Word Puzzle
Game Play Instructions and Variations

This tricky game is perfect for all those word smiths out there. Picture a cross word puzzle, but instead of using pencil and paper, it's all in your head! Don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds.

The core of this game is creating words that intersect with other words. You want to come up with a word that the next player will have difficulty finding an intersecting word.

Growing up in school, my sixth grade teacher would give us crossword puzzles to finish as homework. What at first seemed like a chore started to actually become more fun as the year went on. And unlike my love of spinach, my enjoyment for crossword puzzles grew. Being on the road alot, we thought there should be some way to play a game based on the concept but without paper and in our heads. We came up with this fun game variation.

How To Play

Goal

Be the first person to come up with 5 intersecting words without a mistake.

Game Play

1. The first person in your group comes up with a word. The word must be real, and one that can be found in a dictionary.
2. The next person must come up with another word that intersects with the last word played. If they cannot, they lose a point and the play goes to the next person. Example: Player 1 starts off with the word 'car'. Player 2 must find a word that intersects with that word, like "road", where the r's intersect each other.
3. If no one can come up with an intersecting word within the alotted time, the person who came up with the last successful intersecting word gets a point.
4. Play continues with the next person in the list, coming up with a new word.
5. The first person to reach 5 points wins and becomes the Word Smith.

Game Play Variations

To make the game even more difficult, try playing with only specific word sizes. So if Player 1 started with the word "cat", Player 2 would have to find a three letter word that intersected the word "cat", like "top" for instance. Player 3 would have to find a three letter word that intersects with the word "top" and so forth.

Another variation is to use words of the same type. This adds a whole new level of complexity to the game. For example, Player 1 begins with the word "apple." Because apple is a fruit, only fruit can be used as an intersecting word. Player 2 would say "pear". Player 3 could use the word "peach".