to assume we’re going to pretty good at the word game. The problem is, while we might be good at “words”, we might not be good at “games”. Also, while you might be good at word games, there is always somebody better – usually a whole lot better. I thought I was pretty good at Scrabble until I tried an online scrabble website, whereupon I went 0-for-9 and decided to retire. I hadn’t memorized all the 2-letter words in the English language, which is akin to a talented Triple AAA baseball playing not being able to hit the major league curveball.
Word Games Lists
Since I realized I would never be a Scrabble champion, I’ve decided to add breadth instead of depth to my word game knowledge. So I’ve built a list of word games that have been marketed to the public, or have been played at one time or another. Here is my list of word games, though I hope the readers of Words Kit will email me about the certain omissions I have made. While I love word games, I may have never encountered certain word game types (especially in languages other than English).
- Crossword Puzzles
- Cryptograms
- Acrostics
- Anagrams
- Cryptic Crosswords
- Palindromes
- Hangman
- Scrabble
- Boggle
- Upwords
- Jumble
- Scribbage
- Charades
- Mad Libs
- Scattergories
- Taboo
- The Wheel of Fortune (boardgame, game show)
- Spelling Bees
- Lingo
- Celebrity Name Game Challenge
- Shiritori
- The Da Vinci Games
- Bananagrams
- Alternade
- Acrophobia
- Alpha Blitz
- Pass the Bomb
- Jotto
- Ditloids
- Spoonerisms
- The Green Glass Door
- Word Golf
- The Man Who Melted Jack Dann
- Kangaroo Words
- Pangrams
- Spoonerisms
Constrained Writing
The kind of constrained writing that goes on in poetry and other literary forms might be considered a word game. “Constrained writing” requires a writer to limit himself or herself to a certain condition or convention, imposing a pattern that must be followed. There are many types of poetry, from the sonnet to the haiku, that impose rigid structures the poet must comply with. Writing a pleasant-sounding and sensible poem under these rules becomes a kind of word game judged by literary critics. Other types of constrained writing which might be found in either prose or poetry are acrostics, anagrams, alliteratives, lipograms, reverse lipograms, palindromes, univocalic poetry and aleatory writing.
Paper and Pencil Games – Word Puzzles
One of the most enduring type of word game is the pencil & paper word puzzle: crossword puzzles. Many people structure their morning around working their newspaper’s daily crossword puzzle, while those looking for a real challenge work the New York Times crossword puzzles (especially later in the week). Kids play word puzzle games like Hangman from a very early age.
Letter Arrangement Games
Letter arrangement games like scrabble and boggle are popular these days. In a letter arrangement game, you must follow the rules of the game and the rules of grammar and spelling to succeed at the game. Letter arrangement games are a good way to teach children about the language, while people of all ages can build their vocabulary this way.
Linguistic Recreations
These games tend to center around the building of words through letters. Linguistic recreations tear down and build up words again and the word game allows the player to dissect words themselves. The classic example of the linguistic recreation is the spelling bee, and spelling bees have become so mainstream that ESPN broadcasts the national finals of the Scripps Spelling Bee Competition.
Televised Word Games
Word games have become some of the most popular game shows on television. “The Wheel of Fortune” is the classic example of this, though Scrabble and Upwords have also been converted into tv word games.