Word Games I’ve known & loved
The written word cast its spell on me first
on the day I realised that
G R A H A M was my brother,
S U S A N was my sister,
and
L E S L I E was me!
I remember well that day. Playing on a beach, my father picked up a stick and drew the above marks in the sand, and told us that this is what they meant. BUT only if put in a particular order. I thought my father was a magician and this was magic!
Boggle on the beach
Playing word games on a beach with Dad was a recurring theme throughout my youth.
Of course we played Scrabble, but as this tends to drag a bit towards the end, and we’re an impatient lot – it was fast and furious Boggle that became a family favourite. Living in Accra, Ghana, at the time, the Sunday ritual involved packing a picnic and taking off for PramPram beach to spend the day with friends; swimming, drinking beer, eating (usually a damn good chicken curry, my mouth waters at the thought) and playing endless word games, sometimes Scrabble, but always Boggle.
Anagram, the ingenious game of juggling words
Boggle remained my favourite word game for years, and I love and play it still – but for me now, nothing can compare with the exhilaration of playing Anagram. Though frequently beaten by people far better at juggling words than I’ll ever be ( eg my nephew Anthony is a fiend at this game), I would rather be humiliated playing Anagram than win at any other word game. It’s not just good or better than all the rest, Anagram is simply the best…..er, though I say so myself!
