Most of the games I’ve described are for anyone, but seem to be played most by combinations of grownups and junior players.
But on our recent holiday, the game played with most fervour was between the adults.
So here’s to Boggle – or indeed, to Ruzzle, as you’ll find it online.
Competitive word games
A note of caution here. Â There are different types of word game people. Â There are some
(I am one of them) who like interesting words, but are less good at using words to compete. This is why I lose at Scrabble, despite being a ‘words’ person.
There are others who may or may not see themselves as ‘words’ people, but can still spot words out of a set of letters. Â If you are in the latter camp, and particularly if you can do this fast, Boggle may be just up your street.
How to play
You have a set of dice, with different letters on the sides. Â Most versions of the game give you 16, laid out 4 x 4 within a holder. (You can also get 5 x 5 versions.)
You shake the dice (some sets have a lid to enable you to contain the dice as you shake them), let them land to display a set of letters, and then set a timer. (Your set may come with a small hourglass to give you a time of 3 minutes, or you can time this yourself.)
The notion is to make words of 3 or more letters. Â The letters have to be touching ie horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Â The trick is to make as many words as you can, out of the set of letters showing, in the 3 minutes.
You can’t use one letter more than once in the same word. Â If there’s an ‘s’ in your set, you can form plurals e.g. act, acts.
You’ll need pencils and paper for each player, so you can note down your words.
Scoring
Once time is up, you take it in turns to read out the words you have found. Â If two or more people have the same word, you cross it out, and it doesn’t count for anyone’s score.
Once everyone has read out all their words, count up to see how many you have on your list that no one else had. Â (Some turns, you may not have any.)
If you do, you score points: 1 point for each 3 letter word, 2 points for each 4 letter word, and so on. (Check the set you have – some sets may have different scoring systems e.g. 3 points for a 4 letter word.)
The person with the most points wins the round. Â You can essentially play as many rounds as you want, but setting a limit (e.g. 5 or 10) can help keep everyone focused.
Online versions of Boggle
Although the gaming started off with Boggle, those with smartphones moved on to playing Ruzzle, later in the holiday. Â In this set up, you play as twos e.g. you have to invite someone else to play with you.
Playing online tends to have a shorter timespan – 2 minutes instead of 3 – and fewer rounds – 3 seems to be the standard for most games.
Playing it on a phone means there’s an inbuilt dictionary, which can help. Â If the phone has a touchscreen, it’s very easy to drag the letters to form words, rather than writing them down, so you can go faster.
As the one adult without a smartphone, I didn’t try this out myself, but could see that the games went fast. The scoring is done for you, which also helps.
If you like your word games fast and furious, rather than deliberative and tactical (like Scrabble), Boggle could be for you. Â But if you discover that your hostess has been playing Boggle since her own childhood…just don’t expect to win. Much. At all.