There were three of us: my mom, my older sister, and me. Every night after dinner we were addicted to playing some sort of board game. We went through a Mastermind phase, then it was Boggle, then Yahtzee, then Scrabble...We would rotate these games around. Sometimes playing several games in a row.

Until one Christmas, when my mother purchased UpWords (this was way back in the early 80s, when it was brand new to the toy market). That is when we added another game to our after-dinner arsenal.

UpWords is eerily similar to Scrabble, but you must completely shift your strategy in this crossword-like board game. Instead of receiving points based on the word you make, each tile is worth one (some might say, measly) point. In order to make the mega points, you must stack letters on top of words that are already on the board. This will allow you to count the points of the tiles you laid down and the tiles that are connected to your new word.

You must play with this in mind. If, for example, you lay down the word "Xylophone" NO ONE is going to really be able to benefit from that word. What other letters could you possibly stack on top of that one to make a new word? The best you could do would be to add an 's' and make "xylophones." In regular scrabble that 'x' point value alone would be worth it, not to mention the 'y' 'p' and 'h'...but not so in UpWords!

UpWords is all about using the English language to work in your favor. Laying down simpler words like: LOG or HOUSE would get you much further.

LOG could become BOG then BIG then BAG then BAKE then LAKE...do you see where I am going? Also, you can create 2 words at once:

1..BAG

2.....L
....BOG
......S
......T

Get it? It is loads of fun, and once you get the hang of it, you will find yourself stacking letters 4 and 5 deep. Just be careful not to knock the stacks over!

This game is ideal for those who see Scrabble as to high-brow or maybe irritating when playing with a really good player who knows every odd word in the dictionary. A successful UpWords player only needs to know simple English words, but must have a careful eye and be able to plan his moves ahead of time.

I also think it would be a very good game for parents and school-age children. It really helps a child's spelling abilities as he learns to associate the similarities in words and take advantage of that in the game.

Just be aware that it takes time to adjust to this game, if you are a Scrabble addict. It is a much different way to think about word formation than you are used to...so give it some time. I think after a game or two, you will find UpWords to be challenging and fun.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): ???
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older