Thinkabara🔠 Word games for adults
Word games keep the mind busy and the conversation going. Most need nothing but a pencil — or just your voice — and work for two people or a whole room.
Games you play out loud
Word chain
Each word starts with the last letter of the one before: apple → egg → garden → name. Choose a theme (food, places, animals) to make it harder.
Broken proverbs
Say the first half of a proverb and let the group finish it: “A penny saved…” (is a penny earned), “Don’t count your chickens…” (before they hatch). Then try mixing two halves for a laugh.
Categories
Pick a category — cars, singers, flowers — and go around the circle naming one each until someone is stuck. That person picks the next category.
Twenty questions
One person thinks of a person, place or thing; the others ask up to 20 yes-or-no questions to guess it.
I went to the store and bought…
A memory game: each player repeats the list and adds one more item, in alphabetical order: apples, bread, carrots…
Games on paper
Words within a word
Write a long word like THANKSGIVING and see how many smaller words you can make from its letters in 5 minutes: thank, sign, king, hang…
Anagrams
Unscramble the letters: TEAR → RATE, LISTEN → SILENT, ASTRONOMER → MOON STARER.
Name, Place, Animal, Thing
Pick a letter and fill in each column. Unique answers score more.
Hangman
Guess the word one letter at a time before the drawing is finished. Use a theme to help.
Crosswords and word searches
Large-print crosswords and a word search maker for your own word lists.
Ready-made challenges
Finish the song lyric
Read the first line of a well-known song and let the group sing the next one.
Compound words
Combine pairs into one word: sun + flower, rain + bow, foot + ball. Then ask the group for new ones.
Rhyme time
Say a word and go around the circle with rhymes: cat, hat, bat, flat… until someone is stuck.
Questions and answers
Are word games good for the brain?
Word games are a fun way to stay mentally active, social and engaged. They aren’t a medical treatment, but conversation, laughter and challenge are good for everyone.
Which word games work over the phone?
Word chain, twenty questions, categories, broken proverbs and finish-the-lyric all work well over the phone or a video call.