Wordle is a fun and addictive word game, but if you want to reduce screen time or play word games with your friends, what then? Americans spent an average of 1,300 hours on social media in a year, and a third of Americans want to spend less time on social media.
So the next time you get together with some friends, suggest one of these five word games. They are not your typical 20 questions or “I spy with my naked eye (not that there’s anything wrong with those). These games should keep people from watching TikTok videos and checking their Instagram feeds.
Fun Word Games
Ghost
The first player says a letter, and the next player adds a second, and so on. The goal is to continue adding letters without spelling a complete word. If your goal is to spell the word sweater, the player who adds a -t has spelled a complete word—sweat. They lose that round and receive a letter from “Ghost.” The first person to earn all five letters of GHOST, loses. Ghost is also a great game to play while driving.
Last Letter, First Letter
The name suggests the rules. Pick a category (sports, for example). If the first player says “baseball,” the next player must say a word that begins with the last letter of baseball and make it the first letter of a sports related word–“league.” EagleS, socceR, RugbY–see how it works?
The round ends when a player cannot think of a word. I have lost this round because I can’t think of a sports word that begins with “y.”
A variation of Last Letter, First Letter is the “Alphabet Game.” Pick a category, and players must say words related to the topic in alphabetical order. Fruit–Apple, Banana, Canteloupe, and so on.
One-Word Stories
One-Word Stories is a combination of a word game and a story game. The first player says a word to start a story, and the next player says one word to continue a story. The resulting stories are often odd:
Frank
sat
on
a
television
and…
There’s no telling where that story will lead.
A variation on this game is “One Sentence at a Time.” Same concept, but instead of individual words, players contribute a sentence.
I Went to the Store
The first player says, “I went to the store and bought…” The next player has to add to the list by saying the items already mentioned and adding another one. The game continues until someone leaves something off the list.
For example, the first player says, “I went to the store and bought grapes.” The next player repeats and adds an item. “I went to the store and bought grapes and a can of soup.” The first one to forget an item loses.
Fortunately, Unfortunately
In this story game, the first player starts the first sentence with “fortunately.” The next sentence needs to begin with “unfortunately.” This game is guaranteed to create some surprising and wacky stories.
“Fortunately, the man remembered to buy a present for his wife. Unfortunately, he left it sitting on the counter at the store.”
The game continues until players run out of ideas or the story is so wacky that everyone’s rolling on the ground in uncontrollable laughter.
Wordle Board Game
Three million people worldwide play Wordle (although that number is declining). Based on its press, the numbers should be higher, right? When the game was at its height of popularity, entertainment websites posted tips and clues, and it seemed virtually impossible to have a conversation in public without someone bringing it up.
So why does Wordle’s popularity seem to be waning? Just like any other viral phenomenon, many people’s curiosity simply fizzles out with time, and they move on to the next viral topic or idea.
Maybe Wordle the Board Game will be the next viral thing. Hasbro and the New York Times Games have teamed up to create a game that can be played with 2 to 4 people. Like the online game, it had its moment of fame as the best-selling board game. Now it has slid to 155th.
If you’re interested in words, we have a post on Mind-Blowing Word Facts. And our vocabulary page features fun words like carbuncle, ebulliate, and abaction.
Have any fun word games? Leave them in the comments below.
And please share—it takes just a few seconds and helps spread the word.
