Bingtoe

Bingtoe

It's like Bingo, Wordsearch, and Tic Tac Toe all combined into one game! This game incorporates elements of chance to lower the playing field level to a less competitive setting. You are less concerned about blocking opponents and more concerned about trying to make words, even though you may not always get that word in the end.

It's a great game that only requires scrap paper and a pencil to make. Only takes a couple of minutes to set up and the cleanup for a new game is super easy (only requires someone to bend the board and dump all the letters back into the cup).

How to play:

1. Set up a playing board. Minimum should be 4x4, but make the board larger for a longer game.
2. If you make the minimum size, make little pieces of paper which each letter of the alphabet. Make only one set of vowels for a harder game, make an extra set of vowels for a normal game. If you make a board that's larger than 5x5, make sure to double the regular letters and triple the vowels so you have enough playing pieces.
3. Put letters into some sort of cup, shake them around, and choose one piece of paper without looking. 
4. Place the letter anywhere you desire.
5. Attempt to make as many words as you can, keep score.
6. After the entire board is completely filled, the person with the most words wins!

Rules:

1. You are allowed to make words diagonally, vertically, and horizontally
2. You cannot use names
3. You can only use English words (you can't use Spanish words amongst English words)
4. You cannot spell words backwards (right to left)
5. You cannot use acronyms (Such as T.V. or C.P.R.)
6. Plays best as a 2 player game. Can be three players if the game board is made larger and additional letters are added.
7. You are allowed to claim multiple words in the same string of letters (For example, if you made the word "arm" on the board, you win this word. On your next turn you get a 'Y' and put it on the end to spell "army", then you also get this word even though it used the previous word "arm"). 
8. If you see a word that you didn't see before, it's pretty much up for grabs by whoever sees it first.
9. It's ok if you don't end up using all of the pieces, you're only trying to fill the board so you will definitely end up with leftover letters.

Why it's fun:
It's a fun game because it's not a dead game like Tic Tac Toe. The level of difficulty is fairly easy allowing for beginning readers to play. The game relies partly on chance, and the rest on your identifying skills.

The game also tends to really show who is awake and paying attention. Once your turn is over, another player may notice that you completely missed a word. The opponent may also see a place to make a word that you didn't think about. It's all about being on the ball and keeping your eyes peeled open. It's a great way to learn words and recognize words faster, as well as identify words among a conglomerate of letters. A sharp eye and some good luck will help you win a game!

Modifications:
Originally I set up the game to be "whoever finds a word first." It didn't quite work because the game ended too fast. By winning with the most words after filling up the entire board, it makes the game longer and in turn also levels out the playing field by giving the opponent more time and opportunity to win. This also prevents players from winning the game with simple two letter words. There were other suggestions like adding point values to words, but I felt that complicated the game beyond being casual and made it too much like Scrabble.