Not too long ago, I touted a few of my favorite word games, but it seems I spoke too soon! I recently received Scrabble Flash as a gift, and it is the most addictive word game I have ever come across. Scrabble Flash, as you might have guessed, is very fast-paced, and great for children as well as adults. This word game is more engaging than any others that have come before it.
What makes this game so special? Scrabble Flash uses a type of technology you might not yet be familiar with, though you are bound to be seeing it more often in the future. (The TED video on Siftables, possibly part of the technology behind this game, is well worth watching.) The game is comprised of five electronic “tiles” that initially look completely identical. When a player turns them on and lines them up, they suddenly form a “menu” screen. Select the button on the tile displaying the number one and suddenly each tile will display a letter of the alphabet. Players start with one minute and must rearrange the tiles to form as many words as possible. The tiles will recognize when legitimate words are created and keep score. When the time has run out, line the tiles up, and they display the round’s score and the maximum possible score with the given tiles. Families can work together to form words. Or, in another mode, players can take turns trying to determine the 5-letter word from the given tiles so that the tiles will display a new set of letters. Just don’t be the one who gets caught with the tiles when the time runs out!
One aspect of Scrabble Flash that I love is its portability. The five scrabble tiles fit compactly into a box that could easily slip into a coat pocket (a nice feature of which I plan to make use). Otherwise, only a flat surface is required for gameplay; even a binder or a magazine would suffice.
Scrabble Flash is an innovative word game that is educational, addictive, and just plain cool. I highly recommend it.