While I am a big fan of strategy games, tricky card games, clever maneuvering games, and back-stabbing deal-making games, every now and then it is nice to settle down with a simple, wholesome game that works great with the family. And sometimes you may want to play games with your non-gamer friends, and need simple rules and attractive pieces. Front Porch Classics has a variety of great family games, and Wordspot is a fine addition to the line.
Wordspot is a clever two-player word-finding game in the vein of Scrabble. It is extremely straight-forward and easy to play, and can be enjoyed by anyone with a sharp eye and a decent vocabulary. The game includes two kinds of tiles, the word tiles and the clear play tiles.
Play starts by selecting 16 random word tiles and placing them in a four by four grid. Each tile has four letters, so the resulting grid is eight letters across and eight up. Each player receives 25 clear plastic tiles, and take turns placing their tiles on top of words they find in the grid. The first player to place all 25 tiles wins the game.
A few interesting rules add a little spice to the game. When a player can't find a word, he gets to take a new letter tile, but he also has to take two more clear tiles, putting him even farther from a win. On a later turn, he may place the tile next to the existing grid to make a new word, and thereby rid himself of some of his tiles.
Particularly enterprising players may be able to build words of four letters or more. If a word spans three word tiles, the player who found it may draw a word tile, which he can use to great advantage as the board becomes full of clear play tiles, and all the existing words are used up.
Wordspot is a fun game that can be played in less than half an hour, and played again if both players want a rematch. Strategy is secondary to the ability to find words, giving a decided advantage to the player who is observant and educated. This is a great game to teach a child to be attentive, and moreover, is just a quick, fun game.
This review covers the bookshelf edition of Wordspot, which comes in a beautiful wooden box you will want to keep in your living room. As with all the other bookshelf editions of Front Porch Classics, the game components are amazing. Where other games would use high-quality cardstock, Wordspot uses wooden tiles. Where some games might use glass beads, Wordspot includes a pretty bag full of nicely-shaded clear plastic tiles. There are no shortcuts here – only the finest components make their way into a Front Porch Classics game.
If you are looking for a clever game that can be easily enjoyed on a rainy day, Front Porch Classics has the game for you/ Wordspot is a solid game with beautiful components that can be easily enjoyed in half an hour, or can be played many times in a row for a relaxing afternoon.
Style: 5 – The best components in gaming, and a beautiful wooden box, to boot.
Substance: 3 – Clever and entertaining without being taxing or cutthroat, Wordspot is perfect for casual gamers or word-hunting perfectionists.
