Word games q3 2013

The Proof Angel is the trading name of Sarah Perkins, freelance

editor and proofreader. www.the-proof-angel.co.uk © Sarah Perkins 2013

Word games: September 2013

This is a collection of games to play without technology, special cards

or tiles: just paper and pencil, or whatever is handy. Sometimes you

don’t even need that.

Alphabet Debate

Objective:

Keep the debate going.

Play:

Everyone writes a topic of conversation on separate scraps of paper & a

random letter of the alphabet. Do two each & collect the papers into a

"hat".

Pick a topic. The first player says a sentence beginning with the letter

chosen. The next player continues with the topic, starting their

sentence with the next letter of the alphabet.

Example:

Music, C.

Can you play the piano?

Dad can, but I never had lessons.

Everyone used to be able to play.

For a while I had a harp.

Going to lessons on the bus must be hard work.

www.the-proof-angel.co.uk © Sarah Perkins 2013

Scoring:

The first person who cannot continue the conversation drops out.

Cheddar Gorge

Objective:

Never finish the sentence.

Play:

The first player picks a word to start a sentence. Take it in turns to add

a word to the end so that it continues the sentence.

Scoring:

Players drop out when they complete a sentence with their word.

Ghosts

Objective:

Never finish a word.

Play:

The first player thinks of a word of more than two

letters & writes it down. Take turns to add a letter to

the word.

Scoring:

Players drop out of the round by:

• Being the person who completes a word so that

it cannot be continued by anyone else.

• Not being able to suggest another letter when

challenged to do so after putting down a letter

(which is a different slant on the same situation).

• Unsuccessfully challenging a player to suggest another letter for

the word after they have put down a letter.

When a player drops out, they collect a penalty point – the next letter

in the word “ghost”. So the first time you drop out you get g, the

second h and so on.


Players drop out of the game when they have acquired all the letters of

the word “ghost”.

Variation:

The start with a letter in the middle of a word, & add to the ends.

Guggenheim

Objective:

Fill the grid with words.

Play:

One player chooses a word 5 or 6 letters long, which everyone writes

across the top of the page so the individual letter form column

headings, leaving a blank column on the left.

Each of the other players nominates a category, which everyone lists

down the empty left hand column.

Agree a time limit, or that everyone stops when the first person has

finished.

Try to fill in the grid you have made so that the words all start with the

letter at the top of the column & the category for the row.

Example:

If the word is "metal" and the category is "names" the row might read

Mike, Edith, Tom, Alan, Louise.

Scoring:

Score 1 point for each word you write in, & a bonus for a slot where no

one else has a word.

Note:

If playing with a small number of people, pick 2 or 3 categories each.


Hangman

Objective:

Guess the word.

Play:

You need to be able to write on something that can be seen by

everyone. It can be anything from a piece of paper (or tablet) for two

players to a blackboard so the whole class can play.

One player thinks of a word, phrase or sentence and represents it by a

row of dashes, one for each letter, with appropriate spaces. The others

guess the word, letter by letter. Correct letters are marked in their

position on the dashes. Wrong letters are noted down below the

dashes, to avoid arguments and make sure everyone can keep track.

Keep a tally of wrong letters by adding one element of the

hanged man stick figure, building it in a logical order of

course. The game is over when:

• The whole word is guessed correctly.

• The picture is finished.

Some people like to include the features of the face as part of the

counting to give the players more chance to guess. It is best to agree

whether you will do that before you start. You might want to draw a

face when younger players are involved to give them more chance of

winning against adults.

To avoid arguments, it is also a good idea to agree whether the dashes

for sentences need punctuation at the beginning of the round.

A less gruesome version is to draw an octagonal "stop" sign instead.

But can you call that hangman?


Last is First

Objective:

Keep the list going.

Play:

Pick a category & a letter. The first person says something in that

category beginning with that letter. The second says something in the

category beginning with the last letter of the word chosen by the

previous player.

Example:

The category is girls' names:

Emily Yvonne Elizabeth Hilda Ann

Scoring:

Players drop out when they can't supply a word.

Matching Letters

Objective:

Guess your opponent's word (play in pairs or two teams).

Play:

Both sides write down a 6 letter word. Take it in turns

to say another 6 letter word, which is marked according

to how many letters are in exactly the same place in the

target word. Keep going until someone guesses their

opponent's word, earning an extra point.

It is easiest to keep 2 columns, one for your opponent's

suggestions & one for your own. Record the scores for each

word as you go along & then add them up at the end.

It is the same principle as the colour code guessing

game Mastermind.


The Parson's Cat

Objective:

Take it in turns to describe the cat with an adjective beginning with the

next letter.

Example:

The parson's cat is small.

The parson's cat is tiny.

The parson's cat is unusual.

The parson's cat is vain

The parson's cat is wet.

Scoring:

Players drop out when they cannot continue.

Word Ladder (invented by Lewis Carroll)

Objective:

Change one word into another.

Play:

Everyone writes down the same word (usually 5 or 6 letters) at the top

of their paper. The winner is the person who can make the longest

ladder by changing one letter at a time.

Example:

chase

cease

lease

leash

leach

peach

perch

parch

patch

catch

Variation:

Agree the start and finish word, then see who can make the change

with the shortest ladder.

Entertainment & Humor

Word games q3 2013