Trackword
| No. of Players: | 1+ |
| Type of Game: | written |
| What you need: | pen and paper |
Goal
To find words in a grid containing nine letters.
How to play
The gamemaster prepares a three-by-three grid of nine letters. If playing alone, these nine letters are randomly selected and placed into the nine squares of the grid. Otherwise, a 9-letter word is chosen and placed into the grid in the following fashion: the first letter is placed anywhere, but subsequent letters are placed so that they are connected horizontally, vertically, or diagonally to the previous letter. In this way, the 9-letter word smoothly 'tracks' through the grid without skipping squares. Once prepared, players compete to see who can find the most words, of three or more letters, by smoothly moving one square to the next. The same letter cannot be used more than once in any one word, and bonus points are awarded to players who find the 9-letter word. Special rules can be made, like requiring each word to include the letter in the center of the grid. A time limit can also be set. The player finding the most words becomes the next gamemaster and prepares the grid for the next round.
Example
Alonzo hides a 9-letter word in a grid and makes copies for Bianca and Carl. He tells them they have five minutes to find as many words as possible by moving up, down, sideways or diagonally one square to the next.
After five minutes, the two players compare their lists.
| Bianca: | mat, tea, eat, tent, tan, ate, met, ten, net, mean, meat, team, term, treat, man |
| Carl: | ate, met, net, man, team, treat, mean, tan, amen, mane, name, ream, tame |
They both found the 9-letter word treatment.
Since Bianca found 16 words to Carl's 14 words, she becomes the next gamemaster.
