7 Word Card Games to Ace Your Next Game Night
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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.
Use the Scrabble Slam cards to spell a single four-letter word.
Deal the rest of the cards to all the players.
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.
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.
The player designated as the “Reader” for the turn reads one of the cards to the other players.
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.
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.
The round ends when only one player has not been matched to their answer. That player earns two points.
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.
Shuffle the deck and deal each player six cards.
Look at your cards and choose a card set you wish to complete. The cards are organized into sets, which are marked by color.
Ask another player if they have cards from your chosen set.
If they say “Yes,” they must hand over all of the cards they have from that set.
If they say “No,” they also say, “Go Twist.” You then draw a card from the main deck.
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.
Each completed set is worth one or two points each, depending on difficulty.
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.
Each player starts their turn with seven cards.
During your turn, create a word with three or more letter cards. Each card has a point value, like Scrabble letter tiles.
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.
Losing all five Cthulhu pawns eliminates you from the game.
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.
Each player starts with 10 cards.
Flip over the top card of the deck and place it face up for everyone to see.
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.
Other players then take turns creating words starting with letters that the previous person played. It’s a word chain game.
When one of the players has used all their cards, the round ends. A game consists of five rounds.
At the end of each round, players calculate their score. They get one point for every card left in their hand.
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.
One player shows a card to another player.
The second player reads the question on the card, notes the highlighted word or phrase, and answers the question.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After their turn, players replenish the Well and their hand from the draw pile back to eight and three cards, respectively.
The game ends once the draw pile is empty and no one can make another play.
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.
