Family Time with Digital Games

When I was young my favorite game to play was Chess. Mostly I played against my older brother. He dominated that game, but that never seemed to shake me. I always knew I could out-word him in Scrabble. We were very lucky to have each other because playing board games was one of our favorite pastimes, and it taught us not only the importance of vocabulary, but the importance of spending quality time with each other as a family.

Skip ahead a generation and now I'm instilling the same values I learned as a child. The importance of co-operation, critical thinking, strategy, and family time. Now, in this digital age we have different games and they're not all played on a board like they used to. But the values remain the same.

Instead of scrabble in our household the game of choice is noq Words With Friends a digital collaborative app popular among today's smartphones, and my kids. And now the lessons begin, a strategy lesson just like we used to have.

So if you already know how to play Words With Friends and are interested in the strategy of the game, here are the tips. There are many keys to success in Words With Friends and similar word games. Yes, a 60k word vocabulary would be useful but here are a few tips to win your next game, no SAT vocabulary necessary.

2 & 3 Letter Words

One of the simplest ways to build your strategy is to familiarize yourself with the common 2 letter and 3 letter words. A well placed "ZA" can get you out of a jam and a decent score.

Balance Vowels and Consonants

Maintain an even mix of vowels and consonants, of the 104 tiles in the game there are 44 vowels and 58 consonants. A balance of letters will provide more opportunity in choosing words to play. And avoid holding onto uncommon duplicate consonants..

S's and Multi-Word Combinations

Each turn allows one word to be placed on the board. The word can intersect with other words on the board to create other valid words. Each word created is added up separately. Make multi-word combinations to build higher scores. The letter S can be a great tool for multi-word combinations. Add an S to the end of some words to make it plural, while using the S to start, end, or be part of a new word on the board.

Play Defense

Did you just leave a vowel right next to a triple or double word score? Don't give anything easy away! Make sure to use every triple or double word score to your advantage. With the right letters those opportunities can decide a game. Taking a few less points to avoid setting up your opponent can sometimes be a wise strategy.

So play on, enjoy the family time, learn how to play Words With Friends and enjoy the values instilled by problem solving and playing. Kids are already glued to the best smartphones and sometimes the best way to interact with them is by going where they are. These days won't last forever and who knows what games will look like years from now. But we will have each other and future generations of game players.

--

Jenks is a new media game writer. He enjoys the strategy of Words With Friends and today's popular games like Tiny Wings and RuneScape on today's best smartphones.