10 Clever Vocabulary Games to Bring Out the Word Wizards in Your Team

‘Word’ on the street is that if you’re looking for a fun way to boost team engagement, vocabulary games are a great way to do so. By incorporating some word challenges with mix of creativity and competition, teams can pick up better communication skills and also have a good time bonding with each other 

So, if you’re ready to give your usual team building activities a literary makeover, here’s our list of unique vocabulary word games to choose and play, .

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How do Vocabulary Games Help in Team Building? 

Vocabulary games are an excellent option for team building and communication. In a vocabulary game, teams solve word puzzles, guess a word or create new words together. These games help teams expand their vocabulary, which will help in better communication down the line. Moreover, they help employees communicate more clearly and effectively. 

The added fun and competitive nature of the games break down barriers and build friendships. It becomes a collective experience that leaves them with added knowledge and treasured memories. 

10 Vocabulary Games for Teams to Up Their Grammar Game

Looking to get a “word” in with your team? Be it virtually or in-person, here are some fun vocabulary games you can plan out for your next team building session.

1. Wheel of Fortune

Adapted from the popular TV show Wheel of Fortune, it combines games and vocabulary for players to guess the word puzzle. Players take turns spinning the virtual wheel, guessing consonants, and ‘buying’ vowels. They must solve the puzzle before the others in order to win.

To play the game virtually, all you’ll need is a video conferencing platform and an enthusiastic host. Along with that, a virtual wheel is required to choose puzzle categories. For a fun in-person session, you can play within your office space with a physical wheel and a random number generator. 

💡Take it to the next level: Add bonus rounds with special challenges like Free Spin or Double Letter to make it more engaging. 

2. Taboo

Taboo’s fast-paced nature will make your team think on their feet as they compete to guess words. One player attempts to get their team to guess a specific word without using any “taboo” words listed on the card. The opposing team steals a point if they slip up and say a taboo word. 

For remote teams, Virtual Taboo by Hooray Teams  reimagines the classic game into an exciting virtual game. A designated host will help draw out the playful side of your team, making the experience both engaging and enjoyable for everyone. 

💡Take it to the next level: Introduce a bonus round where the player can only act out the word without speaking a word.

Recommended Read – A Guide To Playing Online Taboo Game With Your Remote Team

3. Hangman

Hangman is an easy-to-play classic game that players of all ages and skill levels can enjoy. It’s as simple as pie– a player thinks of a word and draws a series of dashes representing each letter. If there are vowels, they place a star underneath the corresponding letter. The other players in their team guess letters one at a time. If the guessed letter is in the word, it’s placed in the correct dashes. If not, you add a body part to the stick figure being drawn. Teams must guess the word before the entire figure is complete to win.

If you have a remote team, you can play a Hangman session using the whiteboard feature on video conferencing platforms like Zoom. To enhance the experience, you can share screen and play by category with websites like Fact Monster.

💡Take it to the next level: Make it more challenging by guessing quotes, phrases or movie titles instead of words.

4. Word Association Sentences

Word Association Sentences is one of the creative vocabulary building games that challenges your vocabulary and quick thinking. In this game, a player says a word, and the next, in turn, starts their sentence with it. For example, the first word is “House.” The next player might say, “House of the Dragon is my favorite show.” After this, the player continues, saying, “Show and Tell helps me understand people better.” 

Players continue creating sentences until someone fumbles. The game requires no setup, making it easy to play over a video call with your virtual team or in-person with your office staff. These games are sure to enhance vocabulary, encourage creativity and boost memory. 

💡Take it to the next level: Add a word limit to the sentences along with a timer to challenge players to think creatively on their feet.

5. Scrabble 

Scrabble is one of the few vocabulary games for adults that also doubles as a fun strategy game. With every word players build, they are awarded a certain number of points depending on word length and bonus squares on the board. It is played with seven tiles per player, from which they must create words on the board. Each tile has a point value, and the winner is the player who rakes up the most points. 

You can play Scrabble virtually with a platform like Words with Friends or Play Scrabble. The platforms automatically calculate the scores so you won’t need anyone to watch over the game. Moreover, they also offer additional features like dictionaries and an in-app chat for easy communication. 

💡Take it to the next level: Try creating words only from specific categories like countries, food or animals.

6. Scattergories 

Scattergories is a category-based game that requires plenty of out-of-the-box thinking, and ideal to spark team creativity. Teams race against  the clock as they fill in categories with words starting with a specific letter. This simple game can easily be played in-person or virtually with your team. 

To kick off the game, the host rolls a die or uses a random generator to pick a starting letter. When the timer starts, everyone races to fill in as many words as possible for each category beginning with that letter. The player with the most unique answers gets the most points.

💡Take it to the next level: Add another layer to the challenge called “reverse scattergories,” where you cannot use a specific letter.

Recommended Read – 120+ Must-Try Scattergories Lists & Categories for an Office Party

7. Spelling Bee

Ready to have a “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” time with your team? A spelling bee for your team is sure to evoke a sense of school nostalgia for your team. You can play it virtually or in person with minimal setup, using just a list of challenging words for the teams to spell. You can also use a random word generator to find some hard-to-spell words.

To make it more interesting, choose a pronouncer and a judging panel and shuffle them every round. By rotating these roles every round, everyone gets a chance to be involved in the game. This rotation keeps the energy high and the competition fair.

💡Take it to the next level:  Introduce themed rounds like science, pop culture, or foreign language for teams to expand their vocabulary. 

8. Wordle

Wordle is a game that will have teams scratching their heads to find the right answer. In Wordle, players must guess a five-letter word in just five tries. After each guess, the letters change color depending on the accuracy. Green symbolizes the correct letter in the right spot. Yellow signifies the correct letter but in the wrong place, while gray signals it doesn’t belong in the word. To make Wordle virtual-friendly for your team, use the whiteboard feature on a platform like Zoom to create your own Wordle board. 

💡Take it to the next level: Increase the word length or limit the number of guesses to make it more challenging for your team.

9. Word Search 

A Word Search is a great activity for teams to put their observational skills to the test. In this game, specific words are hidden in a grid of letters. Players must find and circle all the words listed on the side of the grid. These words can be placed horizontally, vertically, or diagonally within the grid. The first team to find all the words wins. 

To add a personal touch, you can create your word search puzzle by using an online word search puzzle generator. Most word search generators allow you to customize the puzzle, such as the grid size, the word formation patterns, and the difficulty level of the puzzle. Alternatively, you can download pre-existing word searches which you can either ask players to print or play online with.

💡Take it to the next level: Consider adding extra challenges like backward words or overlapping words.

10. Crossword

If you want to stick to the classics, a game of crossword puzzles will push the limits of your team’s vocabulary. Make a crossword puzzle game a team challenge by splitting them into groups to solve the word puzzle. Teams can brainstorm the possible answers together in breakout rooms.

There are several platforms online that offer free crossword puzzles for all difficulty levels. Alternatively, you can also create customized crossword puzzles on your team on crossword puzzle generators online. For added fun, create themed crosswords or incorporate time limits. 

💡Take it to the next level: Use puns or anagrams for more intriguing clues.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

What are vocabulary games?

Vocabulary games are interactive word and grammar games with which coworkers can expand their vocabulary. These games involve searching for words, brainstorming certain words, deciphering phrases, or word building under timers.

How do I set up vocabulary games?

Some vocabulary games for adults, such as Wheel of Fortune, need preparation beforehand, while others, like Word Association Sentences, can be played spontaneously. 

How to host a vocabulary game virtually? 

To host vocabulary games online, begin by choosing a suitable platform like Zoom or Google Meet. Then, decide on a game that can be played online like Wordle, Taboo or Spelling Bee. If required, do prepare a wordlist and necessary tools for gameplay beforehand.

How do I choose the right vocabulary game for my team?

Consider the age groups, language proficiency, and interests of your team to ensure your vocabulary building games are engaging and challenging. Also, take into account the size of your team, as large group team building activities are played differently from small groups. Do keep time and resources for the setup in mind and choose games that aren’t complex.