Books

10 Games That Readers Will Especially Love (And That Show Off Their Impressive Vocabs!)

by Kerri Jarema

If there's one thing book-lovers can't get enough of, it's, well, words. Reading them, writing them, correcting people when they mispronounce them. If you count yourself among the "I'm secretly correcting your grammar right now" hordes of readers, you're probably always on the look out for a socially acceptable opportunity to prove your proficiency in all things wordy without coming across like a know-it-all. (Spoiler: There's no way to do it.) And here is where board games about words come in.

There are tons of board games and card games dedicated to all of the wordsmiths out there. These games are suited to bibliophile's desire to school everyone around them on all things verbose. Below are 11 fun picks, from mainstays to newer additions, that require some serious wordy knowledge to win. You might not be great at stacking wooden blocks or following the many and varied rules of all those massive multi-player games, but this is absolutely your time to shine. Get ready to impress (and OK, maybe a annoy just a little bit) everyone at that next big summer house party.

Punderdome: A Card Game For Pun Lovers

The simple goal of Punderdome is to make some bad jokes on the road to glory — something you were already doing anyway, right? The basic premise is that a player draws two prompt cards from the deck, and then reads the prompts to the rest of the group, who have 90 seconds to create a single, groan-worthy pun that combines the two prompts. The prompter chooses the winner and the process repeats. Players win by obtaining 10 pairs of cards. Just try not to win it all on the first 10 turns.

Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers, $13.70, Amazon

Obama Llama: The Celebrity Rhyming Party Game

This game utilizes both rhymes and charades for a wordy game that requires players to act out, describe and mime hundreds of celebrity-inspired phrases like "Piglet eating a Twiglet" and "Tom Cruise in platform shoes." If you can guess the rhymes in time, you score points. Of course anyone can come up with rhymes, but as someone who reads a lot I would imagine that your word pairing skills are about to slay all of your friends.

Obama Llama: The Celebrity Rhyming Party Game, $9.79, Amazon

Balderdash: The Bluffing Trivia Game

If you think you know enough about words to be able to make up some seriously convincing definitions of the ones you don't know, Balderdash is definitely the game for you. The game contains cards with real words on them that nobody has ever heard of. After one of those words has been read aloud, players try to come up with definitions that at least sound plausible, because points are later awarded for every opposing player who guessed that your definition was the correct one.

Balderdash: The Bluffing Trivia Game, $14.97, Amazon

Word Slam: The Fast-Paced Word Guessing Game

In the communication game Word Slam, two teams compete against one another simultaneously. In each round, one player on each team tries to get their teammates to guess a hidden word or phrase using only the 105 explanatory cards available in the box. Speaking and acting is absolutely forbidden for the storytellers and they must tell their stories using only 105 cards, each with one word on it: a noun, verb, adjective, or preposition. Whichever team guesses correctly first scores a point. Now you can put all of that grammar knowledge to good use without the resulting eye rolls!

Word Slam: The Fast-Paced Word Guessing Game, $25.33, Amazon

Rewordable: The Uniquely Fragmented Word Game

The ultimate game for wordsmiths everywhere, the goal of Rewordable is to have the biggest lexicon of words at the end of the round. Players take turns making words, using at least one card from their hand. Players may also add onto their own already constructed words, or steal words from other players, optionally using cards from a common pool. 16 "Rewardable" tokens also rotate into play during the game, giving players a changing set of goals, potential strategies, and bonuses every turn.

Rewordable: The Uniquely Fragmented Word Game, $14.83, Amazon

Quicktionary: A Game Of Lighting-Fast Word Play

It's a fast-paced casual card game for word lovers and anyone who loves to think on their feet. Simple to learn, with nearly endless possibilities, this free-for-all game is a fun addition to any game night. Win by thinking fast and being the first person to shout out a word or phrase that meets the criteria on three cards. For instance, a card might ask you to name a movie title with exactly four syllables that must contain the letter E. As the ultimate word-lover, I'm sure you already have a few answers, right?

Quicktionary: A Game Of Lighting-fast Word Play, $14.18, Amazon

Fitz It: If The Word Fits Play It

In Fitz It, on each card is written a short description of an object, and all of the cards are different. During the game, players try to name something, and it must be a noun, that fits the description on the cards. Players’ alternate turns trying to place as many of the cards from their hand of 15 either horizontally or vertically next to any cards in play on the table. The trick here is that players must be able to name an object that fits the description of all cards that are adjacent to each other. A combination of grammar knowledge and know-it-all trivia? Yeah, you need this game in your life.

Fitz It: If The Word Fits Play It, $9.90, Amazon

Quiddler: The Short Word Game

The goal of Quiddler is to arrange all the cards in your hand into one or more words. The number of cards dealt increases each round — starting with three cards and ending with 10 cards. High score wins, so use your high point letters and Quiddler’s unique double letter cards — but don’t get caught with them in your hand! You can also aim for the bonuses — each round there are two bonuses: one for the most words and one for the longest word.

Quiddler: The Short Word Game, $10.48, Amazon

Dabble: A Fast-Paced Word Game

If you're on the hunt for a game that will keep you entertained during extended-family vacations or your side-hustle baby-sitting gig, Dabble is the word game for you. Dabble is the kind of game that is as simple as it is challenging, but it rewards players with quick wits, a large vocabulary, and perfect spelling. The goal of the game is to spell out five separate words with just 20 letters as quickly as possible.The trick? The five words must be comprased of a two-letter, three-letter, four-letter, five-letter, and six-letter word.

Dabble: A Fast-Paced Word Game, $21.95, Amazon