Free Word Games For Seniors
Sep 12, 2017 - These fun word games can be played with big groups or small gatherings, and they have many benefits for seniors. Rhyming Ball. This fun word game combines fast thinking with physical coordination. Complete the Saying. Team Stories. Crossword Puzzles. Fun and challenging word games that promote social interaction and group discussions. Lots of ideas for both individuals and groups alike! A fun word game for seniors. 3 Comments Word Games General Activities - June 3646 34. Save Download. Creative Thinking Exercises. 20+ FREE Activities.
To say that here at Mashable we 'heart' word games is as much of an understatement as saying the ocean is a bit wet.
Fellow wordsmiths know there are few things better than a good game involving language, but with the App Store brimming with such offerings, which ones do you go for?
To save you the trouble of sorting through the hundreds of options, we've spent a considerable amount of time searching, downloading and testing (hard life, we know) and we've narrowed down the best to a top 10 list.
Best of all, we've focused on free games (although be warned a couple on the list fall into trial version categories) so with this list, and for the grand total payout of exactly zero, you will never be bored again. Period.
1. Crostix Free
This really is a taster app to try and get you hooked enough to fork out the $3.99 for the full version, as it contains just seven games. However, it works well as the puzzles can take some time to do and it's certainly enough for you to see if you like the acrostic puzzle formula enough to dish out some cash for the upgrade.
You have to solve crossword-type clues while the letters from the answers are automatically entered into a grid that makes up a quote from an author. If you get stuck there's a hint option to help you out and the text can be resized by pinching to zoom. When you solve the puzzle you get a brief (as in one line) bio of the writer as a kind of brainiac award.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? No ads
Available as a separate app for iPad? Yes
Addiction level warning: Take it or leave it
2. Hangman Free
Slightly less cerebral but just as fun, this hangman game will have you nostalgic for recess and family road trips with the old-school chalk graphics and some nifty features. You can choose to play the computer on easy, medium or hard (with category options too) and we were impressed with the vocab it came out with on the hard setting — 'doggerel', 'cormorant' and 'mollify' are three examples. The two player option lets you enter names and it keeps the gameplay really simple with clear instructions ('enter a word for Amy-Mae to guess').
The fact that it remembers where you left off is great but we have a couple of complaints - the sound effects (which can thankfully be turned off) and that you only get six or seven (setting dependent) chances to guess letters, which is frustrating for kids. Still, as a paper-free (and easy) option for playing hangman on the go it's well worth the gratis price tag.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? Small banner along the bottom, not too bad at all
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: Like caffeine
3. WordJong Lite
This popular app puts a word game twist on Mahjong, with great results. The basic principle is to make the best words possible from the top layer of tiles available to you. The thematic music (complete with birdsong and soothing water audio) and the sound effects sound a little plinky coming from the phone's speakers, but we can imagine via headphones on a noisy commute they'd actually be quite relaxing. The app is a little on the girly side, with pink blossoms filling up the calendar as you complete a game and collecting butterflies is the prize, but if you can get past that, then it's a simple yet clever time-filler.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? No ads
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: There's a reason they only put out one new puzzle per day
4. Jumbline Lite
There is no shortage of iPhone apps where the goal is to make as many words as possible from a selection of letters (TextTwist, Word Warp, etc), but we particularly like the interface on this one. You are presented with a certain number of letters and have to make as many words as you can from them. To help you out, the game shows how many words you should be able to get, and how many letters long each word is. You can shuffle the letters for a better view and drag and drop them when you're creating words. As you make a word that you want to submit you underline it with your finger, which seems more intuitive than similar games that make you hit a separate button. After the timer has run out the blanks are filled in so you can see what you missed, and if you didn't miss too many then you might want to take advantage of the connect to Facebook option to report your progress to friends.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? Fairly, there are full screen photo ads between each level, which you have to skip past
Available as a separate app for iPad? Jumbline 2 is available for iPad
Addiction level warning: Your fingers will be twitching to play
5. Word Scramble 2 by Zynga
Free Printable Puzzles For Seniors
This comprehensive free offering gives you the choice of playing solo, play and pass with up to four friends, playing online with random folk and a challenge mode for you to throw the gauntlet out to a buddy who also has the app or plays on Facebook, which is a sweet touch. Working on a wordsearch principle, the game offers the ability to scramble up the letters by grabbing the edges of the grid and twisting it round, which means words you could not see before become clear. After the alloted time is up you are presented with the words you could have got and shown where on the grid they were.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? Banners show up between gameplay, not too bad Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: Don't fire this up if you've got something you need to do, like eat
6. Moxie - Free Edition
This clever game requires learning the rules, but they are incredibly simple and the gameplay you'll enjoy after sitting through the quick demo video makes it more than worth it. With three lines of five boxes, you are presented with one letter at a time to place in a box with the aim of making meaningful words within the boxes. Once you've done that you can grow the word by adding more letters, if possible, or swapping out letters for others that still make a real word. So, for example, you could swap the 'h' in 'hover' to an 'l' to make 'lover.'
If you add a letter and find you no longer have a viable word then that's called a 'twaddle,' and you'll lose points. Finally, a list of Moxie words means more points, so it's worth checking them out before you play if you've got your eye on the high score prize. It sounds simplistic but as you're building words and hoping the correct letter turns up to complete it the engagement level can get quite high.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? No ads
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: Can't. Stop. Playing.
7. 2 Across, Lite Edition
Another taster app that still offers an impressive amount of content is the 'Lite Edition' of 2 Across, with a smattering of crossword-style puzzles available from The Independent (cryptic), The New York Times (classic), The Sydney Morning Herald (quick) and The Onion.
Offering the option to view the grid, the clues or both in a split screen, this app makes crosswords really work on the iPhone's display. The interface is great. Pan around the grid by dragging the display, hit on the grid to see the clue come up across the bottom of the screen and then tap the pencil icon to type in the answer. One standout feature that really helps the crossword concept to translate to a digital device is the ability to either 'pen' or 'pencil' in your answers, so if you aren't sure about an answer you can enter it in a lighter font. If you get tear-your-hair-out stuck then you can chose to see the answer, although to your shame it shows on the grid which you've chosen to reveal. If you're a crossword fan and you give this a try we bet it won't be long before you're shelling out $5.99 for the full version that offers crosswords from 26 sources.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? No ads
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: Mine enemy is productivity
8. Word Solitaire Lite
As the name might suggest, Word Solitaire mixes up a word building game with the classic cards-for-one Klondike solitaire. Instead of clubs, hearts, spades and diamonds the cards in the columns are made up of vowels and consonants and you have to move the cards around to build words. Keep in mind you can only put a letter on top of another if it's the start of a potential word so you couldn't move a 'k' onto an 'r' for example. The aim of the game is to reveal all the letter cards and make sure they are all used up in creating words. Tools to help include some extra cards at the bottom that are optional to use, and the ability to 'burn' three cards per level if you really can't use them. If you get stuck altogether then you can hit the white flag to surrender.
With pretty backgrounds, the option to change the color scheme and not-completely-annoying sound effects, it's a surprisingly immersive game. The app also gets a 'thumbs up' from us for integrating Twitter - you can drag and drop a blue bird icon onto a high score to brag about it on the microblogging service.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? No ads
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: When's my next fix?
9. Alexia
This game should come with an addiction warning. Take the bubble-popping principle of the likes of Bejeweled, add in a dose of running-out-of-screen Tetris panic, and mix it up with some word game action and you have Alexia. As the letters flow down the screen you have to make as many words as you can, as quickly as you can by selecting the letters in order and then hitting them to make them disappear. If you aren't getting rid of enough letters and they hit the danger area at the top of the screen, then it's curtains. There's no more to it than that but believe us when we say it's enough.
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? Small banner ad along the top, not that noticeable
Available as a separate app for iPad? No
Addiction level warning: Think Tetris, then double it
10. Words With Friends Free
This might actually be the best. game. ever. Think Scrabble (just don't tell Hasbro/Mattel) with the option to play your Twitter and Facebook buddies on your iPhone. We're not sure it gets any better than that. If you're short of social networking pals that like word games then the app will also let you invite someone to play from your address book, and will even randomly match you with another willing player from the iPhoneiverse. Or, if you have actual real life friends who like a bit of word game action you can opt to 'Pass and Play' and play with them.
You can have up to 20 games going on at any one time, and the app offers push notifications so you'll know when it's your turn without having to keep checking in. Just to top off the awesome, there's in-game chat, so you can trash talk your opponent during the match. The ads — which show up as a full screen every time you take a turn — are annoying, so if you plan to play this regularly you might want to upgrade to the $2.99 version, a process which, you'll be glad to know, keeps your username, games and settings safely intact.
Fun Word Games For Seniors
Cost: Free
So how annoying are the ads? Full screen photo ads every time you make a move = annoying
Available as a separate app for iPad? Yes — as Words With Friends HD
Addiction level warning: They tried to make me go to rehab
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Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hannahglegBcs class iii.