Online Games for Writers
Fun Word Games to Improve Your Vocabulary, Spelling and Word Usage
Writers are expert procrastinators. These online games are excellent procrastination tools, but will also put your language skills to work.
Sometimes, we all need a break. But as writers, we feel guilty lounging in front of the TV or hanging out with friends. We're supposed to be working, right? Here are some games that are fun to play and that will also keep your mind active. If you think of it as working, there's nothing to feel guilty about. It's all for the benefit of your craft.
Free Rice
Free Rice, a challenging multiple choice game, puts your vocabulary skills to the test. The first few words are randomly selected from various vocabulary levels, but the game quickly assesses your level and tailors the game to match your skill. The words become progressively more difficult the longer you play. For each word you get right, the site donates money to the United Nations World Food Program. It's perfect: you can improve your vocabulary and support a worthy cause at the same time. The only problem with this addictive game is that it doesn't end until you end it.
Etymologic
Do you know the root of the word ophidiephobia? Did you know that the word 'thug' originates from the Hindi 'thugee', a historical roving band of kidnappers?
Etymologic is a game for experts in the root meanings of words, or anyone who wants to become an expert. Each game consists of ten randomly selected words, each presented with three or four choices of etymology. You simply click on the right answer, and at the end you're given your final score. Be careful: you might find out you're not as expert as you thought.
Text Twist
A variation on the classic Boggle, Text Twist requires you to make as many words as possible from a set of letters, while a timer counts down. You get points for each word you make, and if you use all the letters in one word, you graduate to the next level. The word twist in the title refers to a function where the player can switch around the letters on the board in order to see another order of the letters. Text Twist is available on several sites to download or to play online.
Literature Quizzes
Choose a well-known author from the 20th or 21st century and there's likely a quiz here about them. What was Lolita's real name? Who are the main characters in Ian McEwan's Atonement? Each multiple choice quiz is rated by difficulty, from easy to tough, and can be played in Flash or HTML. Double-click on the correct answer to select. If contemporary literature isn't your thing, the site has thousands of quizzes on other topics to choose from.
Magnetic Poetry
Alright, maybe this is more like a writing tool that a game, but it's so much fun you might not notice. The site allows you to select a magnetic poetry set based on the writings of well known authors such as Anais Nin or William S. Burroughs. Once you've chosen your writer, the words appear on your screen as moveable magnets and you can rearrange them with your mouse, creating poems, prose or lists as you like. You can add your own words too if you find the sets lacking.
