Upwords is a classic game that has been around for generations. It is a word matching, tile stacking fun that is a familiar game to many people. Today I am going to take a look at the newest version of it and see how it “stacks up” for play with the family today!
Upwords is published by Spin Master games and plays 1-4 players ages 8 and up. Most games will take around 30-60 mins to play.
Overview
In Upwords players are competing to score the most points through playing tiles and building rows or columns of words. As the game progresses letters may be placed on top of other letters to form new words that also score points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Gameplay
Players start with seven letter tiles and the 10×10 grid is placed in the middle of the play area. A dictionary can be kept near for challenges. Now gameplay is ready to begin!
On the first turn you must form a word of two letters or more. Your first word must cover one of the central four squares to start. You score two points per letter tile and then refill to a rack of seven tiles. On all future turns players must play at least one tile from their rack to make a word. All letters are placed in a straight line and can be stacked on top of other tiles already present. Each tile placed on a single tile high is 2 points but every stacked tile is cored at one point per tile in the stack, counting ones you stacked on top of.
For example, you could stack on the word EAT and add an H to the beginning of the word and an R over the T to create the word HEAR. This would score you 2 points for the H and 1 point each for the E, A but the R would have 4 letters total in the stack giving you 4 points. All together the word would score at 8 points. So the more tiles you got stacking high on the board the more potential there is for a lot of points!
The game also has bonis scoring for using the tile with Qu on it and 20 points extra if you use all 7 of your tiles at once. This added to the fun ways to really rack up the points!
Illegal words can be challenged and will require the play of a new word or a pass from that player. Passing can let you wait for a good spot to score points as well. Players may also exchange one tile for another on their turn instead of placing letters.
The game ends when there are no tiles left to draw and a player has run out of tiles or no one can make a word and all pass in consecutive order.
At the end of the game you total everyone’s points and subtract 5 points per unplayed letter. The player with the most points wins!
Impressions
Upwords is a classic game that I had not played for years and was ready to see what this new Spin Master version would bring to the table. First off the game is clean and simple in the design, making it an easy on the eyes option on the table. The tiles are all good size and easy and clear to read as well which is nice for any older players at the table with you.
The board is probably my favorite part of this game-it is a lazy susan style that rotates as you play giving you the best view no matter where you sit. The ease of gameplay with a feature like that really jumps up and makes this a great feature. It is something I wish a lot of different board games did as well. Nice job on this aspect of the game Spin Master!
Gameplay is simple enough for this to be considered a lightweight game for almost anyone of any skill set to be able to play. If you enjoy word games like Scrabble, this is a step up for sure. It makes the decisions on letter placement and how to really change things up more deliberate. Unlike Scrabble, this board is so dynamic in what is present or could be present that you can really change things up easily to see a whole new set of options in front of you. For that reason it is a game I’d rather play than a standard word connection game like Scrabble or Words with Friends and it is different enough to make it in to my collection.
Overall if you enjoy a solid word game with deliberate choices and a dynamic everchanging board that really keeps the gameplay moving, Upwords is a classic with a new look that may be the right game for you. I would recommend it for your next game night with family or friends to really get the word building and creative juices flowing at the table for all involved. Try to stack, place and maneuver your way to the top as you climb the letter heights in Upwords!
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