Home » Writing & Publishing » Word Play » Whirl those words

Whirl those words

© Sandra Linville

In October 1999, Jon C.A. DeKeles, technical director at ZD Net Anchor Desk, favorably reviewed three word games: Spell-Mell, WordZap, and Whirlwords. I was intrigued so decided to investigate.

"These are but wild and whirling words, my lord!" - Hamlet. With 130 puzzles and the capability to create more, Whirlwords will challenge and entrance all ages who enjoy word games. This freeware word puzzle game for Windows takes the traditional word chain puzzles several paces further. Players have a specific number of steps to connect the words in the series and as they move through the steps, the rules for connecting words change each time. The goal is to change the top word to the bottom word using the transition rules. It is available from AHA! Software, Inc.

While playing WordZap, players compete against the computer or another player on the Internet. The challenge is to take eight, nine, 12, or 16 letters and arrange them into as many words as possible. When opponents spell the same word, the word is zapped or deleted from their word trays. The winner spells seven words first.

The third reviewed game, Spell-Mell, is also from AHA! Software. Playing Spell-Mell is more fun than drilling with flash cards to build vocabulary. More than 15 games feature trivia quizzes and word puzzles for all ages. Young players may not even realize they are improving their spelling and vocabulary skills while playing games such as Jumble Words and Alphabet Reader Quiz. Foreign language vocabulary games are also available.

Although not reviewed by DeKeles, Alphen is another word puzzle game. Players have to unscramble letters to find words. Words of equal length are stacked up and the letters are in the proper positions from left to right, but most are in the wrong rows. Players are given only one clue, the category. Eight-to-10-year-olds can play the easiest level, but even the most proficient player will find the most advanced level challenging.

Family Games offers more than word games. Its site is loaded with other non-violent computer games and online activities.

Let the games begin and the words whirl.

The copyright of the article Whirl those words in Word Play is owned by Sandra Linville. Permission to republish Whirl those words in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.