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I am not sure if it is the author side of me or the reader side that is more drawn to word play, but I have found challenging my vocabulary capabilities a fun way to decompress. While some find “mindless” clicking as time to unwind, word games allow me to shut down from the responsibilities of the day while still engaging in an activity that somehow feels constructive, or at least that is how I justify it.
Do you remember a few years ago when Wordle took the world by storm? Wordle was created by a software engineer in Brooklyn for his partner during the pandemic. First, it was just a private word guessing game the two of them played, but then they added it to a family What’s App group and before long it was shared with friends and continued to grow. After seeing the widespread appeal, it was released to the world in October 2021.
Wordle is probably one of the simplest interface and concepts imaginable. It is literally just a five letter guessing game with six chances to guess the word of the day. Guess a letter correct and it changes color depending on placement and inclusion in the word. But Wordle went beyond a solitary word game, it created a community around….words. Beyond the friends you engage with, you can even stoke that competitive spirit by sharing your results on your social media feed with a widget blurring out the letters to prevent spoilers.
If you are looking for some fun word games to add to your day I thought I would share a few favorites!
SpellTower
Think Wordle meets Tetris. You have to find words in a tower of letters, as you clear them out you remove letters. You goal is to clear out all of the letters while maximizing your score. Be careful of those Q’s and that they aren’t falling away from the U’s!
Scrabble Go!
Who doesn’t love a classic. Whether you have space for a word or not is all on you and how you have built your space. This one is also fun to play with family or a friend. Send the board back and forth and see if your vocabulary is extensive enough to build words with the highest point value. Enjoy the pastime of a traditional favorite game without a bag full of tiles with you!
Words with Friends
Arguably words with friends is Scrabble. If you know and love the classic Scrabble, you will likely enjoy Words with Friends, which one you like better may come down to aesthetic. Words with Friends has a few more tiles, and the placement of bonus point and special spaces are laid out different between the game board. Again you pass the game back and forth between friends and increase your points based on the point value of the letters and spaces you are using.
TypeShift
Rubik’s cube and a crossword puzzle. This one is fun! You have clues to solve for a word but with an extra challenge, you need to move the letters up and down to align to spell the word you are looking for. This one is not a multiplayer game, so you are challenging yourself but there are also leaderboards if you are craving a higher level of competitiveness.
FreeRice
Practice your vocabulary, grammar and trivia skills, for a great cause. Get an answer right and you earn 10 grains of rice for the UN World Food Programme. Private sponsors match the rice grain donations generated within Freerice, triggering a financial payment to WFP. This money goes into the pot of “greatest needs” to support the organization’s ongoing emergencies. Play HERE.
Spelling Bee
This game challenges you to use specific letters in creating as many words as you can, you can rearrange the letters but the actual letters and the must use letters stay the same. You can track your weekly stats and attempt to reach genius level! Play HERE.
Where do you land with your screen time? Are there any word games that you enjoy challenging yourself with?
Find more ways to spoil your inner bookworm!
Check out the Amaryllis Co. Shop, fully stocked with custom designs perfect for every book loving Amaryllis Girl! From shirts, mugs, wine glasses, and more, I have curated a shop with all of my favorites! SHOP HERE! You can also find my collection of bookish merchandise on Etsy.
