Wordical
Wordical is a game with a simple premise and set of rules. This makes it ideal for players of any age. Each turn, every player is dealt five letter cards. These cards only have consonants, and each letter has a certain point value, just like Words With Friends and Scrabble.
Once the players are dealt their cards, a player will roll two dice to determine which vowels everyone can use. There is also a chance that the dice will land on wild spaces. This means the player can choose their vowels. Players then make words from letters on their cards and the dice.
The game ends once there are either no cards left in the deck or every player does not have enough cards to begin a round. You then tally the final score to determine the winner.
Number of Players: 2 to 8
Average Playtime: 30 minutes
Quiddler
Quiddler forces the player to be creative and work with what they have. Every game card contains a letter, and those cards are assigned a point value. Each player starts with three cards, but the total number of cards increases by one each round. By the final round, each player starts with 10 cards.
During each round, players try to make words using their available cards. If they cannot, they can draw a new card or pick up a card from the discard pile. They end their turn by discarding one card and laying out their cards to show their word(s).
Once every player goes, their scores are added up. Players can also earn bonus points by having the longest or most words in a round. The game ends after eight rounds. The player with the most points wins.
Number of Players: 1 to 8
Average Playtime: 35 minutes
Trapwords
Trapwords mixes elements from dungeon-style, party and word games. Players are split into two teams. The goal is to reach the end of a dungeon and defeat a monster.
The game is set up with multiple cards that represent rooms in the dungeon. When a team wins a round, they advance one room toward the monster. A final round is played against the monster to win the game.
To win a round, a team must guess a word that only one person on their team and the opposing team know. The trick is that they must also avoid certain “trapwords” that the opposing team will use. These are words that might be used to describe the keyword. If the clue giver uses one of the trapwords, their team loses that turn and the other team gets to take theirs.
Number of Players: 4 to 8
Average Playtime: 30 minutes
Bananagrams
Bananagrams is a crossword game that forces players to think fast and form as many words as possible from their assortment of letter tiles. All of the game’s 144 tiles are placed face down to start. Each player is given a number of them; the number depends on how many people are playing. The remaining tiles, called the Bunch, are placed in the middle.
Once the game begins, every player flips over their tiles and begins to find words to form an intersecting word grid. It’s like Scrabble in that regard, but you don’t calculate scores or use a game board. The game is over when all of the tiles in the Bunch are fewer than the number of players and someone manages to use all of their letters to form legal words. The first person to do so is named the winner, or “Top Banana.”
Number of Players: 2 to 8
Average Playtime: 15 minutes
Dabble
Dabble challenges players to form words in five-minute rounds. Each player gets a five-row letter rack. The bottom row is for six-letter words. Each row shrinks by one letter as they go up.
Each player starts with 20 facedown letter tiles. When the round begins, each player flips over their tiles and creates words that fit in each row. Players can swap tiles from a center pile if they can’t create five words with their current letters. A player automatically wins the round if they can create all five words with their tiles.
The first player to earn 500 pointswins the game. Each letter tile has an assigned value, and those numbers are scored when a player creates a word.
Number of Players: 2 to 4
Average Playtime: 30+ minutes
Werewords Deluxe Edition
Werewords is reminiscent of the popular Werewolf party game. There are multiple characters, such as the Mayor, the Seer, and the Werewolf. Each of them performs a unique role. The main difference between Werewolf and Werewords is that in order to win, players must guess the Magic Word within a four-minute time limit.
The Mayor, the Seer, and the Werewolf are the only ones who will know the Magic Word. Once the turn begins, the players must try to guess the Magic Word. The Mayor can only use different types of tokens to communicate with them. These tokens let the players know if they are on the right or wrong path to guessing the word.
Number of Players: 2 to 20
Average Playtime: 10 minutes
Don't Say It!
Don’t Say It! is played by splitting up the players intotwo teams. One team member tries to get their teammates to guess a word on a card, but they must avoid using certain words to do it. It is similar to Trapwords in that regard, except the player knows which words to avoid.
Each card has a Main Word, but it also has multiple Forbidden Words that cannot be used. The opposing team is also shown the card. If they hear the player say any forbidden words, they remove that card from play and force the player to pick a new card.
Both teams have 60 seconds each round to guess as many words as possible. Each card is color-coded and worth a certain amount of points. The first team to earn 100 points wins.
Number of Players: 2 or more
Average Playtime: 10+ minutes
Fun Family Board Games for a Fun Time
Word games are a great way to make the most of a fun night. With these family board games, you don’t need to worry about things getting too complex for anyone. Keep the fun going and check out some classic board games that are consistent crowd-pleasers.
Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.
