Home » Writing & Publishing » Word Play » Wordthief

Wordthief

© Sandra Linville

The year 2000 dissolves into the year 2001, people contemplate how they will bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. Some welcome it surrounded by family, some welcome it alone with a book and glass of champagne and others welcome it in the midst of music, balloons and fireworks. I waver about the best way to celebrate the New Year. It is a good excuse for an elegant party, complete with evening dress, but I have always found those soirees to be much more fun to watch in a movie than attend. I admit I lean toward a quiet, reflective time. However, each New Year celebration requires a unique way to mark it.

In this year-end article I hope to provide information that runs the gamut, from quiet at-home reflection and family time to party time to big community observations.

And throughout it all, I will throw in a few "words", in keeping with my topic here at Suite101.com.

First, let's visit that family celebration. My suggestion is particularly appropriate for all those snowed-in people who are tired of Scrabble, but really enjoy word games. Get it before the next big snow. In parts of the United States it appears it could be a long winter. If you are looking for a quiet evening, this board game may not work, since game players may heartily resent each other's ruthlessness and could get a little rowdy about it. The game is Wordthief and it is extremely fun.Wordthief mixes cards, word building, subtle and non-so-subtle plotting, outright stealing and lots of twists and turns throughout the game. I found it more exhilarating than Scrabble because one has so many more options. Have you ever wished you could pick up a played word in Scrabble and rearrange and recycle it to make a really great word with the letters in your hand? You can do that in Wordthief. You can do it again and again unless a word is "wordlocked."

My family loves board games, but we had grown tired of many of the traditional ones and were looking for something new. Video and computer games are fun, but rarely much fun for a group. Wordthief was perfect for us. Yes, it is educational, but what's really important is the excitement quotient.

Basically, the player with the most points wins the game, but how you get there is the cool part. The game has 108 letter cards in the standard suits of hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds. Each player starts with seven cards and during his or her turn, makes a word with those cards. The points on the letters are similar to Scrabble and you can keep score with a running tally or with the included plastic chips.