Word Tiles
1–8 players · 10 min · best with four
One board. Everybody at once. Six rounds.
Games that are best with four
Each of these names four as a number it plays best at. Nearly everything on the shelf will seat four — that is a longer list and a worse answer.
17 of 59 on the shelf
Paper Novel
1–6 players · 15 min · best with three or four
The line you write buys the letters you write the next one with.
Night Train
1–5 players · 30 min · best with three or four
Take the line before somebody else does.
Word Chain
1–12 players · 10 min · best with three or four
COLD to WARM in four. You have two and a half minutes.
Four Leaves
3–6 players · 20 min · best with four or five
Four words, four cards, and nobody wins alone.
The Steal
1–8 players · 10 min · best with four
Eighteen letters. Take them off each other.
Category Rush
2–12 players · 15 min · best with four or five
The obvious answer is worth nothing.
Common Threads
1–8 players · 10 min · best with four, and somebody who says the quiet one out loud
Everyone can see all sixteen words. Nobody can see which four go together.
Roses
3–6 players · 15 min · best with four or five
Everybody knows a skull is somewhere. Nobody knows where.
The Shake
1–12 players · 10 min · best with four, and one bot you resent
Everyone can see every letter. Almost nobody sees the same words.
Safe Hands
3–6 players · 20 min · best with four
Poker, except the whole table wins together. Say anything but what you hold.
Pool
1–8 players · 15 min · best with two for eight-ball, four for nine-ball, up to eight for killer.
Drag back, let go, and watch it run. Solids or stripes; call the eight.
Anagram Relay
1–8 players · 12 min · best with four
Three letters to nine. Everybody carries the same baton.
Six Tries
2–8 players · 13 min · best with four
One word, six rows each, and the whole room is on the same one.
Left Turn
1–8 players · 5 min · best with four
Take the wheel. Cross the traffic. Beat the finish time.
Held Ground
1–8 players · 15 min · best with four
A real strategy war. One coffee break.
The Drop
1–6 players · 10 min · best with four
Nine slots, seventy-seven pegs, and no way to steer it.