Editorial Review

It's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, there's only one "X" in the whole box, and family feuds are increasing exponentially. But after 50 years, Scrabble has had a face-lift: a swivel base allows the board to turn so players don't have to work upside down, a plastic grid helps keep tiles in line, and a handy bag stores the letters when they're not in use. The premise hasn't changed at all--two to four players battle it out to make high-scoring words from seven little letters--so choose a dictionary before play begins to avoid ugly confrontations. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (68)

Play Scrabble? Buy This.
Remarkable. Scrabble is cool. Hep. Rad. Outta sight. But Scrabble in this deluxe form is sublime, intoxicating. The pieces stay put, thanks to little walls around each space. You can spin the board so as to not need to examine it upside down. The pieces never slide around. The plastic coating lets you wipe it off, unlike the cardboard version which stains. Nothing is compromised from the original, flat cardboard version, but everything is improved.

OK. Not everything. It still can't help you dump the Q, Z and J at the end of the game without a U. And it is unlikely to assist you in stopping your grandmother's amazing ability to squeeze you out of that triple word score you hoped to grab with a seven-letter word. Take that up with Gram. Just remember who made you the cookies.

Seriously, I recommend this to any family or commited Scrabble player. Families need it for that 'full-body contact' style of play that sometimes happens with children or cats involved. Commited Scrabble players need it for pretty much the same reason!

I fully recommend this game.

Anthony Trendl

A terrific game for the digital age!
Scrabble - deluxe, electronic, regular and travel editions, has been a tradition in our family for three generations. Even as technology becomes ubiquitous in our personal and professional lives, a game of good old fashioned Scrabble anytime two or more family members or friends are gathered is still among the most entertaining activities! It's an occasion for camaraderie, competition and conversation that is likely to remain popular in the 21st century and I highly recommend it for people of all ages.

Don't understand why they made this
I don't understand why this was released as a "deluxe" edition. This board is horrible. It is made of cheap plastic, nothing like you would think for $30. I was very, very, very disappointed in this. If you are looking for a good scrabble board, look somewhere else, because this is not the one. I have an old one that is great, but it is dirty and old, so i wanted somthing new. I am sorry I bought this. I guess it could be good as an occasional toy, but not for serious scrabble lovers.

A great game diminished by cheap construction
Our family enjoys playing scrabble so much so that we decided to buy the 'Deluxe' version to solve some of the common problems we have playing the game on a regular board.
Needless to say I was thoroughly disappointed at the cheap, flimsy, plastic board I received in the box. I have seen other 'Deluxe' brands which my friends and relatives had bought years ago and was shocked at what is now being sold, at over double the price of the regular version. The old one I had looks as if it will outlast the 'Deluxe'.
I reduced the fun rating by 2 stars simply because I hate looking at this board. Save your money and don't buy this one.

About the "Deluxe Edition"
I already reviewed normal scrabble, so this review is just about the Deluxe Edition. I got this as a gift and I appreciated how much easier it was to play because the board spins and the letters are secure.
A must when you are playing on the kitchen table in a crowed house. Worth the extra money in my opinion. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Voted a Best Party Game of the Year by Games magazine, Wise and Otherwise belongs next to Pictionary and Scrabble in your arsenal of fun. This creative, interactive game (read: everybody shouting, flailing, laughing) revolves around 500 cards, each emblazoned with five obscure and long-forgotten sayings from around the world. For example, one old Chinese saying is, "Don't add salt to a boatload of salt fish." One side of the card states, "Don't add salt to..."and it is the job of the players to devise probable endings. "Don't add salt to salty soup," for example. Or, "Don't add salt to the open wound." (The actual endings are listed on the flip sides of the cards.) A player wins points when other players vote for his or her special ending, or when the player guesses the actual ending, so the goal is to finish the proverb as convincingly as possible given the geographic region in question. Each elegant box contains one game board, 500 cards, six writing pads, six pencils, one die, and six player pawns. People who love language, oddly hilarious translations, offbeat proverbs, or just making people look foolish by guessing their very clever answers will adore this game. We predict: The one who plays this game ... will hear the laughter. ... Read more

Reviews (126)

Wonderful game, despite the price.
For some reason, when I first saw this game I thought it was a bit overpriced for the what it was. However, with the amount of phrases on the cards and the enjoyment it has brought to many of our gatherings, this game was well worth the investment.

Just to inventory the contents... you get with the game a game board, 6 game pieces, 6 pads, 1 die, 1 box or cards... and, most importantly, 6 sharpened pencils. ;)

In terms of game play, this game is the best "bluff 'em" type game on the market, hands down. It's very similar to Malarkey or Balderdash, but deals specifically with proverb and sayings from all around the world. Though the box says 2-6 players, after playing it on several occasions, we thought it best played with at least 4 people.

I would definitely recommend this game for the avid game player, who normally find themselves hosting get-togethers with their witty and imaginative friends. Don't be surprised if you find yourself laughing uncontrollable, throughout, at the proverbs your friends concoct.

A really great game for all ages
We've played Wise and Otherwise a number of times now with friends varying in age from 9 to 75, and all have found it very enjoyable. It's surprising how much fun younger players (age 9 to 12) have trying to outsmart the adults--and how funny it can be when they succeed.

The old proverbs are very enticing and stimulate everyone's creativity. The end result is usually raucous laughter. This is a completely non-threatening, enjoyable activity for any family gathering. If there are more than six people you can play in teams, which makes it even better. END

Hysterical!!!
This is a great game, expect hysterics from everyone concerned. If you can manage to retain your ability to speak while you play, you are in good shape. My husband and I played with a bunch of our friends who were also in our wedding party. Our wedding favors were fortune cookies with customized fortunes so we used sayings that our friends had come up with during various games. The guests were confused, but we were amused all the same.

Don't know about the 12 and above . . .
We actually played with six people, three of them being 6, 8 and 9. Talk about real hilarity!!! These kids came up with unbelievable endings we would never have guessed. It was lots of fun. Truly, we cried with laughter at almost every turn!

Laughed so hard we cried!
The first time we played this game, 6 people (grown adults) were in tears laughing at the absurdity of some of our responses! We continued in this gasping for air style of play for about 3 more rounds before we calmed down enough to get into more of the subtleties of the game. It is at times hilarious, thought provoking and insightful of those you play with. How funny or insightful depends on the players' effort, but if you are truly trying to win, you'll be surprised how many people you can fool with bogus phrase endings. I highly recommend this game! ... Read more

Editorial Review

Scattergories is a fast-paced word game that's a real crowd pleaser. Each player takes a categorylist with 12 categories--such as vegetable, state, president, things you throw away--and must write down thename of one item that fits into each category. Sounds easy enough, but each item has to begin with aspecific letter that is determined when the 20-sided die is rolled. For instance, you roll the letter "R." Youranswer list for the above categories might look something like this: rutabaga, Rhode Island, Roosevelt,rubbish, etc. You have to think fast, because a round lasts only 3 minutes! Players score points for eachunique answer. --Alison Golder ... Read more

Reviews (54)

Years of fun!
We have had this game for probably 10 years and we still love it. It is so much fun to play because the answers are unlimited and the game is different every time depending on what letters that you get. We have almost run out of the blank sheets in some of the little boards but a blank sheet of paper works fine too. We have played this with people of all ages and it is a blast. It is easy so almost everyone gets right into it! Definitely a must for your game closet!

Party Game!!
This is our game of choice when my family gets together with our best friends. This game is especially hillarious when you make up words and try to convince the other players to let you have the point for it. For instance, one time the letter was "W" and one of the subjects on the list was "something sticky", I wrote down "Wolf's Mouth". We all about died laughing. Now, even to this day, all I have to say is "Wolf's mouth", and we all crack up. You could play this game for hours and before you know it, it's the end of the night. There is no game that is more fun then this.

Great for many types of people.
I got this for Christmas and me and my sisters (cometimes our parents join in) always play this. It never gets old!! Even if we repeat a list, we come up with new answers. I disagree with the label "12 and up" because my sisters are 10 and 11 (9 and 10 when we started playing it) and they can do it with no problem. Granted I get more than them, since I'm 15, but they still do great.

Anyway, to play Scattegories, first you choose a letter and a list. Say the letter was "G" and the list included "boy names". Well, if I put Gregory, and so did one of my sisters, neither of us would get the point. If someone repeats your answer, you don't get any points. However, say I put "Gavin", Jordan put "Gregory" and Taryn put "Guy", then we'd all get the point. You have to make sure to think outside of the box (don't put the most popular band as an answer, or the city you live in!).

Good party game
This game is a fun game to play with family or friends. It combines strategy, vocabulary, and personality. There are lists of categories such as girl's name, sport, etc. You roll the unusually shaped letter die and the two minute timer ticks down. You and your opponents then scramble to come up with words that begin with the letter on the die and match the category. You have to work quickly but strategy comes into play. Each word gives you one point, but you don't want a common answer because if two or more players guess the same answer, neither gets a point(For a fruit starting with A apple may be too obvious, but apricot is more likely to win you a point). But if you reach too much on an answer, a slightly biased jury of your peers decides on the answer's acceptabilty. The revealing of the answers is often the best part as the hilarious and far fetched answers hurriedly sketched down are revealed to your opponents. The game can be played many times, and the only downside is the limited amount of category cards. After a few plays through the game you recognize familiar categories, so this game is better when played a few times a year, so the categories seem unfamiliar. It is a good game and even has some educational value in strenghthening vocabulary.

Fun with Family and Friends
I first played Scattergories with my boss and co-workers. My boss' family always liked to play games after a quick Saturday Night dinner and this game was the favorite by far. Not as difficult and drawn out as Trivial Pursuit or as quick as Balderdash, it is fun to come up with as many words or items based on the letters you have. One of my favorites for the letter "J" was always Juicy-Juice. Interestingly some will get upset at you if you are too good so be humble when you play with apparent novices to this game.

The best way to play is couples or teams of two if you have more than 6 people. It can be fun to play in a team environment because you will come up with more ideas.

This is a fun, fast paced and exciting game that will have you laugh and even say, "hmmmmm, I never thought of that.."

Get Scattergories for the whole family. ... Read more

Editorial Review

You can't beat a classic like Boggle for sheer return of fun on one's investment in a simple game. A small container holds 16 cubes, each cube marked with a different letter on each of its six sides. Give the container a good shake, and the cubes land within little pockets. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to find as many words (of three-or-more letters) as you can--in three minutes. Points are tallied by word length. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Great game!
Fast-paced, exciting and brain-enlarging, Boggle is one of the best dollar/fun values going.

My only complaint is that once you've mastered the letter set, you keep finding the same sets of words over and over and over again. We need additional letter-cubes!

Also, my wife and I play unusual rules -- no time limit. (We both usually agree to stop after 10-15 minutes).

Also, you will learn fewer new words with Boggle than with Scrabble, simply because the options are fewer.

However, this is a better game to play with younger kids who can get frustrated and bored with Scrabble but will love the faster pace of Boggle.

What happened to big boggle??
My family has been playing boggle since I was 10 yrs old! I am now 46. Somewhere along the line we graduated to big boggle (5 letters or more ) We always played after dinner, even my grandmother. We needed teams to beat my dad! Our set has seen better days. We can't seem to find a replacement...does anyone know where big boggle has gone?

Best game ever invented
I feel silly writing a review of a classic like this. But I've found a lot of people who've never even played Boggle! As an adult player, I could write volumes on why it is fun, but more importantly, it has huge educational value. Including.

1. Teaches spelling, of course
2. Teaches vocabulary. During scoring you see the words that other people came up with, I've learned so many words that way, it isn't funny.
3. Teaches quick thinking. This game is all about speed. That's what makes it fun and challenging.

You can handicap the game, for instance, adults have to find words of 5+ letters while kids play 3+ letters, so that people of different ages can play together.

A truly great game
Boggle is extremely challenging, especially if you are playing against highly-skilled opponents. Boggle is much more fair than games that have each competitor roll their own dice or draw letters from a stack. Having every player work from the same letters means the result is always based upon knowledge and skill and never upon who got the best roll or draw.
(...)

More than a toy
Boggle is more than a toy,it could be used by kids and adult people.I played it many times with many friends,the competition level is very interesting. i like it!
Ahhh you don't need many people to play boggle.
It's easy to carry to any place.try it! ... Read more

EDITORIAL REVIEW

To win Rigamarole, a charming party game in the Cranium tradition, players must answer questions in four categories: "word of mouth" (word games), "stage fright" (performing arts), "sensory perception" (relying on senses other than sight), and "uncommon knowledge" (trivia). The fun here, of course, is that while one or possibly two of these categories may match a player’s interests and abilities, everyone is sure to make a fool of themselves sooner or later. While tackling these tests, players win stones, which serve as a sort of currency. In a twist not often seen in trivia games, players who simply cannot pass a test can buy their passage using the stones they’ve acquired from previous victories. Rigamaroleis a nice blend of tough challenges, gentle embarrassment, and general playfulness. --Charlie Williams ... Read more

Reviews (14)

QUirky and Out THere
You don't know what's coming next with this game. That might make some people uncomfortable but I thought it was great! Putting on the blindfold in front of your friends is hilarious, and so is trying to remember their eye color (I got my girlfriend's right). I really like the hidden talents cards at the end, especially sock wrestling.

Pick of the litter.
Everything about this game is a delightful surprise. Rigamarole is a smorgasbord of highly entertaining games that have gone over well no matter who we have had to dinner. We have played many, many games over the years and this is the pick of the litter.

Will make any group laugh
We just played Rigamarole with 9 people last week. It was a huge success even tho some players were new to the group. There was a ton of laughter, discussion and all around good bonding because the range of activities includes everyone. Whoever made this game has a terrific sense of humor and an eye for what a group enjoys. This is a must-buy.

Laughs that woke up the House
The first time we played the game it took a while to learn the rules. But the second time we were laughing so hard the entire house could here. The game encourages you to be creative, even if that means modifying the rules. A GREAT game.

the funnest game of all time
Rigamarole is one of the funnest games I've ever played. It is also like no other game I have ever played. Having such diverse categories makes it more fun for everyone no matter what kinds of games you like. Good job to the creators of this one! ... Read more

Editorial Review

After all these years, it's still hard to get a triple word score, the tiles are still made of wood, and there's only one "X" in the whole box. The game of Scrabble has sparked feuds and a near-cult following. All the fuss is over a spelling game that hasn't had an upgrade in 50 years. It takes a little luck and a lot of skill to make high-scoring words out of seven little letters, sometimes with an overabundance of vowels and letters that don't go together--sometimes there's Q without U. Two to four players battle it out on the board, and while some players might be proud of impressive words ("I spelled gestalt!"), skilled players know how to use the premium letter and word squares on the 225-square board to their best advantage. This crossword game has strict rules (no names, no slang) and comes with a warning label: "Choose a dictionary first to avoid any ugly word disputes." --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (61)

Scrabble is the board game that help the entire family
As a child, we played Scrabble at least 2 to 3 times a week. My parents had an added bonus for us... any time we could place one of our school vocabulary words on the board, the score for that word was automatically doubled. This had phenomenal value for each of us. Since my parents never dummied down their own words or scores, it gave us a chance to stay competetive with adults, without being condescending. It also gave my parents a way of staying in touch with our school work (and we all know how important parental involvement is!) As a parent myself, I still believe in the value of games such as Scrabble. Try this method with your own children!

great game!!!!
I love this game. I play this game often. It taeches you how to sspell and is very educational.

Great game!
This game is a lot of fun and is very educational. It increases your word power and vocabulary and is very versatile.

A Classic
This is a classic game, what else can be said about it?

Well how about "speed Scrabble" a new way to play without using the board. Each player takes five tiles and makes a scrabble matrix. As soon as one player uses all five tiles, he say's "take two" and everyone has to grap two more. You can change your matrix at any time and you build it using standard Scrabble rules. When the tiles are finished, score like normal and subtract unused tiles. Can be played with any number of people, just open up another game and mix the tiles together.

As for the normal way to play, my only objection is the time spent waiting for other players to move and the fact that through bad luck you can get six vowels and the "Q", but other than those minor objections, this is one great game.

A classic. Highly recommended.

good, but not as good
This is one of the best games of all time in my opinion; however, despite the advertising, the current product is of lesser quality than it has traditionally been. Specifically, the tiles are different now. The corners are no longer rounded, the wood seems to have less finish, and the tiles are not all exacly the same size. This does not change the entertainment value, the educational value, nor the durability of the game, but it does diminish the overall quality. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Guesstures turns up the heat on the tired game of charades with a few modernizations. Good, quick pantomiming is still the thing, but now teams need to act out and guess four words in a matter of seconds. The "mimer-timer," designed like a movie scene board, controls everything. The actor draws four word cards and places them from easiest to hardest in the timer unit for each scene. After the arm swings down for "Action," time is rapidly eaten away and so are cards as the performer gestures wildly like a silent movie actor. When the cast guesses the word, the actor grabs the card before the "mimer-timer" does. Whew! It's a lot to think about. Each word is rated based on difficulty, so whatever cards the team correctly guesses and the actor manages to seize are tallied up and recorded. --Lynne Sampson ... Read more

Reviews (41)

Easy, Fun, and Duplicate
This is simply charades with rules, which is both good and bad. There are two sets of word / phrase cards, one with more difficult words / phrases that are worth more. Every card has two words / phrases, one more difficult and rewarding. They're placed in a thing that makes the cards fall one by one. You have to get your team to guess what you're acting and quickly grab the card. I think it's better without keeping score. This is a pretty good party game. I recommend it for any group of 3 or more friends or family members, especially one that can't come up with any charades things to act.

I love this game !!
I just played this game yesterday at my Thanksgiving dinner,and everyone was kind of off in different groups until we started playing the game and we had so much fun !

Fun in a large group
This is one of those games that's great in a large group and only fun the first few times you play.
I give it a recommendation, because at the right time and place it's a perfect game, but do point out that it's not a classic any time any place game, and it's definately not one that two or three can play by themselves.

Good Game
This is a great game if you like charades. There are simple words that you have to act out before the timer runs out. The game is excting, very fast paced and keeps you attentive. Very nice additon to a game night.

kind of....
this games was really bad, my guest did not like it and you need 18 people for it to be fun.... ... Read more

Editorial Review

If there's any game out there that normally makes little kidsfeel left out, it's Scrabble, the word game that's usually played byadults and older kids. But Scrabble Junior is a great way to introduceyoung children to the game and get them interested in how words areformed. In the beginner game, specially developed for younger kids,players draw seven tiles from a pool, then work to match letters to theones printed on the board. As they work through their tiles, they spellout the words, one letter at a time, and receive points for finishingeach word. By the end of the game, they'll have used over a hundredletters to work through a variety of different words. On the other sideof the board there is a basic version of the classic Scrabble game withsimple scoring rules. Once your children master the advanced game, youmight be surprised to see that they're ready to take you on in a matchof the original Scrabble. Just be prepared to losegracefully. --John Longenbaugh ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Not a total loss
This was a gift for my daughter's 5th birthday, and, though it's age-appropriate, we've found that the "Junior" side of the board to be terribly limiting.

There are only about ten words that kids can work to spell, and these are a predictably condescending mix of "easy words" like WATER and GOAT, along with "fun words" like ARCADE, CANDY and TELEVISION. If you play this game a lot, you're stuck spelling the same words over and over, so there's little learning value or reinforcement of new vocabulary.

The other side of the board can be used for a more normal Scrabble experience, but I find my 5-year-old, though she's reading, is a little young for that. My only other complaint is that all the tiles and "points" chips this game uses are thick cardboard, which means that if they sneak into the washing machine, they're toast (I know this from tragic personal experience).

All in all, this game isn't an outright loss, but I was expecting better from a big games company.

Recommended Ages: 4 to 6 years old ONLY (my 6-year old, an avid reader, is bored to tears with this game)

Playability on Shabbat: YES!!! (no batteries, electronics or writing)

Kind of deficient
I was excited at the prospect of a scrabble game I could play with the little children I babysit for. Unfortunately, this game relied neither on the luck that evens the playing field nor a skill a young child could pick up quickly enough to start winning enough. So unless I play dumb, I wind up winning each time. Also, I found the layout of the game to be especially poor for two reasons. First, as the featured reviewer noted, the cartoony pictures obscure the first letters of words. Second, the choice of words is so poor, it slows down the spelling process, especially at the beginning, when the variety of options is very limited. It seems the creators of the game just played a few rounds of Scrabble (TM) and said "Hey, this one looks good for kids" and didn't do any playtesting. So in conclusion, rather than looking at an educational game designed for children, what we have is a recognizable brand name that has been adapted to take advantage of a heretofore unregocnized market share. In other words, just trying to make a quick few bucks.

A good game for beginning readers
I played this game with three kids (5, 6, and 7 )for a week and we all loved it. Some games do not translate well into junior version, but this one is well done. The board has two sides. One side, the easier side, has pre-printed words. Players try to put the letters they have picked onto the board following some very simple and straight-forward rules. There are strategies invovled (such as trying to be the one to put the last letter into a word--one gets a point for completing a word). This part is best for kids 5 to 7 or 8.

The other side of the board is similar to the regular Scrabble board (without the doubling and tripling parts). One can form words without the constraint of pre-printed words. A kid who reads and writes well (7 or 8 year olds, for example), can do well with it.

I like this game because it gives kids a taste of the Scrabble game without making them work unnecessarily too long and too hard at it. (I tried using the standard board with kids. It worked for only a little while.)

All in all, a good game to have, even with the cardboard lettering.

Great for Letter Recognition, Reading
This is a fun, educational game. My twin four year old boys love it and ask to play it often. We play the easy side first so they can put the letter tiles(cardboard but pretty sturdy) on the printed words. I was amazed at how good their letter recognition was already. They get little triangle points for each word they finish. That's the part they like! Then, we practice on the hard side making simple words their names, etc. To do more educational things with it just use your imagination. We made up simple index cards of 3 and 4 letter words to use the letter tiles. I think buying the children's version is definitely worth it. I almost bought the adult version after reading some of the reviews instead of this children's one and I think that we would have missed out on so much fun! The letter tiles are much bigger than the original Scrabble and even though they are cardboard my twin boys haven't even bent them. Also, the "hard" basic side with no printed words has just blank yellow squares which are less confusing to young children than the adult version. Plus different words are printed with pictures around the edge to help them out when they tackle the hard side. I would buy this game over Boggle Jr. because it is much more versatile a game.

Fine for those not quite reading well yet
My son outgrew this game before 1st grade because to my delight, he is a fantastic speller and reader beyond his grade level. Actually I believe with some forethought on my part, I could have not bothered to buy this version.

The traditional scrabble is also more durable and the letters don't get bent up as these cardboard ones in the Junior version do.

My advice...jump right to the traditional scrabble. Fill in some of the squares on that board with words so it's the same premise as this Junior version. That way the game is also different every time for the child. You won't waste your money on a scrabble set that you'll use for a short time that isn't nearly as durable.

He's in 1st grade now and he got the traditional Scrabble and plays it well enough to hold his own comfortably while playing others. We don't focus so much on score, just on him coming up with the words in play. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Fantastic Party Game - Everyone Plays Every Round!
This is a fantastic party game. With so many different card categories and some many questions, we play it time and time agian. The game definitely has staying power, especially at parties. Playing board games at parties can sometimes get stale when people have to wait their turn. Mystify allows every player (except the card reader - which rotates) to play every round. Once the timer is turned, players race against eachother to solve the scramble. Whoever answers correctly advances on the board. Each question comes with a clue and it depends on the card category as to what the clue is. This keeps the game extremely interesting. The most fun of all is when two players blurt out an answer at the same time. This is a challenging, fun and educational game - We definitely reccomend it! I really love this game!

Good Fun.
We played Mystify at our recent game night with friends and family. Here is the scoop. Mystify is a game based around word and number scrambles. The object of the game is to be the first to solve the word or number scramble. There are 5 different card categories and for each category hints are given as to what the scramble might be. For instance, hints might be - Literary Figure; Popular First Name; Brand Name Product; Popular 70's Movie; Living Creature; Part of a human body, etc. The card reader reads out the letters or numbers (which are scrambled) and players race against each other to solve the scramble. Whoever blurts out the answer first wins the round and is able to advance on the board. The great thing about this game is that everyone plays every round. This keeps all players interested and with a vested interest in paying attention at all times. Since everyone plays at the same time this is a fantastic party game. You really can't go wrong if you want an all inclusive game to play at your game nights!

Don't miss this one.
We love word games, but all word games are based around forming words -- this game changes all that. The premise of the game is based around solving word scrambles and number scrambles. There is a clue provided with each category so that the players know what direction to look in. I highly recommend this game.

I lover racing for the answer!
This is a party game if I ever did see one. Everyone plays every round so nobody is bored waiting for their turn. The board is a simple race track and sometimes we leave the baord at home and play this in the car. All players race to solve the scramble and the categories provide not only different subject areas but varying levels of difficulty. The 'numbers' category is an interesting twist. Good, old fashion fun and a refreshing change to some of the mindless game out there -- I recommend it. I love word games and this is one of the best.

Great Party Game! Everyone Can Play!
This is a party game if I ever did see one. Everyone plays every round so nobody is bored waiting for their turn. The board is a simple race track and sometimes we leave the baord at home and play this in the car. All players race to solve the scramble and the categories provide not only different subject areas but varying levels of difficulty. The 'numbers' category is an interesting twist. Good, old fashion fun and a refreshing change - I recommend it. I love word games and this is one of the best. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Timeless and classic.
Scrabble is probably one of the games I remember playing first as an older kid; and the Spanish version was what I played at family gatherings - it's part of my heritage. It was exciting to find it on the net! I called various toys r us stores and was only able to get it through the net. Great game.

An Old Version of Spanish Scrabble!
I'm bilingual (Spanish/English) but my elderly mother's command of English is limited. Decades ago we bought a "foreign edition" Scrabble set, manufactured by Selchow & Righter Co. of Bay Shore, NY. Our set is truly a Spanish version, lacking "k" but with "ñ," "ll," and "rr" (the latter two no longer individual letters in Spanish) and with plenty of the more common vowels in the Spanish language. The letter values differ from the English values, commensurate with their degree of usage in each language. The last copyright notice on the Spanish game is from 1953. We bought it in the early 70's. Why didn't Hasbro follow this edition for their Spanish version? It is definitely a more accurate and educational one!

Spanish can be better
I live in Puerto Rico. My friends and I usually play in both in English and Spanish at the same time. But if you what to learn Spanish I will recommend playing the game entirely en Español. I will give you the pros and cons of this version:

Pros:
1. You can make higher scores in Spanish. K-8 points, W-8 points, Q-8 points but much easier to use, LL-8 points, RR-8 points, Ñ-8 points, and it is much easier to get rid of all your letters than in English.
2. Spanish words are written just as you pronounce them (that is why there are no Spanish spelling bees).
3. You can learn Spanish in a fun way, plus the game can be used in English and it has a couple more vowels.

Cons:
1. There are no really good Spanish dictionaries, other than the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary (Amazon has it at a reasonable price). And no Spanish Scrabble dictionary is to be found. This will make it hard on verb conjugation.

Whether you play it in Spanish or English or both the Spanish tiles are definitely better. Go ahead and try this version. Come on, you know you what to.

We love this game!
I'm a Spanish teacher and I found this game in a closet when I started teaching at my current school. I only teach the first two years of Spanish. To play the game entirely in Spanish is difficult and takes forever with new learners. We play in Spanish and English. If the student plays an English word they receive the normal amout of points. If the student plays a Spanish word he/she receives double the point value in addition to any extra points offered by the squares on the board. We had a 72 point Spanish word the other day. It is great fun and the students bury themselves in Spanish dictionaries trying to find the next big word!

Remember this is really a challenge in any language!
I am bilingual and bought this game for my mother. We were told that she has beginning stages of Alzheimer's. Well I think the doctors are wrong but just in case I got this for her.

Words games do stimulate synaptic links and activate the language center in the brain.

About the comment that this game is difficult in Spanish: The game is not easily in any language!

Also, keep in mind that Spanish due to its strong metaphorical constructs have many ways of expressing similar things. The poetry and imagery expressed in Spanish literature is quite powerfull.

Just have fun, learn and reinforce! :) ... Read more

Reviews (21)

My new favorite word game!
Having grown up on Scrabble, I was a little wary of the game at first. But I soon found that the strategies I loved to use in Scrabble (adding endings, squeezing a word in between two others, etc.) were just what was emphasized in Upwords. Although the scoring seems low after playing Scrabble, there is a terrific sense of satisfaction gained when changing words. I encourage my children to play, since the word play is fabulous for their development as readers. (word families can play a big part for those just starting out.) I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Scrabble leaves big shoes to fill.
Loving Scrabble, I thought I would try Upwords for some variety. It was challenging, but not in the same way as Scrabble. It is like playing Scrabble toward the end of the game when it's tough to make small words in the few spaces left...not testing your brain to come up with unique, long, high-point words. I felt it became more a game of chance (based on what letters you got) than of skill. Upwords was fun, but it doesn't have the longevity or variety of Scrabble. We played a few rounds and then went back to our old favorite.

Not what I hoped for
I'm an avid Scrabble player, and Upwords was billed as, and appeared to be, a more complex version of Scrabble. I should've known better; you don't try to remake a classic. Because the board is smaller, players are more limited. Because new words are just variations (of spelling) on early-placed words, the players are limited. The addition of the third dimension to the board has appeal -- from a distance. The end result is a smaller, limited version of Sxcrabble, that gets old fast.

Disappointing!
I had expected a game even better than Scrabble, but Upwords is not! Games fizzle out in no time due to the small board and dullness of having to change words instead of create new ones. Unlike Scrabble, there is no real vocabulary challenge. I don't recommend this one at all.

Interesting variation of the classic word game
As with so many closely related products, it is unfair to compare Upwords with the its classic predecessor, Scrabble. Both games are based on letter tiles and crossword puzzles, but the similarity ends right there.

In most respects, Upwords is a simpler game. Scoring is much easier, as each letter tile only counts for either one or two points, depending on how it is used. (There is, of course, one exception.) The game board itself is more restrictive, with the 10 by 10 square size forcing players to build vertically, whether they wish to or not. However, among two or more evenly matched players, the strategy can be just as demanding and the competition just as fierce as in Scrabble.

The downside to Upwords is in the physical quality of the product. The game board is of rather light construction, as are the letter tiles. The letter trays are a bit too small to properly hold the tiles. In fact, most of the little quality touches that one generally expects from Parker Brothers products are conspicuously lacking in Upwords, to the point of the game not even having a storage bag for the letter tiles. It seems that, in the effort to hold down costs, Parker Brothers unfortunately crossed that fine line from inexpensive to cheap.

That said, Upwords is a lot of fun. It teaches three dimensional thinking and forces players to plan well ahead of their next move. The game is an excellent way to turn a fun family evening into a vocabulary and spelling lesson, without the students even realizing it.

Considering that Parker Brothers did manage to keep the price very reasonable, Upwords is a true bargain in the world of family and table games. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Fast-Paced Fun For All Ages
This game was tons of fun...I purchased it for my 15-year old daughter for a birthday gift. I ordered Smart Mouth from Amazon.com after reading about it in an issue of Real Simple magazine. We opened it up at her party and everyone from my daughter to her 7- and 9-year old nieces to her aunt and myself just loved this game. It was fast-paced and the youngest girl had the quickest answers. Best of all, they had a blast while spelling words!!! A great game, both educational and fun.

adult party game
It's a shame this is lumped in with educational games. Although I can see it has great potential a as a vocabulary builder, it is one of the most fun adult party games I've ever played. It's similar in dynamic to Jenga, but requires a loose tongue instead of steady fingers, so it's a better choice after partaking of adult beverages. You can set the rules however you want--minumum 4 letters, only 3 letters, only place names, pick another language, anything!

Fun but there are better games out there
I had recieved this game for Christmas and I find it quite enjoyable. The concept of the game is very simple:

You slide the box forward and then back again revealing two tiles. You must think of a word that begins with the first letter and ends with the second. Example
Letters are:A L
Word Possible: Animal

Who ever yells out a word first that works gets the tiles. When the tiles dispencer is empty, you count up your tiles and whoever has the most wins.

If you are looking for a good travel game I do not suggest this one because the tiles can be lost easily. I do suggest this game for kids ages 7+ because you have to have a good vocabilary of words.

Good idea, poor design
Smart Mouth is the perfect name for this word game in which players must make words using the pairs of first and last letters. Though you really do not need the game pieces to play, having the tiles and dispenser helps ramdonize the letter choices and reloading the dispenser gives younger kids a kick. The instructions are clear and offer a variety of options for playing so that the game does not get stale too fast.

Thought the concept is pretty neat, the game itself it poorly designed. Once you dispense a pair of tiles, you have to remove them from the base, and then you loose them---all over the car, the floor, the table. It would have been simple and useful just to create a bigger base for the game.

The packaging is wasteful and ridiculous. The game comes in a large box, but it would easily fit in a box one third the size. There is no excuse for wasting this much cardboard or ink.

Great Fun and Educational!
My 9-year old and I love to play this game. Like Scrabble, it helps to stretch one's vocabulary and requires quick thinking. It would also be fun with a group of adults. Other than the letter tiles that get stored in the main compartment of the game unit, there are no other small parts. With bags for each player to keep "won" tiles, it would be a good travel game. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Just how good are you at fooling your friends and family? Test your powers of deception with Malarky, the game in which players try to bluff answers to such questions as "What is the 'cottage' in cottage cheese?" and opponents try to determine the real answers from the ones that are simply malarky. It's based on David Feldman's Imponderables series, which includes the books Imponderables: The Solution to the Mysteries of Everyday Life, Do Penguins Have Knees? An Imponderables Book, and How Do Astronauts Scratch an Itch: An Imponderables Book. The game asks the questions that everyone wonders about from time to time. After a question is read aloud, one player (unbeknownst to the others) reads the correct answer, while the other players present bluff answers--as convincingly as they can--and then each player votes for the answer they think is correct. Points are awarded when your bluff answer receives votes or if you vote for the correct answer. --Lisa Whipple ... Read more

Reviews (54)

This is really fun. My kids love this game.
We played this last night with the family, we all laughed at the answers our friends came up with. Most of all we had fun and learned some cool stuff at the same time. If you like bluffing games, like Balderdash, you will love Malarky. It is faster since you don't have to write down the answers, you speak through the answers. The material is much better than Balderdash. Rather than definitions you bluff answers to questions like, "why did pirates wear earrings", or "why are pistachios dyed red".

This is going to be around for a long time. I would recommend this to anyone.

fun for the family
I am 26 and I played this game with my husband and my grandparents while on vacation and we loved it. We rented a beachhouse and it was one of the games that was there so we have decided to purchase it for more family fun.

Great Game!
I bought this game for some family members for our "Family Game Night." We try to all get together every couple of months and we are always looking for new & fun games. This game has become a must for each gathering. We can't stop laughing the whole time. Part of the fun is not taking this game too seriously. I highly recommend this game.

Fun idea but poor execution
The primary idea behind this game is making up answers to questions that most people don't know the answers to. I like that aspect of the game. Bluffing and psychology I love!

However, I have a problem with the gameplay. I don't like that the person who draws the actual answer is supposed to have people pick his answer as well -- unless the other players are very good, it's too hard to compete with the actual answer. I also don't like the aspect that if someone's answer is duplicated he has to come up with another answer on the spot. It's rare that a person can do that and be convincing.

Two much superior games in this genre are Balderdash and Beyond Balderdash. The idea is very similar (coming up with bogus answers and getting people to vote for your answer), but the gameplay works much better. I won't go into detail, but a main part of my above complaints are addressed by having each person write his answer on a piece of paper and having one person read all of the answers -- and having that person *not* have the incentive to guess for the right answer.

I was very frustrated by Malarky but I strongly recommend Balderdash and Beyond Balderdash.

Fun and educational
This game is awesome! I played it with some friends and now I've been looking for it everywhere....I found it here! It's so much fun to play. Not only do you learn that your friends actually KNOW weird stuff, you learn weird stuff too!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Essential for preschoolers
PROS: Great hands-on game to motivate/aid your preschooler in learning to identify simple objects, view their word spelt on the card and then to match the letters, one at a time, into words. My daughter gets Boggle Jr. out on her OWN and plays with it quite often and we've had it since Christmas 2003. We also play with it together sometimes. She has improved greatly in both her fine motor skills and her focus/attention span playing this game. Both are Essential skills needed to be ready for kindergarten. And of course, knowing the alphabet and being able to make words and sound them out--which is the first step to reading.

CONS: All the letters to the words are capitals so it would be nice if flashcards of lower case letters were included and/or incorporated. Also there should be more than eight dice because sometimes rolling for the letters takes too long. It could be funner if there was an applause button and/or lights that went off when she spelt the word correctly. When I'm watching/helping I do that but when she plays on her own I'm sure that ONE additional feature would be so encouraging to her that she'd want to play/learn even more!

A waste of money
This is NOT a game. At most, it is a manipulative teaching tool for letters and how, when assembled in a particular order, they form words. We were VERY disappointed. We thought we were buying a game that would provide us with a fun way to incorporate learning of letters and words. All this does is have the child look for the letters that match those in the word on the card. No game, no fun. We used it once. It now collects dust on my shelf. I should have immediately returned it for a refund. Don't waste your money! As a homeschooling mom, trust me, it's a waste.

Maybe educational, but boring
My son has played this game exactly once - it is just not a fun or interesting game. He just turned four and ran through all the cards the first time he played it. All you do is match the letters on the dice to the letters on the card. I can see where there is some educational value to the game (I am a former teacher) but why bother, when there are so many other more fun ways to learn the same skills. I like the suggestion of the earlier reviewer to just buy a regular Scrabble game to do the same activities.

We all love Boggle Jr.!
My 3, 4, and 7 year olds all get good use out of this game in different ways. (Also our 1 year old helps by stacking up the cubes.) I would recommend it to any family with preschoolers up to early second grade (older kids play with the words always covered). My kids have been able to play it by themselves with very little teaching. Other reviewers have complained about Boggle Jr's lack of buzzers, music, timers, and competitiveness, as well as the fact that their kids actually had to look on the cubes for the letter they needed-- these are all plusses if you ask me! This game has promoted concentration and focus in my kids, and the sound of busy, thinking kids emanating from the dining room is far sweeter than electronic noises any day.

For pre-readers this is a great toy!
This is a wonderful item to encourage pre and beginning readers to grasp the concept of identifying each individual letter's shape (through matching) and that when put together in different ways, they form words for favorite objects.

This is so important to preschoolers and those on the verge of reading. Once you get the game and see it, you'll find various ways the game pieces can be used to help your child at whatever prereading level he or she is on.

One of the most underestimated games for this age. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Fun but not for everyone
I bought this game because my wife and I both enjoy languages and etymologies and because the reviews here were glowing. However, we have found it difficult to play with friends who don't have a similar background in language because it is easier for us to fabricate plausible but false derivations and to detect the falsity of others' answers. There are non-derivation categories to mix it up a bit, but in the end things somewhat biased toward those with a rudimentary background in Latin and/or Greek.

That being said, I do enjoy the game.

awsome game
This game is so totaly cool! it is so much fun and you learn so munch! I recomend it to everyone! If you don't have then get off your but and bye it now! I am telling you it is going to be the hit new game it is even better them chess! I am just warning you THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Staid Demeanor Lost
The game Derivation is about the greatest combo of fun and learning ever created!!! Being a single parent, starting an embroidery company and now newly retired teacher I have always had to have every minute of my life count for ten. Therefore a night spent "playing" was unthinkable. But..... if we're learning something like etymology .... then that could be worth while. Last night I borrowed it from him to play with a sub group of my Christian Singles organization. Well, you can imagine the rest of the story!!! Many times our "intellectual" responses reduced all of us to uncontrollable laughter. The word staid certainly dropped from our demeanor! Each of them, plus others who have already heard of our ruckus Saturday night, now want to buy it too! Again, mahalo for using your talents to make the world a better place! Carol Ann Rinker

Derives great fun!
Derivation is a fun, enlightening group game that allows you to bluff yourself silly. I love the English language and enjoyed learning more about it in such a fun way. My group's bluffs were so good that luck was a true factor in this game, which makes it open to many skills levels. I like that the game has more than one type of play, too, which added to the creativity displayed by the group. I recommend this game be added to your collection!

Derivation
We love this game! We had a great time playing this with a group of friends. Where did they get all of those derivations? We're looking forward to playing it again soon...we even had fun playing it with our kids who were supposedly not old enough to play, but even our eight year old loved the game.

Game lover
(and family) ... Read more

Editorial Review

Think you can come up with a girl's name containing the letters "Q" and"Y" in 60 seconds? Or a food or drink using "H" and "J"? There will truly betimes when Wordplay for Kids will be anything but child's play. Designed forplayers 6 to 12 years, this combo of word building and racing to the finish lineinvites youngsters to come up with the longest word they can in order to gainthe most spaces on the board. The spinner selects the two letters that mustappear in the word, the die roll selects the category the word must fit. Theenclosed rules are simple and, with one exception, easy to understand (you maywant to adopt a house rule clarifying whether or not the word must begin withone of the two spun letters, or merely contain it). And it'll probably take onlyone fight between the player who composed "Patty" and the "Patricia-Elizabeth"wordsmith, before you'll want to outlaw the use of hyphens. Those preteens canbe soooo devious. --Tony Mason ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Fun game; cheap cheap make
I played this game with my kids (under 8) and they seemed to like it: it is a spelling game and can be exciting for kids who have just mastered reading and writing. The participating adults can guide the game along, making it a cooperative game, rather than competitive.

The down side--and it is a big down side--is that the game is so cheaply made that it is nearly impossible to play the game: The spin-wheel, which is key to the game as it determines which letter of the alphabet gets randomly selected, does NOT spin at all. I can't imagine this particular part, if made slightly better (say, barely usable), could have cost that much more--this game isn't cheap to begin with.

Frankly, as much as my kids like this game, I feel that my money is not well spent.

Smart and Fun.
This game is clever! It really is loads of fun for kids to play and at the same time (without their conscious knowledge) they are improving their word skills. The game has a spinner, which, off-the-bat makes kids interested. Next, all kids play each round which ensures that nobody has to wait their turn (waiting for their turn in a game to my kids seems like slow torture). Since, they are all playing in each round there is lots of competition to come up with the best and longest word to fit one of six categories (ie. boys or girls name, living creature, food or drink and I can not remember the others). All and All - a smart and fun kids game.

Very Smart
I purchased Wordplay because I am always on the look out for games with an educational dimension. My son (aged 9) seems to have taken quite a liking to it, which is great since he tends to shy away from anything that he says 'feels like school'. He loves the spinner in the middle of the game board (a nice touch), and the idea of 'spinning to get your letters' (which are then used to form words). The words themselves are left to the child's imagination and vocabulary skills, ensuring that the game remains flexible and interesting. Even when he is not playing with some of his friends, my son sometimes comes up to me and asks that I spin for him (so that he can proudly show me the words he has formed using 'my' letters). All in all, very smart. Sometimes the simplest ideas really are the best. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Shake, Rattle and Roll the Dice for Fun!
I have enjoyed this game for many years, and then it disappeared. Even writing to the company produced no results. So we copied the score sheets and continued having fun. I lost one of my die, and the fun ended! Thankfully, my daughter found the game on Amazon.Com and sent it to me for Mother's Day, and the fun resumed immediately. I strongly urge children and adults alike to partake of the allure and try KISMET...it's a much more challenging game than Yahtzee.

A fun, challenging variation of our favorite dice game
Kismet is definitely a welcome addition to the shake and score dice game family. It is actually a "newer" version of Yacht with some changes. I'll always love Yahtzee, and Yacht is a lot of fun, but Kismet has new intricacies and challenges that draws one in and shakes up your playing strategy. It isn't so much the similarities that makes it fun, but its differences and changes in how you play.

Kismet offers many of the same scoring sections and rules of Yacht, (including the pip totals for Full Houses and minus the "Little Straight"), with the addition of 3 of A Kind (from Yahtzee), Flush, Full House (same color) and 2 Pair (same color). The upper, or Basic section also has a bonus for obtaining a high score; the higher the score, the higher the bonus so a more aggressive approach is required when deciding where to put your best rolls. The game's Poker background is much more obvious with the additional scoring combinations. The dice are tri-colored: ones and sixes are black, threes and fours are red and twos and fives are red. Fans of dice games also know that the sum of these opposite numbers of the same color total seven. These colors offer new challenges in scoring in categories requiring an identical color. Another marked difference is in the lower, or Kismet section; both Full House sections, 4 of a Kind and Kismet (5 of a Kind) award a bonus when gaining the respective score in those sections. Perhaps the most daunting (and probably the most cutthroat) difference in Kismet is revealed when scoring a second Kismet. When playing against other opponents, all other players must score a zero in the Basic or Kismet section near the top of either section AND lose their turns while the player who scored the second Kismet rolls again. This can continue as long as that same player continues additional Kismets! My only problems are with the dice cup; it is much too narrow to shake the dice properly, it's a bit flimsy and is definitely not as pictured on the box. The game also does not make provisions for purchasing additional score pads; these are essential for constant play alone or with groups. Kismet is a fun must have for any lover of dice games, and for fans of the Yacht game family looking for an additional challenge.

Kismet...a game for the ages!
My family has enjoyed this game for many years. Like the other reviews, we made copies of the sheets and continue to play. We've written high scores and even low scores on the box since the early '70's. Our box has a price of $2.29!. This is a great game and for those that think the cup is noisy....my Dad put felt on the bottom and sides of the cup and it doesn't make a sound! Buy and enjoy!!!

Kismet.....the dice game
My husband and I have enjoyed the simplicity of this game for years. Alot to do with the luck of the roll. and the competition of who scores higher. Simple fun!

Kismet is a Winner!
I've been playing Yahtzee for years and just discovered this game. Apparently it came out way before Yahtzee. It's very fun and puts a new twist on an old favorite!

Also, for those of you trying to find extra score sheets, you can purchase them at AreYouGame.com ... Read more