🎉 Word games for kids
Word games are a great way to practice vocabulary, spelling and quick thinking without anyone feeling like they're studying. They work in a classroom, around the holiday table and on the road, and most need nothing but your brain, sometimes plus paper and a pen.
Name, Place, Animal, Thing is the classic, and it works with two players or a whole class. To keep a word game fair, match it to reading and writing levels. With young kids, play out loud and pick easy letters. From about 4th grade you can add harder categories, rhymes and idioms.
Practical tip: decide in advance who settles arguments about a word, one adult or a dictionary. Debates over 'does that count?' can eat up half the game.
Our top picks
- 🙅 Forbidden Words: Explain a word without saying it or the forbidden words. Great practice for vocabulary and phrasing.
- 🔤 Crazy Letter: Every answer must start with the round's letter, even if the result is ridiculous. Works from age 7.
- 🧩 Word Links: Find the word between two words, or build a chain of links. Verbal thinking for ages 8 and up.
- 💬 Finish the Sentence: Finish funny sentence starters, out loud or on paper. The funniest answer wins.
- 🌍 Name, Place, Animal, Thing: The classic categories game: one letter, a few categories and a race to fill them all.
All 5 games
Questions and answers
From what age can kids play Name, Place, Animal, Thing?
From age 6, with three simple categories and common letters. From age 9 try five categories, and older kids can handle eight to ten.
How do we play a word game on a trip without paper and pen?
Play out loud: each player in turn names a word in the category that starts with the chosen letter. Anyone who can't think of one within five seconds passes.
Which word games suit kids who just started reading?
Crazy Letter and Name, Place, Animal, Thing with only three categories, with an adult helping with spelling. Forbidden Words fits better from age 7, and Word Links from age 8.