One of my favorite homework assignments in the third grade was using the week’s vocabulary list in some sort of story. I found the assignment to be entirely too much fun. I don’t think I enjoyed the endless repetition of writing the words and their definitions, but I did like using them in sentences. To this day I enjoy such assignments, although they’re never quite as strict. It’s usually some sort of exercise I create for myself in which I have to use a certain word, a type of phrasing, or even a punctuation mark, such as the dreaded exclamation point.
I also enjoy playing Scrabble. Scrabble is both vocabulary and strategy, although the strategy component depends on the player. Some of my past opponents simply played to block potential words the next player might make. I don’t think I’m an excellent Scrabble player, but my family probably would disagree. They usually refrain from playing any word games with me.
I’ve also been known to play word search puzzles, but I rarely do so these days. I think my grandma introduced me to the puzzles when I was a kid, and she would send me new puzzles to do. In some ways, I think my love for the puzzles was based solely on the love I had for my grandma.
Crosswords are another popular word game for word nerds, but I don’t play them. I’m usually lacking in knowledge of pop culture, which is one reason why I try to avoid playing Trivial Pursuit. It’s just not a good idea. Neither is playing Risk, but that’s for an entirely different reason. I simply become too competitive with that game, and I become more and more frustrated with it as the other players change the rules willy-nilly.
I actually refuse to play Words with Friends despite receiving numerous invitations to play. I simply don’t have the time. Maybe one of these days I will, but I doubt it. Even if that time ever does come, I tend to enjoy playing word games with friends in real life and would prefer to play Scrabble at a local coffee shop to playing Words with Friends online.
What word games do you play? Do you have a favorite one?
Scrabble! (notice the exclamation point) I too would rather play scrabble in a coffee shop than words with friends online, because you lose the social interaction online when playing games with others. I love playing Boggle…but my mother refuses to play with my sister and I anymore because of our scores previously.
@DustBunnyMafia I was an avid Boggle player in my younger years. 😉 I still own the game, although I prefer Scrabble. If we ever meet in person, we shall have to play a game of Scrabble or Boggle.
The exclamation point has been noted.
Oh WORD GAMES!!! I LOVE word games!! Where do I start? My Dad was a crossword puzzle fanatic and I think my love of crosswords was nurtured by him. I have a crossword puzzle race every Thursday when I teach at Marquette with one of my faculty colleagues…I always win 😉 I even love doing the diagramless crosswords! Scrabble is a favorite game of mine and I have always got a few Words with Friends games going on but I find that I don’t play Words with Friends as well because I always seem to be in a hurry and, as a result, I don’t put enough strategy and thought into the game. I play Scrabble against the computer on my iPad before I go to bed each night. I love find the word games and have an app for that on my iPad as well.
Word games ROCK!!
Thanks for a fun post @Erin F.
Claudia
@SocialMediaDDS You’re very welcome, Claudia! It appears that Scrabble is the common denominator among the three of us ( @DustBunnyMafia ).
Maybe when things slow down (Unlikely, but one can always hope.) at your new office, you can spend some time developing a strategy for Words with Friends. I’m probably going to draw a comic about either Words with Friends or Let’s Draw for shonali in the future. We’re set for comics for the upcoming month. 🙂
Even though I’m not really a big word game nerd, I do enjoy Scrabble… And I had to remove Words with Friends from my phone because it got too addictive…
Have you every played Bananagrams, by the way? Pretty cool variation on the scrabble sort of game… http://www.bananagrams.com/our-games/bananagrams/
@yuvizalkow I have not played Bananagrams. I’ve seen it at the store and always am intrigued. Have you played Scrabble Slam? That game can get vicious.
You touched on one of the reasons I refuse to play Words with Friends. I know I’d get addicted to the game, and I can’t afford for that to happen with everything I’m doing or planning to do these days.
We’re now up to four people who like Scrabble. It seems we’re set for a game.
@Erin F. I haven’t played Scrabble Slam. The name itself sounds vicious.
But yeah, Bananagrams is surprisingly fun. If you ignore the goofy banana-related terms, it’s a nice game that has a real intensity to it without the viciousness (since you’re basically working on your own project rather than trying to thwart other people’s progress). I’m not saying Scrabble’s viciousness is bad — makes for interesting strategy — but just pointing out that this game is notably different in that one.
@yuvizalkow I’ll have to see about procuring Bananagrams. I’ve seen a version of Scrabble that comes in an apple-shaped bag, but I don’t know what that game is. An investigation may be in order.
We always took our Scrabble board with us when camping. One rainy trip, we played game after game. Even though my dad’s an editor, I still suspected he was making up words, such as when he got a triple word score with the word, “fez.” First thing I did when we got home was find a dictionary and look it up. The word, fez, makes me smile to this day.
I love Words with Friends, but i don’t let myself touch it until right before bed. It’s like a little word nerd nightcap!
~Tui
@mentalmosaic I like the idea of a word nerd nightcap. It’s perfect!
That’s a great memory, too. I didn’t play Scrabble when I was a kid, but I have some fond memories of playing round after round of Monopoly. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Write Right. It’s always nice to see a new face.