Word Tiles
1–8 players · 10 min · best with four
One board. Everybody at once. Six rounds.
Games one person can play
One chair. Useful before you put any of this in front of a team: you can play the whole thing yourself first and know exactly what you are suggesting.
24 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.
Secret Codes
1–8 players · 15 min · best with two
One board. Two keys. Nine turns.
The Steal
1–8 players · 10 min · best with four
Eighteen letters. Take them off each other.
Back Catalogue
1–5 players · 20 min · best with three
Every card is also money. That is the whole game.
Lost Ruins
1–2 players · 25 min · best with two, or one and an explorer
Opening a site costs you twenty points. Now decide.
Bazaar
1–2 players · 20 min · best with two, or one and a trader
Everything you buy is worth less to the next person.
Mosaic
1–2 players · 20 min · best with two
Take four. Hand them the other eight.
Nine Letters
1–12 players · 10 min · best with five, and a chancer to lose to
Nine tiles. Thirty seconds. The longest word takes it.
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.
Ten Rows
1–12 players · 15 min · best with anyone, in any language
No words. No reading. Ten rows and a hidden code.
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.
Minesweeper
1–8 players · 5 min · best with anyone, including nobody
The one you already know. Minus the part where it makes you guess.
The Belt
1–4 players · 25 min · best with anyone. bots take the empty chairs.
Roll, build, trade. Ten points claims the belt — and the bots want it too.
Twelve Crowns
1–4 players · 25 min · best with three
Twelve kings. One deck. You may not say what you are holding.
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.
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.
Round of Ten
1–12 players · 10 min · best with five or six
Ten questions nobody had to be taught the answers to.
The Drop
1–6 players · 10 min · best with four
Nine slots, seventy-seven pegs, and no way to steer it.
Word Run
1–4 players · 12 min · best with three
One board, seven letters, and a number that keeps moving away.