6 Excellent Games For Language Geeks
For people who love languages, there is no better way to pass the time than playing a game which helps you to learn and practice new words. Linguaphiles love to get their teeth into anything which challenges their knowledge of definitions and spelling, as well as their ability to construct words under pressure. From classic board games to new apps you can play with your friends on your phone, there are so many fun options to choose from.
To help everyone take their word skills up a notch, here are 6 excellent games for language geeks.
1. Scrabble
The most famous language game in the world, Scrabble was first released way back in the thirties, and since then the rules have remained basically the same. Scrabble is played between two to four players, each of whom starts with seven letters from which they need to make a word to place out on the board. Different letters have different points values and there are also special bonus spaces which multiply the value of single letters on entire words. The words intersect on the board with players linking their words either vertically or horizontally with others already on the board. Scrabble is the perfect game for practicing your word-building skills, learning new vocabulary, and taking on other language fans amongst your friends and family. You can take help from scrabblewordcheat.com. This is a free tool for generating words that can help you score high and win scrabble games.
2. Words With Friends
This hugely popular mobile game is reminiscent of Scrabble and has brought language games to a whole new generation of players. As with Scrabble, players make words from a random selection of letters and attempt to get the best possible score. Creating the best words possible takes a little practice and one way to take your skills to another level is to practice with a word unscrambler. There are various unscramblers available and this one at unscramble.me will give you a selection of letters, just like Words With Friends so that you can prepare yourself for a heated contest with your loved ones. One way to make Words With Friends even more exciting is to have an ongoing contest with your loved ones to see who can make the single highest word score.
3. Bananagrams
Bananagrams is a super fun word game that you can play anywhere. The game works in the same way as Scrabble and Words With Friends except it doesn’t require a game board. You start by flipping all of the tiles out on the table face down so that you can’t see the letters. Every player then chooses the same amount of titles and once you have them someone yells “Split!” and you flip them over. You then all race to make your own word grids, arranging and rearranging the letters until all yours are gone. You then choose three more letters and keep going. When there are fewer tiles left in the middle, the first person to finish their grid shouts “Bananas!” The other players then check it for mistakes. If there are none, you become “Top Banana” and win the game.
4. Boggle
Boggle is another word-building game except instead of using letter tiles, you shake up special dice which have letters rather than numbers. There are 16 dice in total with which players need to make as many words as possible within a set time limit. Some players go with thirty seconds and others with one minute. Any three and four-letter words you make are worth 1 point, five letters are worth 2, six letters are 3, seven letters are 4, and any words with eight or more letters are worth a whopping 11 points. Boggle is a great way to practice expanding words from their roots. For example, you may start by finding the word light, then expand this to lights, and then finally notice that you have the letters for sunlight. These three words alone would give you 16 points.
5. Taboo
Taboo is a fantastic party game that you can play with your friends and family whenever you have a chance to get together or fancy a fun night in. The game is played in teams and uses a set of cards with the main word that needs to be described by one person without them using any of the forbidden related words on the card. If the main word is “forest”, for example, the related words may be “trees, woods, jungle”. Each team is given one minute to get through as many cards as they can with a point scored for every word correctly guessed. If a team is stuck on a card, they can pass it and go on to the next one. You can play as many rounds as you want, adding up the scores each time, until a final winning team is declared at the end.
6. Heads Up!
Heads Up! is another awesome phone game that is downloadable for free on most smartphones and tablets. It is played by two and more players with one player choosing a topic such as “Countries”. They then hold their smartphone on their forehead so that only the other players can see the word on screen who then have to describe it without using the word itself in a similar way to Taboo. If they guess the word correctly, they flick the smartphone downwards to score a point and get the next word, or they can flick the phone upwards to pass. At the end of a minute, each player will have a final score and it is the next player’s turn. One really fun feature is that the describing players are filmed during the round so you can watch the video back at the end.
There are so many fun and interesting games for language-lovers to practice their skills and challenge their friends. These games can be played just for enjoyment or as an effective brain training exercise. We all learn better when we are having fun so these language games are a great way to improve your language abilities. Try out some of these games with your loved ones and you will soon start to reap the benefits.
