Product Review
Sorry to burst your bubble, but while I sound like a modern mum on this blog most of the time, I am really quite a GEEK beneath it all.
I am slightly ashamed to admit that the games I enjoy playing the MOST are word games. I love all kinds of word games such as crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, scrabble, etc. I can play those stuffs for hours without getting bored. It's not like I have such a huge wealth of vocabulary in my tummy that I win all the time. Truth is 99% of time, I don't. It is such an irony because I often tell the husband that I dislike playing games that require me to use my brain to think. What can I say? I am a typical woman who sometimes am not sure what I really want. =P
And so, when Emway Singapore wanted to send over a new board game called 'Word Winder', you bet I said 'Yes!' within all of 3 seconds. It was an even bigger draw for me because the game is apparently suitable for kids to play as well, and can help them to improve their vocabulary. Joey has just started Primary One, and I'd love for her to improve her English language in a fun way and not feeling like mum's forcing it down her throat. How apt!
And so, Word Winder arrived at my house and I challenged Joey to a game. By the way, the game's created by David Hoyt, who is the world's most syndicated word game creator.
My first impression of the board was that it is a word version of Pictureka - Instead of finding pictures, you look for words on the board.
There are three different coloured chips provided so either 3 players can pit against each other, or form 3 teams if you have more players. To win, all you need to do is to form words on the board from one end of the board to the other end, either bottom to top or side to side, WITHOUT breaking the link between the words.
Even though the game is supposed to be for 8 years old and above, I challenged 7-year-old Joey to a game. She took up my challenge with much gusto.
You can form the words in any direction at all as long as they link. So for example, I formed the word SHAPE as below:
In order not to break the link between my words, I have to find my next word that links to the previous word. The words I make can overlap with the previous word without using the same alphabet more than once in the same word. My opponent (Joey) cannot touch the alphabet I've placed my coloured chip on. So, to make it difficult for my opponent to reach the top of the board and win the game, I can block her way by forming words that uses alphabet in her path. I didn't tell Joey this tip till the end of the game, haha! So, that's Joey pondering and thinking about words she can form.
I have to say I am mightily impressed with Joey. She may not be able to spell many of the words, but she can see the alphabets available and guess that it can form a certain word. Then she checks with me on the spelling of the word she has in mind and most of the time, they can really be formed on the board! I think she might have a hidden talent for unscrambling words from random alphabets provided. The red chips are Joey's and mine's blue. You can see she was just one step behind me in the game! In fact, we played the game several times and she won me in some of them. *ashamed & proud all at the same time*
To make the game more challenging for adults to play against kids, you can add in your own rule such as 'Only three-letter words are allowed' or allow the use of dictionaries etc. Don't underestimate the ability of kids - Sometimes they can think of simple three-letter words just like that, while the adults are still scratching their heads! We adults make things too complicated sometimes, and it is an art to be able to think simple.
Of course, I helped Joey along the way when she got stuck, and took the opportunity to teach her new words as well. It was all very fun and easy, and I could tell that Joey enjoyed herself. It was a great learning tool!
With 16 boards and 32 sides, there are over 1 trillion combinations you can make out of them! This is definitely a good game that helps kids and adults improve their vocabulary and have a fun family time together.
Too bad Jayne is too young to play. She was a little sad she couldn't participate. =P
GIVEAWAY!
Emway Singapore will be giving away 3 sets of Word Winder for interested readers of The J Babies. All you need to do is to complete the following simple step:
Mandatory:
Leave me a comment on this entry (either via disqus or facebook comment) why you would like to win a set of the Word Winder (leave your email address as well for easy contacting), OR drop me an email at inthedaisies@gmail.com with your comment.
Not Mandatory but Nice to do:
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Closing date for submission is Friday, 25 Jan 2013!
