Let’s preface this with Scrabble is great, it has been around a long time and has many benefits. It serves as a great introduction to spelling board games, but the problem with it is that everyone already knows it exists. Around a third of American homes and half of British homes contain a Scrabble set, so lets look at board games we might not have heard of. Today, we are going to look at word-play board games that are like Scrabble, take the formula, but do it a bit differently.
Table of Contents
- Spelling Board Games for Kids
- Spelling Board Games for Adults
- Our Final Words on Spelling Board Games
Spelling Board Games for Kids
Board games are great way to inject a bit of fun and competition into something that some people do not always enjoy – learning. Some people love it, but others learn through different mechanisms and board games are a great way to keep attention and engagement
Match and Spell
Match and Spell is a great spelling board game for 5 year olds and below. It really acts as the first introductory steps to spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary. There are two different sides to this game. The first is a word board; here, players must recognise and collect letters to spell the word on their board and – when complete – say the word out loud. Flip the board over and you get a second side. On this side players must sound out and phonetically spell the word.
Think Words (Tapple)
Tapple has undergone some rebranding recently and is now known as Think Words. Nonetheless the ideas and themes still remain the same. Players must draw a topic card from the deck. There are two different types, a blue and white side for younger players, and a red and yellow side for older players. A topic example for younger players might be animals and for older players clothing brands.
Players must then say out loud something that fits in that category, like “cat”, they would then press down the C on the Think Word machine and play would pass down to the next player. There is a fun little timer in the game which adds to the stakes and makes it a bit more exciting.
If a player takes too long or can’t add another word to the category, they are out. It is a classic most cards win kind of game.
Take a Letter
Take a Letter is a bit of a mashup between Scrabble and Monopoly, in truth it is aimed at slightly older children, but anyone can play. The game takes the crossword type grid of Scrabble, but makes you earn the tiles you are playing with by moving your piece around the edge of the board. You pick up the letter you landed on, plus one of the letters you passed over during your movement. In addition, when you pass start you may pick up any letter.
A really interesting mechanic in this game are the word cards. They force you to play speicifc words, for example, you may have a word card saying you may only place words ending in “ing”. It adds another layer of complexity to the Scrabble formula and is really well done.
Another feature that the game has borrowed from Monopoly are the Chance cards, labelled “?” in this game. These, similar to Chance cards, give rewards or punishments to the player. They may be able to swap word cards with another player, thereby opening up more words to themselves and ruining their opponents plan. A penalty on the other hand might be returning tiles they picked back to the supply.
Take a letter is a great synergy between Monopoly and Scrabble, but it also shares their advantages and disadvantages. If there are aspects of its inspired games that you do not like, you might not like this one either.
Pairs in Pears
It was close between Pairs in Pears and Bananagrams, but we have already discussed Bananagrams in other posts and felt readers would be less likely to know Pairs in Pears – Bananagrams’ younger brother.
It takes some of the ideas and themes of Bananagrams, but adds a slight twist on it. We have the same idea of lying tiles in a crossword-like fashion, but the aim of the game is to make pairs. Pairs are words that share a letter either horizontally or vertically. For example, Cat and Rap both share an “a”.
Marketed as an educational tool, this game is great for younger players helping improve vocabulary and pattern recognition.
Spelling Board Games for Adults
The following games are typically a bit too difficult to children. Thinking of bonus mechanics in Scrabble, like 7 letter words, it is incredibly hard for children to fulfil these conditions. It is hard for adults too to be honest, but we will give it our best shot!
Letter Jam
Letter Jam is produced by the same publishers as Codenames, Czech Games Edition. They have this indescribable talent to make straightforward ideas fun and engaging. It is a cooperative game played in teams where each player is trying to guess their word from clues given by other players.
Each player creates a 5 letter word and gives it to the player to their left. Players then put one letter card in front of them that they cannot see it. Other players provide clues by using all the letters in the circle. So, let’s say your letter is S in a 6 player game. Other letters you can see are B, E, R, A. Players will let you know what order the words are in, for example:
- ? – 1 (this is your letter as you do not currently know what it is)
- A – 2
- B – 3
- E – 4
- R – 5
You now must think of words ending ABER and hopefully are able to deduce yours is an S for Saber. There are multiple clue rounds to help you figure out that your word is. If you are confident, move onto your next facedown card. Eventually after guessing all 5 letters, you can guess the word the player to your right gave you at the beginning of the game.
The game can be made easier or harder by giving players more or less letters at the beginning of the game. Now, we appreciate that this seems mega complicated and on the face of it, it is, but games from this publisher specifically have a way of letting you learn incredibly quickly while playing. If you are still stuck, check out the below gameplay video by the publishers themselves.
Letter Tycoon
Letter Tycoon is an amazingly original idea in a somewhat saturated market. When players place down words they earn money in the following ratios:
- 3 Letter Word – $1
- 4 Letter Word – $2
- 5 Letter Word – $3
- 6 Letter Word – $4 + Stock (bonus points that come into scoring at the end of the game)
- 7 Letter Word – $6 + Stock
With this money, players may buy a patent for certain letter, for example, E is a $10 patent. When you own a patent, you get a $1 royalty each time another player uses that letter.
When the goal card number of patents is reached, for example, a player owns $45 worth of patents or more, they final round occurs and then scores are tallied up.
It is a really novel idea, do you pick commonly used vowels that have expensive patents? Or do you pick special action consonants, like a “B” that lets you earn double if words begin and end with a vowel.
Paperback
Paperback sees you taking on the role of a struggling writer trying to finish novels for your editor. You are trying to finish sci-fi, romance, and if you are lucky, the fabled best seller. The game words on a deckbuilding mechanism so as you play more and more you get better and stronger cards.
When placing words different letters have different values, for example common consonants like “T” and “R” are 1¢, a “Z” is much more valuable. When you place a word you get the amount of money equal to the letters you placed down.
Subsequently, with the money you make you may buy special letters of varying costs between 2¢ and 8¢. Some may be two letters in one, like “RE”, other might have action abilities increasing the money you earn or decrease the amount of money your opponents can earn.
With the money you earn you can buy victory points that come in the form of finished novels. There are a couple of other methods of getting victory points, such as using themed words – a pirate novel might have “Starboard” as a theme. In classic fashion, the player with the most victory points wins.
Overall, it’s just good, word based fun with a little competition and intrigue thrown in the mix.
Our Final Words on Spelling Board Games
Word and spelling based board games are a great way to train and exercise your brain. While classic games like Scrabble are fun, they tend to lack a bit of flair. The board games on this list, especially those targeted at adults, like Paperback and Letter Tycoon, add some really fun an interesting mechanics into the genre. I for one am excited to see how these types of board games will improve and develop over time.
