Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Word Games

It's the big shopping time of year, and I've found myself looking at games like I never do during the year.

Book people seem to like word games. True?

Have you seen Bananagrams? It looks kind of silly and I haven't played it, but it sounds like something I would probably like, so I ordered one for my mom. Shhh!

JoAnne recommended one called Visual Eyes to me, which looks really entertaining.

We've always enjoyed Boggle, Upwords, and such. What are your favorite family word games?

I'll even take suggestions for other games. My family enjoys simple strategy games like Triple Yahtzee, Phase 10, Skip Bo, Sequence, and Blokus, which is another new discovery.

Think I'll go home tonight and challenge Mom to a game.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can play Bananagrams online, too (for free):

http://apps.new.facebook.com/bananagrams/
http;//apps.bebo.com/bananagrams

Awesome game, different player modes for solo and live play, and you can send challenges to friends. Definitely recommend!

Myra Johnson said...

Can't beat Scrabble as a word-game classic. But I try to avoid playing with my son-in-law, a former spelling bee champ. My hubby sometimes hauls out the Scrabble board when there's nothing good on TV, but he is a "creative speller" so I have to keep a careful eye on his plays.

And I can't pass up a good crossword puzzle. I probably average 3 a day.

Anonymous said...

Grandma and I have enjoyed games of Scrabble Scramble -- a timed version of the classic word game. I can actually sometimes beat her when we play it (unlike when we play regular Scrabble)!

Erica Vetsch said...

Scramble and Scattegories are favorites around here. And a sort of word game...Apples to Apples. I'll have to try Bananagrams.

Mary Connealy said...

Myra is pure dangerous at Scrabble. I play it online with her if I ever detect any traces of self-esteem. She pounds it right out of me, bless her heart.

I love Catch Phrase. It's got this little machine that ticks faster and faster as you try to get people to say the word you've been given, sort of like the $10000 pyrmid. But that ever faster ticking machine gives it, for some reason, this real fast paced, funny, stress factor that I love. We always end up laughing like loons.

Anonymous said...

A variation on Scrabble for those who have tired of being beaten by odd short words nobody uses.

http://www.wildwords.us

Peter

JoAnne said...

My very favorite game to play with a group of fun family and friends is Beyond Balderdash. It's better than regular Balderdash because there are several more categories than just word definitions. Movie plots are the best. I LOVE it! We have had some crazy times playing this game. Especially freaky are the times my sister and I unknowingly write down almost word-for-word exactly the same bizarre thing.

Janet Spaeth said...

When I was a freshman in college, a friend of mine invented a game called "Flies Do." Flies do, but beetles don't--it's like one of those parlor games where you have to figure out the rules, like Scissors--"I pass the scissors to you uncrossed." Anyhow, the way to find out if you know the "solution" to Flies Do is to try an example with someone. For instance, if you said, "Cars do, but buses don't," we'd just say you were wrong. But if you said, "Buses do, but cars don't," we'd nod.

Like any parlor game, there's a code of honor. Once you figure it out, you can't explain it. You just have to join in.

She also invented one called "Celebrate." You kind of have to know "Celebrate" by Three Dog Night to appreciate it, LOL, but it's like this: Meditate, meditate, think to the music--the first word has to rhyme with "celebrate"--yeah, I thought so. You do have to be a Three Dog Night fan...

Janet, didn't you have Monopoly? Chess? Checkers? Sure, but I *love* parlor games!

Debby Mayne said...

My adult children like Apples to Apples. I like Scrabble, but I haven't had time to play games lately. I'll have to check out some of these recommendations. It's time to start playing again.

Lynette Sowell said...

Boggle was always fun. Another game that is fun in large groups is Peanuts. Sort of like solitaire in a group card game. Fun and fast-paced. :)

Rhonda Gibson said...

Last month I met my mother and brother in Amarillo. We went to Barnes and Nobles and I discovered Bananagrams! I bought it and we had so much fun playing it! Your mom is going to enjoy this game.

Rachel Overton said...

When we all get together, our family usually pulls out Cranium before the rest of what's in the game closet. It's only part word game (can you spell "extraordinary" backwards without writing it down?! When your husband on the other team is tossing out random letters just to mess you up? He's lucky he's still alive! LOL), but it's lots of fun. It's like a combination of Trivial Pursuit, Charades, Pictionary, and word games. A little bit of Name that Tune--whistle or hum, no words! Can you draw with your eyes closed? Can you sculpt the word "run"? Yeah. Those are just a few examples!

It's a team game, though, and you should choose your team wisely!There's usually at least one area where everyone feels competent, so everyone has fun.