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Boggle is a great game to play to have some fun with words. First published in 1972 by Parker Brothers, the original game of Boggle continues to be a quick choice of players for some fast and furious word play. It is amazing at how many different words can be found within a three minute time limit and from within the Boggle Grid!
The Boggle Grid is a 4×4 square tray that allows cubes to settle inside of it. The cubes have various letters printed on them. So, at the start of every game, the Boggle Grid is covered and shaken to provide a new mixture of sixteen cubed letters each time the game is played!
Original Boggle challenges players to search out words within its 4×4 grid. The letters of the words must be found in the correct order, and must be adjacent to each other. However, they can be situated in the grid horizontally, vertically, or diagonally from each other.
For instance, in the tray shown below, GAME can be found by using the G and going diagonally down to the A, horizontally to the M and diagonally back up to the E. The word GAMES is created by continuing on to the S in the corner. Both words count as separate words.
After the Boggle Grid is shaken, letters settled into each a precise spot, and the lid taken off, the timer is turned over to begin the three minute allowance. Players then race to find as many three or more letter words as they can! They write each word they can find onto a piece of paper. As soon as the last grain of sand falls, play stops! It is now time to see how many words a player found counts for a point.
Each player reads off his discovered words. Any duplicate words on player’s lists are crossed off. Only words found solely by one player will score points. Points are given for the length of a word. The longer the word, the more points scored. For example, a three or four letter word scores 1 point. However, finding one 7 letter word (that no one else found) would give a player 5 points!
Just for trivia……the longest words possible that could be found (worth 11 points because any word of 8 or more letters scores 11), if the cubes fell exactly right and by using the QU cube (making a 17 letter word), are inconsequentially, quadricentennials, and sesquicentennials (according to Wikipedia).
Original Boggle is recommended for 1 to 8 players, and for ages 8 and up. The game can usually be found on eBay for less than 10 dollars. It makes for a wonderful family game night of fun.
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