The word vs word search basic full#

Our five year old loves this game, and it’s been a great way to develop her spelling and handwriting as well as logical thinking about which letters can or can’t be the correct ones after a few guesses. The second player guesses a word the first player tells them how many letters match in the right position (bulls) and how many letters are correct but in the wrong position (cows).

This game, which can also be called “Mastermind” or “Jotto” involves one player thinking up a secret word of a set number of letters. This can be great for sparking ideas, or as a way to encourage reluctant writers to have a go. Once all five stages are complete, the players open out the papers and read out the results. The very simple version we play has five lines: (1) A male name, (2) The word “met” then a female name, (3) “He said …” (4) “She said …” (5) “And then …” Each player writes down one line of a story and folds the paper over before passing it around the table to the next player. This is a fun game with a group of people, as you get a wild and wacky mix of ideas. #4: Consequences (2+ players, ideally 4+) They’re a good way to get used to letter patterns and to improve spelling – and because word searches rely on matching letters, even children who can’t read well will be able to complete simple ones. Most word searches are easy enough for children, though younger children will struggle with backward and diagonal words. The person completing the word search needs to find those words within the grid. #3: Word searches (1 player)Ī word search has a grid (often 10×10 or more) filled with letters, and a number of words written alongside or beneath the grid. Simple ones are suitable for fairly young children, with a little help. Others have more straightforward clues.Ĭrosswords are great if you want to learn new words and definitions, or (at the cryptic end of the scale) if you enjoy playing with words and language. Some crosswords are “cryptic”: great if you like brainteasers.

The word vs word search basic full#

You can find crosswords in many newspapers and magazines (on all sorts of subjects), and you can buy booklets and books full of them. If you’re playing it with small children, you can do it without the perhaps rather unpleasant “hangman” element, and just count how many guesses each player takes! #2: Crosswords (1 player)Ī crossword is a grid of white and black squares, where each white square is one letter of a word. This is a great game for developing spelling and vocabulary. Correct letters are inserted into the word incorrect letters result in another segment of the “hangman” being drawn. The other guesses letters of the alphabet. One player thinks of a word and writes down dashes to represent the number of letters. Hangman is a classic word game for two players. I’ll start with the simplest games: pen and paper ones that you can play pretty much anywhere, so long as you have a pen.Īll of these are suitable for children, and some (like crosswords) are enjoyed by many adults too. But there are also lots of tried-and-tested classic games that you can play with pen and paper, or using cards and dice … and we’ll be taking a look at those first. Of course, there are loads of online games (and quizzes and tools) that you can use to improve your writing skills, and I will be talking about some of the best of those. Many of the other games are suitable for children, too, so by all means try out other games as a family if you want to. Become more fluent in English (if it’s a foreign language for you)Īfter the list of 50 writing games, I’ve given you a top ten that I think are particularly great for kids who want to practice their writing skills.Yes, seriously! Word games and writing games are great ways to develop your vocabulary, to help you think more deeply about words, to have fun with story and structure, and to get a lot of fun out of writing. If you want to improve your writing, maybe it’s time to ditch all the writing books and podcasts and play some word games instead. List of 50 Great Word Games for Kids and Adults By Ali Hale