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Game Review: WORDICAL {Spelling}

January 20, 2020 by Katherine Wolfe 34 Comments

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Wordical is available on Amazon HERE.

Read on for a detailed REVIEW. 


We’re not full-blown gameschoolers by any means, but we do incorporate a lot of  educational games into our homeschool so we’re always on the hunt for something fun to add to our game collection.  But we also have some fairly rigorous educational requirements which means we don’t just select something new without assessing the game’s educational value. But, of course, it also needs to be FUN!

Amazon is my best friend when it comes to shopping {for most things} but the reviews don’t always answer my questions and I often hesitate to buy because I’m not totally “sold.”  If you’re like us and want thorough reviews on educational games, then you’ve come to right place!

Below is a full review of our latest favorite spelling game, Wordical. 

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT {because I like things neat and tidy},

TIME COMMITMENT {because life is about more than just games},

CLARITY LEVEL {because frustration is no fun}

and an OVERALL SCORE.


NAME: Wordical

PUBLISHER: Educational Insights 

CATEGORY: Spelling

TIME COMMITMENT: Moderate {30+ minutes}

PLAYERS: 2-8

AGES: 8+ {or really anybody who can spell basic words}

HOW TO WIN: Score the most points by spelling words using vowel dice and consonant cards {and the quicker, the better!}

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The instructions are simple and explain the game perfectly. We only needed to reference the instructions once after we started the game and that was because we only had two players. {We did choose to modify* the game slightly, which was super easy to do but not necessary at all.}♥♥♥♥♥

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥_ This is a fun, little game! Turns are quick and easy. There is little room for debate/arguing {just have a dictionary handy for potentially “made-up” words.} We only scored it 4/5, though, because it doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities for laughter or hilarious moments. But, it is fun!  ♥♥♥♥_

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ It’s all about spelling so the educational value is high. And, if you take the time to discuss words that could’ve been created after a turn is completed, the educational value increases {as does the time component, obviously.} There is also a teeny bit of addition practice as the points are added. ♥♥♥♥♥

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ It comes in a cute little tin which I LOVE,  both for the size and the sturdiness. The tin contains a stack of consonant cards, two big vowel dice and the instructions. That’s it. You can keep the cardboard insert or not….either way, the game stays organized!  ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥_ Both my son and I enjoyed this, which is saying something because he is a HORRIBLE SPELLER, but we did modify it slightly to make playing with only two people more fun.  I think if we had not modified it, neither of us would’ve enjoyed it as much because I would have slaughtered him {score-wise}. This game does require some spelling ability and, if you play by the actual rules, players’ spelling skills should be basically on par with one another in order to make it a fair game. ♥♥♥♥_

If you are ready to offer your kids a really fun way to learn some general science facts with a bit of hands-on activities mixed in, you can buy it here on Amazon.

If you would like to read detailed instructions {with pics,} continue on….


HOW TO PLAY:

{per the instructions….our modified version* is below}

1. Open tin, unpack contents and shuffle cards. 

2. Deal each player five cards and put the draw pile in the center. 

3. Player One rolls the dice.

4. ALL PLAYERS use their consonant cards and the vowel dice to create words {without showing others}.

5. Each player chooses one word with the highest points and lays those cards down {leaving spaces for the vowel dice} to create the word. The vowels can be used as many times as necessary. 

6. Once all players have played a word, scores are tallied.

7. Each vowel is one point and each consonant has the assigned point value in the corner. 

8. Misspelled or made-up words are dismissed and no points are awarded for those words. 

9. The first player that laid his/her word down {assuming it was spelled correctly,} gets a BONUS of three points. 

10. The last player to lay his/her word down, only gets ONE point {regardless of the word spelled.}

11. Cards played are added to the dismiss pile {we put them back in the tin}.

12. Each player then draws additional cards until they have five cards again. 

13. Player Two rolls the die. 

14. Repeat Steps 4-12 until the Draw Pile is gone. 

15. The player with the most points at the end, wins the game!


OUR MODIFIED VERSION:

{The instructions allow for two people but we decided to modify it anyhow. Our way seemed more fun with only two…especially considering we were not equally matched in spelling at all.}

Play per the instructions EXCEPT instead of awarding the last player only one point, both players receive the points on their cards {and the first player gets the three point Bonus.}


Please check out my other GAME REVIEWS!

Totally Gross {science}

Math Dash {multiplication and division}

Flip It {multiplication}

Filed Under: Games, Literacy, REVIEWS Tagged With: Educational games, Game Recommendations, Game Reviews, Homeschool, spelling, spelling game

GAME REVIEW: After Words {Spelling and Vocabulary}

August 9, 2019 by Katherine Wolfe 3 Comments

{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

After Words is available on Amazon HERE. 

 


 

My family has always loved board games so using them in our homeschool was a natural fit but finding good educational games  isn’t nearly as easy as one might think.

The Christmas toy catalogs and my FaceBook feed are always filled with fun, trendy board games for the family including new versions of classics  {Lion King Monopoly} and weird, silly things {Spontaneous – The Song Game} but it’s very rare to find  educational  games  being promoted outside of homeschool catalogs.  And, if you’re like me, when I am pouring over a big stack of homeschool catalogs, it’s agonizing enough to find the right curricula choices. I have no extra brain energy to find fun educational games too. 

So, let me make it easy for you and share some of our favorite educational games!

In addition to reviewing the

FUN FACTOR and the

EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I will also include info on the

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT {because I cannot stand messy, broken down game boxes or games that include 8,000 pieces which then escape those boxes},

TIME COMMITMENT {because who has two hours to play a game on a Tuesday morning}, 

CLARITY LEVEL {because tears from the kids or Mom equals no fun}

and an OVERALL SCORE. 

 


 

NAME: After Words

PUBLISHER: Educational Insights

CATEGORY: Spelling and Vocabulary

SUB CATEGORY: Beginning and Ending Letters of Words

TIME COMMITMENT: Minimal+ {20-30 minutes}

HOW TO WIN: Be the first player to get rid of all your cards by thinking of words that begin with specific letters AND fit certain categories. 

CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ When you first read the instructions, the game may seem confusing but it is not. The instructions are clear, concise and very simple. They explain how to start, what to do and how to win in very concrete terms. However, we modified the game to better fit our needs. {See below for details.} But, sticking with the included instructions would be just as fun and educational as our version. ♥♥♥♥♥ 

FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥_ Speed, vocabulary and spelling are all  factors in this game so unless all players are somewhat matched in their spelling skills and vocabulary knowledge, modifying the game will be necessary if fun is to occur.  And the silly timer is super fun to play with….until it gets annoying! ♥♥♥♥_

EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥_ Promoted as a spelling game, I would say that it only fits that description to a degree. Players only need to identify the first and last letter of words and never need to spell entire words. It would be easy to modify, I suppose, by making the player spell the entire word {either verbally or in writing} before he can discard his card. It would add very little time but a lot of educational value. The vocabulary component is, in my opinion, a bonus but one that cannot be avoided if you play this game. Thinking of words that fit specific categories makes players dig deeper into their mental dictionaries than most games so that’s definitely a bonus to me! And, having a and/or a thesaurus on hand would certainly up the educational value as well. ♥♥♥♥_

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ The storage box, cards, silly timer and fold out board are all very sturdy and have held up well so far. Everything fits in the box, though not snugly so things can rattle around and become a jumbled mess. But because the box is strong and secure, nothing is going to escape and go missing. Just make sure you turn the silly timer off before you put everything away! The instructions are in a separate little booklet but if they get lost, there is a very simplified {but helpful} version on the back of the box. ♥♥♥♥♥

OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥_ Spelling is NOT a strong subject for my son, which is why we are always on the hunt for fun games to improve his spelling skills. This game does offer a fun way to work on his spelling skills, with some vocabulary thrown in for good measure. But, without some modifications, players only get to practice the beginning and ending sounds of words. Plus, it’s not a game that can be played very easily with mismatched players, unless at least one of them is a mature adult to help the other{s} along. ♥♥♥♥_ 

If you are ready to offer your kids a fast and fun way to work on spelling skills, you can buy  After Words on Amazon by clicking here!

If you would like to read detailed instructions of our modified version {with pics,} continue on….

 


 

1. Unfold the game board and position it so all players can see. 

2. Make sure the timer has batteries and is functioning. Decide how much time you want for the countdown and select that on the timer. This can be easily modified during the game. {NOTE: The timer is a funny little thing. Every time you place it down on the board, it starts the countdown. It took us way longer than I care to admit for us to figure this out!}

3. Deal seven cards to each player. 

4. Cards can either be hidden in a hand or flipped face-up. We played with the cards face-up so I could help my son with the categories {and his horrible spelling!}

5. Have each player read through their categories to make sure they understand them. If they don’t, you can either explain or allow those categories to be traded in. {The rules also allow for a swap during play.}

6. Place the remaining cards in a pile where all can access it. This is the Draw Pile. 

7. Flip over the top card of the Draw Pile. 

8. The first player to think of a word that fits that category gets to go first. This category is Something That Makes You Happy. Somebody said “family” and becomes Player One. 

9. Player One needs to move the timer to the LAST LETTER of the word he said {family.} So, he moves the timer to the letter “Y”. 

10. As soon as Player One places the timer on the board, the countdown will begin {and make the most annoying sound!} During this time, all players need  to be thinking of a word that STARTS with the letter “Y” that fits one of their categories. 

11. Player One wins this round by using the category for Fictional Character and says, “Yoda”. He gets rid of that card. 

12. Player One now needs to move the timer to the the LAST LETTER of “Yoda” so moves the timer to the letter  “A”. 

13. As soon as he places the timer on the letter “A”, the countdown will begin. During the countdown, all players need to be thinking of a word that STARTS with the letter “A” and fits one of their categories. 

14. Player Two shouts out “anchovies” to fit his Pizza Topping category. 

15. Player Two discards his card and moves the timer to the LAST LETTER in the word “anchovies” {S}. 

16. All players need to think of a word that STARTS WITH “S” and fits one of their categories.

17. Player One says “sink” to fit his Something in a Bathroom category. 

18. He discards his card and moves the timer to the LAST LETTER in “sink” which is…

19. Play continues in this fashion until a player is able to discard all seven of his cards. 

20. We play this modified way so that we can get through those cards faster and then deal seven new categories to each player and play again. 

21. If there is ever a round where nobody can think of a word to fit the category before the timer goes off, we simply draw a new word from the Draw Pile. At that time, you would basically start again at Step 8. 

 


Filed Under: Games, Literacy, REVIEWS Tagged With: Game Recommendations, Game Reviews, Gameschool, Homeschool, spelling, Vocabulary

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