Word games with cards

23 Laughter-Inducing Word Board Games

We love playing word board games. Discover some of the best board games with words for adults, kids, and families. Card word games included.

We grew up in households filled with board games. We had Hungry Hippos, Pictionary, Operation, Battleship, and of course, card games like Uno and Old Maid.

Can you tell what era we grew up in? We also obsessively watched Garfield and Friends on Saturday mornings.

As we grew older and found our true loves — books, adult grape juice, and travel — our gaming habits matured.

We started playing more word board games like Taboo and Scattergories. We also craved the best classic word-based board games like Balderdash, Scrabble, and Boggle.

Today, our coat closets and desk shelves are nearly bursting from the seams with word board games for adults. And, nothing beats playing card games with words over drinks.

With so many games out there, how do you choose the best word board games? Which games are family-friendly and adults only?

Below, discover some of our favorite classic word board games along with newer games that are perfect for a rainy day inside with friends and family.

Don’t forget to let us know your favorite word board game in the comments. Let’s get started!

Explore all of our gift guides, including more board games.

Classic Word Board Games

What are some sentimental classic word games that remind you of your childhood? Here are a few of ours:

Although we’ve never been amazing at Boggle — our minds just don’t work like that — set the timer, shake up letters, and watch where they fall.

Try to make as many four-letter plus words as you can before time runs out. Super Boggle is a tad bigger so each round lasts for 3-minutes.

Scrabble is probably one of the most well-known classic word board games perfect for ages 8+. Players take turns making words with letter tiles to earn points.

Bananagrams is a word board game like Scrabble fit for the whole family. Players attempt to make crossword word grids and is all about spelling.

Bananagrams is super portable and great for traveling.

One of our favorite word games as a kid, every household needs Scattergories.

Roll the letter dice. In a set amount of time, fill in categories using only words that start with that letter. The more unique and longer, the better.

Word Search

Word Search is a classic game with words. Search for the words in the puzzle. These are incredibly easy to print out at home too.

Mad Libs was all the rage in the 90s. Mad Libs is one of the most fun board games with words for writers in the making. Get creative and thoughtful with your vocabulary.

Grab a pen to fill in the blanks for a half-completed story. Each blank asks for an adjective, noun, or something slightly more specific.

Make your narrative as silly or as serious and real as you like.

Word Board Games Like Scrabble

Are you looking for word board games similar to Scrabble? Try these:

Dabble is a word board game that the entire family can play. Recommended for 8+ years old, players race to spell out 5 words using their 20 tiles.

Two to four people can participate, and this word creation game is perfect for spelling and vocabulary building.

A fast-paced card game with words perfect for 1 to 10 players, Quiddler asks participants to organize the letter cards in their hands into short words.

With each round, players take on more cards and the highest score wins.

Upwords is exactly like Scrabble except that players can build words on top of existing ones. The higher you stack your letters, the more points you earn. Upwords is for 2-4 players, ages 8+.

Be the first person to make a word out of the tiles flipped upside down in the center of the table. But, beware as players can steal your word by adding their own letters.

Family-Friendly Word Board Games

What are some of the best word board games that you can play with the entire family? Here are a few:

There are a ton of versions of the word board game, Boggle. Super Big Boggle is one of them.

Imagine Boggle but with a 6×6 letter grid. Players have 6-minutes to create as many words as they can.

Pass The Pen is a fun and fast-paced game for families that incorporates words and drawing. You have 10 seconds to draw a picture while all of the other players have to guess what it is.

If someone guesses correctly, you earn points. If not, you pass the pen to the next player.

P For Pizza

P For Pizza is a family-friendly board game with words for children 8+. This game is best for 2 and 4 players.

The goal is to shout out a word that links the letter on one card to the category on another. Find color-coated cards of varying difficulty and with different categories.

The first player to collect nine pizza cards and build their giant pizza slice wins the game.

Herd Mentality is another fun card game with words perfect with 4 to 20 players that are ages 10+.

Read aloud a random question: “What is the best way to cook an egg?” Players must quickly write down their answers.

The goal is to figure out what everyone else is thinking. If your answer is in the majority, you win cows.

If your answer is unique, you get stuck with the pink cow.

Word A Round is an award-winning board game that is fun for everyone. Words are positioned in one continuous ring.

Players must figure out where the word starts and be the first to read it aloud.

Created by Ellen DeGeneres, Danger Word is best for ages 10+ and is one of the most fun card word games.

Guess the winning word to win. If you accidentally say the danger word, you lose the card.

If you love card games with words like charades and Pictionary, try It’s In The Bag.

There are three rounds: describe the word, describe the word using only one word, and act out the word.

If you need a word-guessing board game for family game night, Blank Slate asks players to predict what everyone else is thinking.

Write a word to complete the phrase, and earn points if you match only one other person.

Word Board Games For Adults (and Teens)

In need of word games for adults and teens? Try these:

A game recommended for 17+, 4-Bidden Words players compete against a timer to guess the Buzz Word without using any of the forbidden words.

This adult guessing word board game is recommended for holidays, reunions, and party nights.

Balderdash is the perfect board game for adults, tweens, and teens. Players roll the dice for one of 5 categories: famous people, words, initials, laws, and movies.

Each player writes down what they think the real definition or explanation is while one player records the correct answer.

Players then vote on which answer they think is right.

Codenames is a contemporary and social word board game recommended for ages 14+. This game is best with 4 players.

Teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their secret agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues, which indicate multiple words on the board.

Teammates must avoid guessing words that belong to their opponents. Don’t get caught by the assassin.

A classic card word game for adults and teens, Taboo is recommended for 13+.

We love to play this one around the holidays. Guess the word based on clues without saying the forbidden word.

Recommended for 17+, compete to create the funniest memes.

What Do You Meme? is a newer word board game for adults only that is sure to make you laugh. You can also order expansion packs.

What are some of the best word board games that you’ve played or created? Are there any word card games that we are missing that you absolutely love? Let us know in the comments.

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7 Word Card Games to Ace Your Next Game Night

Adapted from Getty Images

Word games come in several formats. Mobile games and board games are the most popular, but it doesn’t stop there. Word card games are also clever and fun sources of entertainment. They combine the random elements of most other card games with the lexical focus of word games, creating something entirely unique. If you’re in the market for some new word games or card games, a combination of the two might be the perfect thing for you.

Scrabble Slam for Fans of the Classics

Scrabble Slam takes the premise behind the original Scrabble board game and turns into a fast-paced card game. Every player starts with one shared word. As they play, they create new words by replacing a single letter. This version of Scrabble uses the same rules for which words are valid.

1. Use the Scrabble Slam cards to spell a single four-letter word.

2. Deal the rest of the cards to all the players.

3. If a player sees a chance to turn the four-letter word into a new one, they call out the new word and place one letter card overtop of one of the existing cards.

4. The game continues until one player no longer has any cards left or no one can spell a new word with the cards they still have.

There are two ways to win. The first player who uses all their cards wins. Or, the player with the fewest cards left once everyone has stopped wins.

Things… Leads to Hilarious Game Nights

Things... is a simple game, but its gameplay is sure to inspire some hilarious get-togethers with friends. That’s why it’s one of the better word card games for adults. Each card has a topic written on it. And each topic is a “thing.” An example would be “things… you shouldn’t do at a funeral.” These prompts create a lot of chances for outrageous responses.

1. The player designated as the “Reader” for the turn reads one of the cards to the other players.

2. The rest of the players then write down what that “Thing” might be on a piece of paper. They then hand those pieces of paper to the Reader.

3. The Reader reads the answers and everyone takes turns trying to guess who wrote each answer. A player is eliminated from the round if someone correctly guesses what their answer was.

4. The round ends when only one player has not been matched to their answer. That player earns two points.

5. The game ends once everyone has had a chance to be the Reader. The player with the most points at the end wins the game.

Don't Mess Up With Triple Tongue Twister

Triple Tongue Twister mixes fast competition with frustratingly fun tongue twisters. Each card in this word card game’s deck has a phrase printed on the side and a single word from the phrase in the middle. What you need to do is collect all the words from the phrase to complete a word card set.

1. Shuffle the deck and deal each player six cards.

2. Look at your cards and choose a card set you wish to complete. The cards are organized into sets, which are marked by color.

3. Ask another player if they have cards from your chosen set.

4. If they say “Yes,” they must hand over all of the cards they have from that set.

5. If they say “No,” they also say, “Go Twist. ” You then draw a card from the main deck.

6. Once you complete a set, you say the completed phrase three times as fast as you can without messing up. If successful, you can add that set to a pile next to you. 

7. Each completed set is worth one or two points each, depending on difficulty.

8. The game ends when there are no more cards left to play. The player with the most points wins the game.

Don’t Go Insane Playing Unspeakable Words

Many people might think that mixing Lovecraftian mythology with party games is not a great idea. Surprisingly, that’s exactly what the Unspeakable Words card game proves wrong. The game uses the sanity theme from Call of Cthulhu as its premise. Players form words with letter cards. But, each time you do, you also do a “Sanity Check,” which involves rolling a die.

1. Each player starts their turn with seven cards.

2. During your turn, create a word with three or more letter cards. Each card has a point value, like Scrabble letter tiles.

3. After you create the word, roll a 20-sided die to perform the Sanity Check. The number needs to be higher than or equal to your score for the turn. If it is lower, you lose one of your five Cthulhu pawn game pieces. 

4. Losing all five Cthulhu pawns eliminates you from the game.

5. The first person to score 100 points wins the game.

Enjoy WordSpiel’s Cycle of Spelling Fun

WordSpiel takes almost no time to learn and the turns move quickly. Like other card word games, your goal here is also to spell words using letter cards. The unique case about WordSpiel, however, is that everyone plays on one long chain of cards.

1. Each player starts with 10 cards. 

2. Flip over the top card of the deck and place it face up for everyone to see.

3. For every round, each player has one minute to create a word. The first player needs to find a word that starts with the letter on the table.

4. Other players then take turns creating words starting with letters that the previous person played. It’s a word chain game. 

5. When one of the players has used all their cards, the round ends. A game consists of five rounds.

6. At the end of each round, players calculate their score. They get one point for every card left in their hand. 

7. The player with the fewest points at the end of the fifth round wins the game.

Play Word Teasers to Stay Sharp

Word Teasers is a great card word game for students or anyone who wants to improve their vocabulary. Game sets focus on specific word categories, like fun puns, SAT vocabulary and American trivia. Word Teasers combines fun with the chance to learn something new.

1. One player shows a card to another player. 

2. The second player reads the question on the card, notes the highlighted word or phrase, and answers the question.

3. If they do not know the meaning of the word or phrase, the first player can show the definition, which is printed on the back of the card.

4. Once they know what the word or phrase means, they must still provide an answer for the question.

Yammer Keeps the Fun Going

Yammer also takes a word card games approach to the classic Scrabble formula. Your goal is to use the letter cards, which have assigned point values, to create words. When you successfully create a word, you earn points.

1. The Dealer sets eight cards face up in the center of the game area. This is called the Well. They also deal three cards to each player.

2. Each player takes turns pulling cards from the Well to use with the cards in their hands to create words. Players score points for the combined value of the letters they use, plus any multiplier cards they have.

3. After their turn, players replenish the Well and their hand from the draw pile back to eight and three cards, respectively.

4. The game ends once the draw pile is empty and no one can make another play.

5. To determine the winner, combine the values on any cards still in the players’ hands and deduct that number from their scores. The player with the highest score after that wins the game.

Plenty of Word Gaming Options

Word card games have some advantages over regular word-based board or tabletop games. The biggest of those advantages is their ease of setup. Typically, if the deck is ready, you can start playing. Convenience is often key, which is why in addition to card games, you should also have an assortment of online games to play with everyone. In WordFinder's list of the 10 fun browser games, you’ll be sure to find plenty of new titles to add to your online party night collection.

Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.

A selection of 10 family word games

A selection of 10 word games, their main element is the word. Games do not require serious preparation. In doing so, they will bring many benefits.

In the process of such games develop:

• attention,
• memory,
• thinking,
• speech,
• phonemic hearing,
• perception,
• quick response,
• imagination.

One game allows you to train several cognitive processes at once. This is especially true for future first-graders. You have to get ready for school, but you want to play so much. This is understandable, because for this age, play activity is the main one.

The proposed games will appeal to children from 4 years old.

1) "Yes - no"

One player comes up with a word, and the other participants ask questions to which the facilitator can only answer "yes" or "no".
The game continues until the word is guessed.

2) "Associations"

The first player calls the word, the second - the association on the word of the first player, the third - the association on the word of the second, etc.
An example of a chain: holiday - New Year - Christmas tree - tinsel - costume - Santa Claus - gifts - car.

3) "What happens?"

It is necessary to name what the chosen definition can have.
For example, what can be cold: cold water, cold snow, cold summer, etc.

4) "I know"

The first participant says: "I know five..." and names a category, for example "breeds of dogs". The second participant must name five breeds of dogs, then says: "I know five ..." and names another category. The third must list what fits under the category of the second.

5) "Earth, water, air"

The first player names the element (earth, water or air). The second - calls the creature that lives in this element. After that, he names the element for the third player.

6) "Who is extra?"

The facilitator offers a series of words in which all but one have common features. You need to find the redundant. Whoever does it the fastest is the next leader.
For example: cup, plate, computer, spoon, fork.

7) "Hug words"

A "lonely word" is proposed, which must be "embraced" by words so that a sentence is obtained. New words are added gradually.
Example:
* Snow Maiden.
* The Snow Maiden is in a hurry.
* The beautiful Snow Maiden is in a hurry.
* The beautiful Snow Maiden hurries to the children.
* The beautiful Snow Maiden hurries to the guys with gifts.
* A beautiful Snow Maiden and Santa Claus rush to the guys with gifts.

8) Tick-tock-boom board game for kids

Players name words that match the selected card while the bomb is ticking.
Whoever has a bomb in his hands "explodes", he takes the game card for himself as a penalty.
To win, you need to collect the least number of cards.

9) Board game "Picture Consideration"

Two cards are drawn: a task and a picture.
Each player tries to name the word as quickly as possible:
• suitable open task map;
• starting with the same letter as the word for the picture.
Who will be the first, he takes the card for himself.
At the end, we count the cards and congratulate the winner.

10) Board game "Words"

In the center of the table we lay out the materials for the game: laces, sticks and circles.
We give everyone a card with a task, three words are written on it.
Everyone simultaneously lays out one of the three words from the materials (which one they choose themselves).
After everyone finishes, we guess the word that the author depicted.
If you guessed the picture from another participant, you get 1 point.
If you guessed your picture - 2 points.
To win the game, you need to score 14 points.

Fun games combined with benefits - what could be better?

5 board games to develop creative thinking

Imaginarium/Imaginarium

The most popular card and word game for imagination. Created as an analogue of the French game "Dixit".

‍ Age limit: 6+.

‍ Number of players: 3-8 people.

‍ Contents: cards, tokens, game board.

‍ How to play: All players are dealt six cards. One of the players becomes the leader - chooses his own, comes up with an association to it in the form of a word, sound, action or picture. He puts it face down, and each of the participants must choose from their cards the one that fits the association. The leader shuffles all the cards chosen by other participants and his own cards, turns them over, lays them out in one line. The participants then vote on whose version is more suitable for the association. It is important to come up with indirect analogies: if everyone guesses the leader's card, he will not benefit from this.

‍ What else develops: logical and associative thinking.

You can make a game yourself: for this you need a lot of pictures with intricate plots and characters. You can print them out and create your own stack of cards for associations.

"Activity"

Team or individual game with drawings and pantomimes.

Age limit: 8+.

Number of players: 2-12 people.

What's included: cards, chips, game board, hourglass.

Extras: sheets, pencils, pens.

How to play: all participants are divided into teams with an equal number of people. They lay out the playing field, put team chips at the start, shuffle the cards and put them face down. Time is kept with an hourglass. The game is to explain topics or individual words using gestures, words or pictures.

What else develops: communication skills.

The game can be made easier, for example on the road. Write words on pieces of paper, throw everything into one hat. First everything is explained in words, then in one word and finally in a gesture.

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Impromptu

A game to feel like an ancient Greek philosopher.

Age limit: 8+.

Number of players: 3-12 people.

What's included: cards.

How to play: has four options.

• Each participant tells a story from random cards.
• Participants make up a story using the same cards.
• One participant asks questions on their cards, and the other answers with theirs.
• The host announces the topic of the dispute, and the players use their cards as arguments.

What else develops: verbal thinking.

The game can be made by hand - you will need a lot of pictures of the same size.

"Yes, Dark Lord!"

A game from the party games series in which you have to justify yourself to the Dark Lord.

Age limit: 12+.

Number of players: 4-9 people.

What's Included: 121 hint cards, 37 action cards, 10 stare cards.

How to play: the events of the game take place in the magical world. All players are servants of the evil genius Rigor Mortis. The bottom line is to come up with different excuses for the unfulfilled task of the ruler on the cards. True, you need to be careful not to run into a withering look.

What else develops: improvisation.

You can make the game yourself, but you have to look for hints, actions and withering looks.

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