WordSearch

WordSearch

Do you use word search puzzles and wish you could kick it up a notch? Or want to teach someone in a more playful way than paper and pencil? Or want to add in-hand manipulation to the mix? Or maybe you would like to turn it into a 2-player competition. Then check out WordSearch by Goliath.

The game board will consist of four pieces - a base, a puzzle sheet, a clear plastic top with shallow pits for the playing pieces to sit in and a movable ring that snaps on top to hold them all together. All pieces are plastic except for the paper puzzle sheet.

There are 10 2-sided puzzle cards, 20 puzzles in all. Each puzzle card has 28-30 words to find. Each card is a theme such as beach, animal, body, and countries. All of the words to find are printed around the outer rim of the puzzle card (see image above). You can see in the assembled game, above right, that there is a small opening on the red ring, at the very top. This is where the words will show up as you move the red ring. There is a green rectangle on the top of the rim of each puzzle card which you put into that space when setting up a new game, so that no player sees the first word and gets a head start. As the red ring is turned and a word appears, all players will search to see who can be the first to find it. Once a word is found, move the ring clockwise until the next word is in the opening and search again.

There are small bingo-type chips that are grooved so they will sit into the dips on the board. As you find a word, place your chips over the letters. At the end, the person with the most chips on the board wins the game.

For a junior version of this game, check out my post on Word Search Junior.

Object:
Have the most chips on the board when all the words have been found.

Set up:
Set up the game board as shown above, making sure that the green rectangle is showing in the opening of the ring.

Play:
All players play simultaneously. Turn the ring to the first word. Players race to see who can find it first. The person who spots it first places his chips over the letters. Turn the ring to the next word. Keep playing until all words have been found. If a word ends up crossing over another word that has already been covered, and someone else's chip(s) is already on a letter(s), take their chip(s) off the letter(s) you need to cover your word and return them to the players. Each player collects his chips off the board and counts them at the end of the game. Player who had the most chips on the board wins the game. Put in a new puzzle and play again.

Try this:

• Don't move the ring to reveal words. Set a timer for 3 minutes and see who can find and cover the most words, whether they are on the list or not.
• Hold several of the chips in your hand as you play. Bring each chip to the fingertips, one at a time, to place as you play. 
• Teach the individual to scan a line looking for the starting letter. When it is found, scan the eight letters surrounding it to see if the second letter is there. If it is, follow it to see if it spells the word.
• Sort the chips by color into the four cups in the corners of the board. Hold several at a time bringing them to the fingertips one at a time and drop them as you sort.
• Let the person who will have the most trouble sit with the game oriented upright in front of him. With several people playing, inevitably others will have to look at the board and the letters from different angles that might make it more challenging, especially if you are having to read words upside-down. Or, play four games and turn the board 90 degrees each game so each player has the same advantages/disadvantages as to location. Keep score and the winner is the person with the highest score.

In the box: 3 piece game board, 10 2-sided puzzle cards, 280 chips (4 sets of 70 in red, blue, green, yellow)

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below: