Which comes first in Wordzzle, the fun or learning parts of speech? Actually, they’re pretty much simultaneous. Unique interlocking pieces give players nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, articles, and conjunctions to create wacky but grammatically correct sentences crossword-style. Each word is labeled with its part of speech and color-coded to make grammatical structure easy to absorb and see.
Ordinary words generate fun when players make unexpected connections—one of the first sentences in an early play test was “ELVIS ATE MY BUS”. It’s this fun side of Wordzzle that makes it an effective teaching tool. A middle-school language arts teacher has tried Wordzzle and sees it as especially useful because “teachers are always looking for fun ways to teach ‘boring’ grammar.” Creating sentences such as “A GRUMPY KITTEN STRANGLED A HIPPO PIE” is the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine–learning how parts of speech work together—go down.
Wordzzle is a true family game aimed at players from eight to adult that can be as competitive and strategic as players want. Adding words to the “crossword” gives plenty of opportunity to play, and special “star” pieces double a sentence’s value when played. Hands are seven words, and players can double their score if they play all seven in a turn.
The game includes five Wild Word pieces and, for added entertainment, includes blank pieces for players to add their own words. Names of players can add a laugh—for example, “SAMANTHA LOVED A DASTARDLY BABOON”.
The game’s puzzle-piece format eliminates the need for a game board and makes Wordzzle a play-anywhere game; all players need is a flat surface. A deluxe edition is available with a velour Travel Bag for easy storage and transportation.
Wordzzle is a puzzle, too. Flip over the sturdy, durable 800gsm board puzzle pieces and players can put together an adorable photo of a kitten and a puppy. And then take it apart for another round of wordplay fun.
Wordzzle was invented by Ray Rhamey, a professional writer, author, and editor who makes his living with words in advertising, marketing communications, website content, novels, and editing book-length manuscripts. As someone who writes humor, he gave special attention to choosing ordinary words that, when combined, can yield funny results such as “THE KETCHUP SQUEAKED BLISSFULLY”.
To support Wordzzle, visit the Kickstarter page at http://kck.st/1gbhnrF. The page features what may be the shortest Kickstarter video ever (22 seconds) plus more information and illustrations of how the game plays.
