Did you know that William Shakespeare used more than 20,000 different words across his expansive bibliography? What’s more, scholars have determined that Shakespeare’s plays and poems provide the first recorded use of over 1,700 words in the English language.
Shakespeare’s vocabulary was quite extraordinary, and when he didn’t have a word for something… well, not to fear! He’d just create one.
Whether he was combining words, changing nouns into verbs, adding prefixes or suffixes, or inventing entirely new expressions, his endless creativity and obvious passion for word-building make us wonder how he would take to a game like Last Letter First.
Today’s technology might startle the poor bard, but once his eyes adjusted to his screen of choice — be it a desktop, laptop, tablet, or cell phone — and he got the hang of using his finger to touch letters to form words, we think he’d excel at every vocabulary game in the digital and tabletop arena.
That said, here are six vocabulary games we’re pretty sure would tickle Shakespeare’s fancy.
Scrabble
Its first iteration was a board game. Now, Scrabble can also be played online. Similar to Last Letter First, the scoring system is designed to award players points based on the individual values assigned to each letter. The longer and more complex your word, the more points you’ll score in your quest to win the game. Questioning — a word that Shakespeare invented — is an example of a word that would earn you 21 points on the Scrabble board.
Wordle
This daily vocabulary game, courtesy of The New York Times, involves guessing a five-letter word. You have only six tries to guess the word. Or, as Shakespeare might say, “Unmask the word that doth elude thee within but six fair tries.”
Bananagrams
Imagine Shakespeare sitting at a table playing Bananagrams! This fast-paced word-building game invites players to create words using letter tiles. It’s available for purchase as a tabletop game packaged in an adorable banana-shaped pouch, but can also be played online. The goal of Bananagrams is to use all your assigned tiles and become “Top Banana!” We can’t all be the greatest writer in the English language, but at least we can all strive to be Top Banana, right?
Spelling Bee
To “bee” or not to “bee”? That is the question! We all know this vocabulary game hosted by the New York Times can be quite a thrill to play, especially if you’re able to guess the pangram. Spelling Bee is tricky because you have to use the center letter at least once in every word you make, and there’s no telling how long you’ll end up staring at that honeycomb in search of another word that you can make to boost your score.
Balderdash
Balderdash! Now this is a word that is right up Shakespeare’s alley! A popular party game, Balderdash, involves creating fake definitions for obscure and unfamiliar words. In true Shakespearean form, you’re tasked to be creative and convincing. For example, what’s the definition of “widdershins”? You must think fast because others are trying to come up with as clever a definition as you!
Last Letter First
“Hark! Last Letter First, how thou art thy noblest of vocabulary games in all thy land! Thy letters twist and turn like a cunning jester, enrapturing the minds of both the sprightly and the aged.” Or at least this is what we think Shakespeare might say about this vocabulary game that involves incorporating some strategy, especially if you’re playing to win. Last Letter First is a favorite among competitive wordsmiths who find joy in flaunting their vocabulary and outscoring their opponents one word and turn at a time.
Closing the Curtain on This Shakespeare-Inspired Post
We’d like to think that Shakespeare would go “bonkers” (a word he didn’t coin, but definitely would have admired) over these six vocabulary games. There’s a lot to love about each of them and how they encourage people to revel in the English language.
We’ll leave you with this: if you’re planning to play Last Letter First today or sometime in the near future, be ready for your opponent to send you a word that ends in “X.” A word that Shakespeare used in his play The Taming of the Shrew is Xantippe, which The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust defines as a “bad-tempered woman.” If you use this word in Last Letter First, it will earn you 19 points.
Have fun playing these and other vocabulary games invented by clever people who value letters, words, definitions, and the gift of good company!
