Some of my family enjoy word games more than others. I’m probably the most excited to find a new game in hopes that it will pique one of my children’s interests. Recently I went in search of new word games to bring to the table. I found several new games to add to my collection. Included are some classics along with some new favorites. 

Bananagrams

A newer classic letter game with seemingly Scrabble roots, Bananagrams is an enjoyable word game for those who don’t enjoy games like Scrabble. What makes Bananagrams unique is players play against each other, but instead of building your word on each other’s grid, each player builds and plays on their own word grid, which enables multiple ages and various levels of ability to play in a fairly level playing field. 

Small words can be a better fit than large ones. The winner is not who creates the most or largest words, but is the last person to use all the letters in the pile, making this player the “Top Bananas”.

The game pieces are neatly housed in a yellow banana bag, and to play, you only need a flat surface to play, making it perfect for home or on the go. Rated for ages 7 and up.

Upwords

While this seems like another variation of a Scrabble game, it is in fact very different. Similar to Scrabble, players play their words on a crossword like grid, earning points for each letter played. But unlike the versatility of Bananagrams, it’s probably better suited for those who really enjoy word games. 

What makes Upwards unique is by a simple stacking of a letter, you can change a word by the placing of one new tile. Tiles can be stacked to create new words such as the word “slap” can be changed to “snap” with only one tile. 

Brushing up on your two letter words would be beneficial. The game intensifies the farther along the game you play. The higher the stack of letters, the more points are scored. Stack up to five high!  Rated for ages 8 and up. 

Word on the Street

 Ready, set: Can you think of something worn in hot weather? How about the name of a saltwater fish? Go! It’s time to move your Word on the Street! 

While this can be played as a two-player game, it’s even more fun in groups. In this game of tug of war of letters, teams think of words that describe designated categories and move the letters across the street and onto their side of the game board. All letters begin in the center lane. 

You may have chosen mackerel as your saltwater fish. Now move each letter one time toward your side of the street for each letter in the word. But until you’ve moved those letters completely off the board, they are still in the race. Your opponents can move them back to their side of the street on their turn.

It’s a hilarious tug of words street race style and a great word game for those who don’t like word games! Rated for ages 12 and up. 

Word Xchange

• Currently, out of print, check eBay for a previous edition

In this fast action game, players create and steal words to be the first to form words before they steal words from you! 

Players take turns drawing letters from the bag. Once you’ve selected your letters, use those letters to form a new word,  or you can steal your opponent’s word and add your selected letters to them and rearrange them to form a new word. 

While easy in the beginning, the game intensifies as the words become larger. While you can’t add an S letter to the end of a word to make it plural, you can steal an opponent’s word by changing the form of the verb. For example, “show” can be showed or shown. 

Be the first player to create and keep six words wins. It’s a great game for multiple ages. Watch those younger kids who are generally more likely to use shorter words. They can win the game! Rated for ages 

Buy Word

Currently out of print, check eBay for previous edition

This is by far the most unusual game in our letter tile list. Buy Word isn’t your normal tile game. It’s a combination of buying tiles at a low cost, building words, and selling them for more than you paid. Inside the box, you’ll find tile letters, a die, price list and cardboard money. 

In this economic word game, players receive money to purchase tiles. Roll the six-sided die to determine how many tiles you may draw. The dot under the letter represents exactly how much money each tile will cost. Do you think you’ll be able to create words from those available tiles? Do you have enough money?  

Using those tiles you’ve purchased, it’s time to make words. The object is to sell your word for more than you paid for it. Longer words are worth more; those annoying, obscure, two letter Scrabble words have no place in this game. 

The player who has the most money at the end of the game, wins! For ages 8 and up.

Jabuka

• Ages 8+
• 2-8 player

Is your tile an e, m or w? How about all three! In this fast-paced twisted letter game, many of the characters of your bean-shaped letter tiles can be turned to form different letters. You choose which way to turn your tile to create as many words as you can. 

Open the bag, pour out the beans. Some will land face up, some face down. Begin by only pulling letters that are face up. The lighter colored beans are wild. 

Players play simultaneously to make words. You can even steal another player’s words by twisting, adding or rearranging their beans to form new words.  Play continues until no player can find any more words from the face up beans. Turn 10 face down beans up, and continue searching for words. 

Continue until all beans have been turned up. The game stops, and players count their words. The player with the most words, wins the match!

The coffee bean style tiles store neatly in a burlap bag, making it ideal to toss in your bag to play at your local coffee shop. For ages 8 and up.  

Dabble

Grab your tiles and build your words! Be the first person to create 5 words and shouts Dabble wins the round! 

In this pyramid word shaped game, players must take their 20 tiles to create a word for each row of the pyramid.  Beginning at the top with a two letter word, each subsequent word in the pyramid must have one more letter, ending with a six letter word on the final row. Oh, did I forget to mention this? You only have 5 minutes!

If you’ve managed to fill every row in the pyramid, you’ll have used all your tiles. If not, add up each number on the face of the tile, which counts against you. You choose how many rounds you want to play. The player with the least amount of points at the end of the predetermined rounds wins! 

While rated for ages 10 and up, younger players could play if players divide into teams of two, pairing a younger child with an adult. 

Conclusion

There you go! Maybe it’s time to think about having a wordy game night. Do you have a favorite I didn’t list?