“With PLAY ON WORDS  you not only make words, but also change, rearrange and steal words. Combo cards, flip cards, and wild cards give even more options in this tug-of-war word challenge that is just the right mix of brain exercise and fun.”

The game deck consists of 70 letter cards and one of each of the following: CH, CK, QU, SH, ST and TH. For added flexibility there is a card that can be played as a V or Z and one that can be an X or a J. Two Wild Cards and one card that can be played as a double vowel team or a double consonant enliven the game. The object of Play on Words is to have the most letter cards assembled into words when the deck runs out.

8 letter cards are turned up in the center of the table for every turn. The first player sees what word or words s/he can make and assembles them into tricks that are placed face up on the table. On each subsequent turn, one word must be made from the 8 upturned cards, but now other players’ words are fair game too. By adding an s to the end of someone else’s word, a player captures it, and now it goes face up in front of that player. Flexibility is rewarded in this game! An S could turn LATE into STEAL, or REAL into LASER, for example. Directions are included for a Solitaire version as well as for a less advanced group game.

If you like Banangrams or Boggle, you will definitely want to try this game. The downside is that only one player goes at a time, which is not true of the games mentioned above, so there are ample opportunities to become self-conscious or impatient. The game is advertised for ages 8 to 88. But to be fair, I think it should be stated that its greatest  appeal is to people who are avowed word-building aficionados.