Vocabulary-building crossword puzzles are a part of some people's everyday routine.
Vocabulary is a subject that can be taught especially well through games. In fact, some of the most popular board games in the world focus on vocabulary, as do some of the most commonly played games and puzzles in daily newspapers. Whether the goal is to improve your vocabulary or to test your knowledge of obscure facts, choose from several word vocabulary games.
Scrabble
The vocabulary-centered game of Scrabble was originally conceived during the Great Depression. It now sells in more than 120 countries, making it one of the most successful board games ever. You can play Scrabble using 100 lettered tiles, each with its own number value, that you must use to form words on the board. Each word must at least crisscross on another word already created. Scrabble makes a good vocabulary-building game because it places the highest value on less frequently used letters, such as "X" and "Q," leading players to come up with obscure words like "kex" and "qat." Scrabble comes with its own dictionary to settle any disputes among players over the accuracy of the words created.
Boggle
Like Scrabble, Boggle is a vocabulary game created in the early 1970s that uses interchangeable letter pieces. However, in this game, the letter blocks are shuffled and displayed randomly on the board. From there, players need to decipher how many words they can find within the arrangement of letter tiles. While some words in Scrabble may be more than 10 letters in length, the Boggle board is made up of a 4 by 4 inch tiled tray, meaning that no word can be longer than eight letters. Boggle is also a timed game, which means that players must think quickly to obtain the highest number of points.
Crossword Puzzles
Crossword puzzles, which first became popular around the turn of the 20th century, don't require anything but a pen or pencil and a clever mind. Crossword puzzlers must use a mix of skills to complete the puzzles correctly. Knowledge of trivia and proper nouns helps; however, having a strong vocabulary is key to many of the answers. Accurate spelling is also important. Much of the vocabulary used in crosswords includes such obscure words as "adit" and "ebon." Crossword puzzles come in varying degrees of difficulty. The Sunday New York Times puzzle is considered one of the more difficult to complete.
Tags: board games, Crossword puzzles, more than, obscure words, some most