The 17 Best Word Games Besides Scrabble

Best Overall

Spinmaster Upwords

4.5

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This modernized version of the classic old-school 80’s variety of Upwords is fun and challenging for all ages to play. It makes a great Friday night game for the family, a fun indoor activity for a rainy or snowy afternoon, or an occasional break from worksheets and online instruction for school spelling and vocab lessons.

Like Scrabble with a few interesting twists, some folks love to play it without even keeping score. Players compete to build words across or down the board to earn points. But the twist is that you can also stack tiles on top of each other to create new words and increase your score. The game board even spins for easy access no matter where you play.

Unlike Scrabble, players can place one or two tiles down on the board while still earning many points and creating a large word, making it accessible to more ages. However, some may find it difficult to stack the tiles, and the quality of the board is not as high as the original game.

Price at time of publish: $15

_{Number of Players: 1+ | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best Budget

Bananagrams Bananagrams

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Our best budget choice is Bananagrams. For a very affordable price, this word game is a fun way for players to learn all about anagrams while striving to use up their letter tiles to create a word grid. To be Top Banana, you’ll need to get rid of all your tiles before anyone else does.

You won’t need to write anything down for this game, so if you’ve got a steady surface, you can play it on the move, too, with its convenient banana-shaped carrying case.

Price at time of publish: $14

_{Number of Players: 2+ | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 7 years and up}

Best for Teams

Educational Insights Word on the Street

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This game is great for teams of up to eight players. Word on the Street players can break large groups (like classrooms or birthday parties) into teams and decide words together for each of their players’ turns. There’s also a Word on the Street Junior for ages seven and older, for anyone with littles who might like to play but aren’t quite ready for the regular version.

Price at time of publish: $22

_{Number of Players: 2-8 | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 12 years and up}

Best Travel

Melissa & Doug Flip to-Win Hangman Travel Game

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If you’ve got a trip with the kids coming up, grab a Melissa and Doug Flip-to-Win Travel Hangman Game for some fun along the ride! Yep, it’s the same classic word game you remember, but it’s had an upgrade or two.  Kids can practice spelling while learning sportsmanship and enjoying some device-free travel time with this high quality game. 

Equipped with a sturdy wooden surface, an erasable whiteboard, a dry erase marker and eraser, you have everything you need no matter where you want to play.

Price at time of publish: $11

_{Number of Players: 2+ | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 6 years and up}

Best with Categories

USAopoly Tapple

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If you find the classic game of Scattergories to be a little too slow-paced, then Tapple will be your cup of tea. Each player takes turns giving a word that fits the designated category, thus eliminating the starting letter from other potential players' possibilities. It comes with cards naming 144 categories, and everything fits into the gaming wheel itself, so it's easy to take for travel. Just make sure to bring extra batteries (or have your phone timer ready) since the built-in timer does require them.

Price at time of publish: $20

_{Number of Players: 2-8 players | Duration: 10-20 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best Timed Game

Hasbro Classic Boggle Word Search Game

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If you’ve never played Boggle before, it’s time to grab a friend, shake up some letter cubes, flip the sand timer over and get started! Boggle has been a family favorite since 1972, often played at holiday gatherings, parties, or just after school with friends at the kitchen table. The game takes about 90 seconds per sand timer to play, meaning you can play multiple rounds back to back.

If you're ever not sure whether your partner’s word is actually a word or not, you can keep track in your best dictionary or by looking them up online before tallying up the points—and be sure to double check the spelling, too!

Price at time of publish: $10

_{Number of Players: 2+ | Duration: 90 seconds per round | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best Traditional

Endless Games Password Deluxe Edition

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The traditional game of Password may have been played by your family for decades. The Deluxe Edition of today has the same magic window revealers as always, as well as the same basic rules—but the addition of 2,000 new words makes for an extra fun and significant upgrade.

It’s a cinch to learn: As always, using one-word clues, players have to try to guess the password: If they fail, their opponents get to guess. The game is based on a televised game show that aired in the 1960’s and 70’s, of which old  episodes can still be watched on YouTube and other channels today.

Price at time of publish: $20

_{Number of Players: 4+ | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 10 years and up}

Best for Family Game Night

Repos Just One

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Great for a family game night or as a party game, Just One is a cooperative game that lets players draw cards, compare, toss out repetitive results, and more to figure out the Mystery Word together. You may find out this game is so much fun, your family (or group of friends) will willingly put aside their devices, turn off the tv, and join together more than one night in a row to play it—all the while expanding their vocabularies without even trying. The game comes with everything you need, including erasable markers, erasers, easels, a storage box, and 110 cards.

Price at time of publish: $20

_{Number of Players: 3-7 players | Duration: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best for Parties

USAopoly Blank Slate Board Game

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Great for medium-sized groups, small parties, or family game nights, Blank Slate is a word association game perfect for your next birthday parties or game night. It even won big at the 2018 Parents' Choice and Family Choice Awards.

To play, you predict words that you think complete certain phrases while trying to match your guess to others’. You’ll get points depending upon how many others had the same prediction.

Price at time of publish: $25

_{Number of Players: 3-8 players | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best for Wordle Fans

Hasbro Gaming Wordle The Party Game

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We've yet to try out this new release, but if it's anything like the popular online version, it'll be equal parts fun and addicting. The makers have swapped out your mobile screen for dry erase boards and translucent tiles, so you'll still get to enjoy the satisfying step of watching those green squares appear. We were also excited to see that there are four variations on the game, including a fast play option for the most competitive word nerds of the group. Keep in mind that one player will always need to know the mystery word, so plan rounds or teams accordingly.

Price at time of publish: $20

_{Number of Players: 2-4 players | Duration: Not listed | Recommended Age: 14 years and up}

Best for Learning the Parts of Speech

Looney Labs Mad Libs the Game

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Since its introduction in 1958, Mad Libs has created millions of silly word puzzles for us all to enjoy. Today’s game is based on those word puzzles, but instead of just creating hilarious scenarios, now you compete for the craziest and funniest of all.

Brush up on your parts of speech (you remember adjectives, adverbs, nouns, etc., right?) while using cards to make wacky sentences for the most votes. Get the most votes three times and you’re the winner.

Price at time of publish: $18

_{Number of Players: 3-8 | Duration: 20 minutes | Recommended Age: 10 years and up}

Best Mystery Word Game

Pressman Wheel of Fortune Game: 5th Edition

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We’ve all played it on tv with Vanna and Pat; now play Wheel of Fortune at home with your own friends and family with the Wheel of Fortune board game. Try to guess the secret word or phrase using the letters as they arise. It also comes with an accompanying app, but it is not necessary for game play.

For an authentic touch, all of the puzzles are written by the Wheel of Fortune staff, so you can really feel like a contestant on the show. The game includes 100 new puzzles to solve for hours and hours of playtime. Happy spinning!

Price at time of publish: $15

_{Number of Players: 3+ | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}

Best Word Search

Brain Games Mindfulness Word Search Spiral-bound

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While not necessarily a ‘game’, this word search collection offers a break from the stress of daily life and a chance to calm the mind while focusing on the simplicity of finding words. It would be perfect as a means of relaxing after a long day or way to work your brain while commuting or between classes or meetings.

This word search collection contains 84 pages of varying subjects to softly engage your mind. Inside, there are also several unique puzzles requiring secret answers or hidden clues that aren’t like the average word search.

Price at time of publish: $13 

_{Number of Players: 1 | Duration: Not Listed | Recommended Age: Not Listed}

Best for Mental Stimulation

Noggin Joggin' Books Joggin' Your Noggin: Fun and Challenging Word Games for Seniors

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Written by a Speech-Language Pathologist, this book is the first of five in a series designed to improve the quality of life for those suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Providing vital mental stimulation in a fun, engaging way, Joggin Your Noggin provides more than 70 games geared toward patients in the mild to moderate stages, which can be played either independently or with help. If patients enjoyed word games or similar activities during their pre-dementia life, they will likely enjoy these games, too.

The difficulty levels go up from this very first book in the series to the most advanced activities of Volume IV. Assisted Living staff may find this book useful in their activity planning, and family members may find it enjoyable to play with their relatives. “Fill in the Blank” and “Complete the Song Title” are examples of the types of games described in the book.

Price at time of publish: $12

_{Number of Players: 1+ | Duration: Not Listed | Recommended Age: Not Listed}

Best Replayable

Puns of Anarchy The Outrageous Pun-Making Game

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If you’re up for a game that you can play, erase your ink from the cards afterward, and play again, (while simultaneously experiencing side-splitting laughter), look no further than the aptly named Puns of Anarchy word game. Modify punnable cards as you wish to fit into 62 categories, laughing as you go.

A great party activity, this game ends once each category has at least four puns written in and is most fun for creative people. Some say you can easily remove a few “inappropriate” cards from the pack and then the game becomes kid-friendly. 

Price at time of publish: $30

_{Number of Players: 3-6 players | Duration: 30-90 minutes | Recommended Age: 17 years and up}

Best Hybrid Word Game

Calliope Wordoku

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Combine a crossword puzzle with a sudoku and you get Wordoku. This unique puzzle lets players use wooden tiles with both letters and symbols on them to make words.  Make as many words as you can, but be sure you balance your symbols along the way too, in order to boost your score. Play three rounds, then tally up the awards each player has earned for high scores and improved scores to find the winner.

Price at time of publish: $24

_{Number of Players: 1-6 players | Duration: 30 minutes | Recommended Age: 8 years and up}