One of my favourite things to do is play games... brain games in particular. I love trivia, word games, brain teasers, puzzles... and the list could go on... I basically love anything that makes your brain work and is not just about luck.
My old roommate Sarah found this website with lots of brain games on it... check it out at your own risk because it's really addictive! www.lumosity.com
Joe and I have been playing a lot word games lately and I love it! They're easy to teach, simple to play and they work for a wide range of age groups. Mom used to play word games with us when we were kids... she would always win because she's crazy smart (and I'm not just sucking up... she is!).
Here are a couple of my favourites...
What you Need:
Paper
Writing utensil(s)
Something to Time with
A Dictionary (optional) it depends on how competitive you are!
Word Game #1 (Mom's game)
Pick a word... preferably a long word. Write it at the top of each player's page and start the timer (2 minutes or whatever you choose). Write down as many words as you can using the letters from the word. You cannot use the same letter twice and all words need to be at least 3 letters long. No proper nouns. Compare lists like in scattergories (if you both have the word it doesn't count toward your points) add up the number of words you get. Pick another word and start another round!
Word Game #2 (Borrowed from Lumosity.com)
Player 1 chooses 3 letters that can be used to start a word (ie. cra - crack, crab, etc) and writes it on the top of Player 2's page and starts the timer (2 minutes or whatever you choose) Player 2 writes as many words as possible beginning with those 3 letters in the alloted time. Then players switch roles.
Want to make it more difficult??... When trying to come up words players are limited to 5 words of each number amount (5 three letter words, 5 four letter words, etc) Any words beyond 5 of each are crossed out and do not count toward your total.
Have Fun!
Just to Claire-ify.
