Game: My Word!

Thread: Pitch and Play

ced1106 — 2008-04-17T23:52:47+00:00

Introduction: Usually the fastest-thinking players will dominate the game, leaving the others to, well, quit. This variant lessens the reflex part of the game, and adds a little hand sculpting.

1. Each player starts with four cards.

2. At the beginning of a round, each player draws a card. Simultaneously, every player then discards a card from their hand to the common area.

3. The first player to call out a word using at least one card from the common area and any number of cards from their hand scores the word. Continue until no player can call out a word. A player does NOT draw to replace a card used in a word.

4. Start the next round. The game ends when not every player can draw a card from the deck.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: My Word! versus My Word! Junior?

ced1106 — 2008-04-17T23:42:45+00:00

My Word cards typically have two letters on them, such as "AN", so are "harder" to create words from than the Jr. cards. I've only played Jr. with adults once -- the winner was making up cool words like "ARMOR" and "RESIN".

aka. Washu! ^O^

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dagny21 — 2008-02-13T03:50:15+00:00

Another side of the bottom of the box.

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dagny21 — 2008-02-13T03:47:21+00:00

The other side of the lid.

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dagny21 — 2008-02-13T03:44:44+00:00

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dagny21 — 2008-02-13T03:43:56+00:00

Box insert and cards.

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dagny21 — 2008-02-13T03:42:17+00:00

One side of the box.

Thread: Re: My Word! versus My Word! Junior?

sparr0 — 2007-07-03T04:18:00+00:00

i would expect junior to have an "easier" distribution of letters. nix Z V X Q J, more and more common pairs, etc.

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ColMustard — 2007-05-16T01:02:06+00:00

Tin box lid

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ColMustard — 2007-05-15T21:52:04+00:00

The front of the packaging (2007)

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ColMustard — 2007-05-15T21:17:19+00:00

The back of the packaging

Thread: Re: My Word! versus My Word! Junior?

kevinwho — 2007-02-05T21:49:48+00:00

My Word! Junior replaces the more adult capital letters with kid-friendly lowercase letters. It really should be called "my word! junior."

Oh, who am I kidding? I have no idea. But I have wondered the same thing myself. Maybe it just doesn't have as many tildes and umlauts.

Thread: My Word! versus My Word! Junior?

MacMoyer — 2007-02-05T19:53:54+00:00

What's the difference between My Word! and My Word! Junior?

And why isn't there a separate entry for each?

Mac

Thread: Re: Session Report

Favre4MVP — 2006-11-06T15:43:16+00:00

My copy of My Word! didn't come with a sand timer OR a henchman. I got robbed!

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crazyyog — 2006-09-12T17:51:29+00:00

Card examples from the Tin Box Edition

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crazyyog — 2006-09-12T16:33:35+00:00

Cards (front & back) from the Tin Box Edition

Thread: Session Report

snoozefest — 2004-07-15T15:35:42+00:00

Just a quick filler while we were waiting for the other game to finish. Me, David, Eric and Brian. B and I had played before, but it had been a while. Went through the rules pretty quickly (there's not that much to it) and started to play.

There's not much to report! It's a fast, simultaneous-play trading and set-collection game! With a sandclock that gets passed, and penalizes the holder if it runs out. But, you can flip it when you get it, so it never became an issue - we all kept an eye on it, and often passed it right away (draw a card when you pass). E finished his henchman first, and D and I finished shortly thereafter (within a few seconds of each other). B was 1 part (spleen?) short, so he scored nothing. Unfortunately for E, his henchman was made of a variety of parts; mine, too, but I had several of one color and scored more final points. Final score: me 19-E18-D17-B0.

I hadn't played in a long time. I think it's an OK game. I don't like having to yell out stuff ... I just end up straining my voice! It's a pretty good simultaneous-play non-dexterity game, but I think I may prefer Wheedle to it (and I haven't tried Pit). Fast enough to try playing again, though.

Thread: Session Report

snoozefest — 2004-07-15T15:35:42+00:00

A quick filler, waiting for another game to finish/start. Me, David, Eric and Brian. New to E.

I started dealing. Our re-read of the rules suggested the dealer could play, so dealt cards flipping them away from me. First round, I cleaned up - got maybe 30-35 letters while the rest got barely a handful. B dealt next, and we were much more even this time; B took first, I took second. We stopped playing after that and moved on to Nodwick.

I think this is a fun game, but the suggestion that everyone get to deal is not so good. While it's fun, the game just goes on too long. Everyone dealing makes sense if the dealer doesn't play, and maybe the actual rules do say that. But I see little reason for this (when there was uncertainity as to who called out first, we just decided as a group; when we couldn't, the 2 just split the cards). This would be fun with fast word-game lovers, but I wouldn't go through the deck more than once or twice.
RP

Thread: Re:Variant for the Semi-Literate

Chegigo — 2004-06-13T03:56:04+00:00

I do this with my kids. The six year old gets the opportunity to make 3 card words, my eight year old must make words with at least four cards, and the adults five. Not quite the same variant but it works okay for our family.

I hate word games.

Thread: Variant for the Semi-Literate

ced1106 — 2004-06-12T09:06:56+00:00

I've demo'ed this game halfway to a hundred times, and usually one or two people will win **every** time. If you want to see adults sulk, just throw them this party game. However, I've come up with a variant to make the game more palatable. (I mean, it **is** educational and we have to get them adults to play with the kids, right?)

Simply put, whoever wins a game has to take an additional-card handicap in his next game. So if an adult who has to create words from three cards wins the game, he has to create words from four cards in the next game. We play until a player wins with a five-card handicap.

Now only half the adults I play this game with sulk. (:

Thread: Re:Session Report

Rubric — 2004-05-23T16:47:46+00:00

Dan Bosley (#16185),

Actually, the rules say the dealer does play.

Thread: User Review

TomVasel — 2003-08-13T16:18:24+00:00

I bought My Word! because of three reasons. One, I was an English teacher at the time, and thought it would be helpful in my classes. Also, it was produced by Out of the Box (2001), who makes some very fun, easy-to-learn games. Thirdly, it was designed by the great Reiner Knizia. So I bought this inexpensive game and tried it out with my classes, and with my friends.

The verdict? It was a great, great game in my classes. With my friends, however, it did not do so well. Some liked it, some didn’t, but it hasn’t been asked for since. Allow me to discuss the game a little more, starting with how it’s played…

My Word consists only of a deck of fifty-six cards. It’s also helpful to have a scrap of paper and pencil to track each player’s score. The deck of cards is made up of thirty-nine cards that have one letter on them. The cards are divided into two, with the letter written on them from both directions, so that players on both sides of the table can easily read the card. Fourteen cards are similar, but have pairs of letters on them, such as “IT”, or “SH”. The remaining three cards have question marks on them – two with a single question mark, and one with two question marks. They are used as wild cards. One player is chosen to be the dealer, and then each player takes a turn after in clockwise order.

On a turn, the dealer takes deck of cards and shuffles it, then begins to place cards face up on the table. The dealer can place the cards anywhere they choose and at any speed they desire. As the dealer lays out cards, players search the cards to see if they can find any words amongst the letters on the table. Words must be formed from three or more cards, must be able to be found in a standard dictionary, and can be formed in any order. When a player sees a word, they must shout out the word. If the dealer hears the word, they pause the game and check to make sure the word is legal. If the word is legal, the player who shouted it out gets all the cards used to make the word. If the word is NOT legal, then every other player gets a free card from the table. The dealer can never call out words during his deal.

When the last card is dealt, the round immediately ends. Each player receives one point for every card they have gotten, and scores are noted on the paper. The next player becomes the dealer, and the game proceeds until every player has been the dealer once. Point totals are tallied, and whichever player has the most points is the winner!

Some comments on the game…

1). Components: All the game consists of is the deck of cards. The cards are of good quality, but since they are the only component in the game, I think they should have been of better quality (a minor quibble). The box with it’s plastic insert is more than enough room to hold the cards and fits well on a shelf (it’s the same size as all OOTB small games). One thing did nag at me when playing the game. The simple fact is that I could easily make this game. All one would have to do is make a deck of cards with letters on them. Of course, quality components are always a plus, there’s just not much here.

2). Rules: As with every OOTB game, the rules are simple, short, and easy to learn and play. No matter what, I had each game I taught up and running in less than a minute.

3). English teaching: This game was superb for teaching children spelling games. And, unlike some educational games, there is a bit of fun in this one. I found this game a very useful tool in the classroom.

4). Fun factor: But while there may be a bit of fun, there’s not a lot of fun. People who are slow spellers will absolutely hate this game. It requires a quick eye and fast spelling. At least Scrabble and Crossword Pyramids allow the player time to think. If a player is slowly thinking of a word to spell, and other players grab the letters first, it can be intensely frustrating to some. I enjoyed the game, but I was in a very distinct minority.

So, after this short review, I would have to say that I would recommend My Word! to those who like spelling games. If you have children who need to learn spelling, or are a teacher, this is also a fun, valuable teaching tool. But for game night? Sadly, I’ll have to pass.

Tom Vasel

Thread: Session Report

Dan Bosley — 2002-05-22T13:59:37+00:00

Before playing My Word for the first time, we played Spin the Spinner Game (Rick’s little metal hand-spinner that he got at that event that begins with G and ends with G).

Corwin won because the spinner pointed at him. So far, Corwin has never lost this game. Mind you, we've only played it once.

Then we played My Word. Each player gets a turn being the dealer. You deal cards face up one at a time. The cards have either one letter or two letter on them. The object is to call out a word that you can spell with the letters using a minimum of 3 cards. If you’re right, you get the cards. If you’re wrong, the other players get one card each. The dealer doesn’t play - he only deals. When the deck has been completely gone through, you score 1 point for each card you have.

If you like word games and can do anagrams quickly in your head, then this may be just the game for you.

We played 5 rounds, one per player.

Final scores:

Dan - *79*
Jeremy - 65
Rick - 50
Shari - 37
Corwin - 34

Ratings - I gave it a 6. Everyone else gave it a 5.

Thread: Session Report

PBrennan — 2002-01-01T12:25:54+00:00

Turn over cards with letters or common letter combinations, similar to It’s Mine, first player to make a word claims those letters. It’s broken for the other players if you have some Scrabble-type word-smiths who are fast, but good fun if you have an even field. The more the merrier, we had fun with 6 for 30 minutes. A rating of 6.