Aaron Maracle
Canada
Unspecified
OverText is such a 23rd centruy fad.
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I hate word games.
I’ll put that on the table right now and let the world know how much I despise them. I really don’t know what it is about them that turns me off. Perhaps it is the fact that even though I am a strong writer, I blow when it comes to spelling words or finding big words to spell.
I say this because I thought I would take a shot at reviewing Boggle. It is one of the games that my wife and I would play a lot of when we were dating (the others being Pay Day and Tri-Ominos).
When I hear those wooden blocks clattering around in that plastic case, I have flashbacks to struggling to come with words besides DOG and CAT. I can still see my wife rattling off five and six letter words and me staring at my pitiful score.
She still married me anyways.
Initial Thoughts
Boggle is a spelling game. It hasn’t changed much over the years, but there have been a few variations of the game produced. I consider it the classic word game that seperates the spelling maniacs from the war gamers.
Object Of The Game
To list as many high scoring words as you can in 3 minutes.
Components
The outer box has gotten bigger over the years, but what’s inside has not changed.
The average Boggle box contains 16 letter cubes, a plastic cube tray with clear dome and a 3-minute timer. It is interesting to note that older versions of the game came with a 2-minute timer and the letter distribution on the cube varied from what it is today. One thing not included in the box is pens and paper, which you will need to record the words you find during the game.
I cannot really say much more about the components. There is nothing fancy about them, but they are durable enough to last a lifetime of game playing.
Gameplay
One player takes the letter cubes and are places them to the dome. The bottom is put on and the dome is given a good shake. Then, the dome is turned over and the dome is shaken a bit until each cube falls into a spot in the bottom of the dome. Once all the letters are in place, the dome is removed and another player starts the timer.
Once the timer is started, the players must search the cubes for words that have three or more letters. When a word is found by a player, it is written down in secret. The words must be made from adjoining cubes going in any direction, but no cube can be used more than once within a single word.
When the timer runs out, all writing stops. Players take turns reading out their word list. Any word that is on two or more lists is crossed off and does not count for scoring. When all players have read their list, the remaining words can be scored.
The game ends when a predetermined point total is reached.
Strategy v.s. Luck Factor
The dice do inject a certain element of luck to the game, but a skilled Boggle player has strategies that can reduce the “luck factor”. I have tried many times to implement these strategies, but I still seem to lose.
One strategy I have seen employed is to rattle off as many small words as you can in an effort to score a lot of small points or stop your opponent from gaining points. A variation on this strategy is start with small words and try to build them into larger words.
Another strategy I myself tried to employ was to skip the small words and go for 4 or 5 letter words. In the end, I found this method can cost you a lot of time and may not be worth it in the long run, especially if your opponent has a strong vocabulary.
Closing Thoughts
I know this may surprise you, but I am going to give this game a thumbs up.
Spelling may not be everyone’s game and Boggle may seem more like work as opposed to fun, but I have found that most people will play Boggle repeatedly even if they are not good at it.
It is also one of the few games that can help children with their spelling. Give the new school curriculum focus of memorizing words as opposed to phonetics, Boggle can help reinforce this skill and it is a fun way to practice spelling. I have seen a junior version of this game (known as Boggle Jr.), but I have not played it.
This is a game that turns up once in a while at the thrift shops and can be picked up on the secondary market for a reasonable price. If you are a word game lover, pick this game up and introduce it to your family.
Recommendation Summary
Wyll's Recommendation: 
Fun Factor (5 Point Scale): 
Rule Clarity (5 Point Scale): 
Bang For Buck Factor (5 Point Scale): 
One Line Summary:
A classic word game with little letter cubes that can be played by ages 8 and up.
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Boggle is good. Super Boggle rocks!!!!!
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Tony Wai-kit FUNG
Hong-Kong
Mongkok
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AndyP123 wrote: Boggle is good. Super Boggle rocks!!!!!
And Boggle Bowl is excellent. The game play is so exciting with another wordgame lover. However, it is out of print.
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I read you post with interest because I may have found your saviour!!
Someone who knows I'm a huge Scrabble fan bought me this game for Christmas called Qb. Which is a lot like Scrabble but has letters on the side of cubes so you get many more options for a word. It also has some combination letters (ie two on a side 'er''st' and so forth) which made it really easy for my kids to play.
Anyway I'm really addicted now so I thought I would 'spread the word'. You can see what it looks like on www.qbgame.co.uk
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