Board games are available that can help you improve your vocabulary. Scrabble tops the list at IncreaseVocabulary.net. This classic game requires players to spell words on the game board using the letters on tiles they are dealt. Other popular games are Boggle, Balderdash and Upwords. Upwords builds on the concept of Scrabble, allowing players to stack letters on top of each other to create new words. Boggle presents a mixed up grid of 16 letters and players have a time limit in which to create as many words as they can out of adjacent letters. Balderdash is a game of defining unusual words.
If you do not have two or more players or you prefer playing solo, all of these games are available as computer software options. Besides solitaire options, vocabulary software can provide animation while you play, increase your difficulty level and track your progress. Interactive games are available online that are specifically developed to challenge your vocabulary skills. The Problem Site offers some challenging puzzles for adults, while Play Kids Games also offers a feature in which you can use your own word lists.
The most transportable of all the vocabulary building games are the paper games. These include games such as word finds, crossword puzzles and word grids. Word finds are large grids of mixed letters in which entire words are printed horizontally, vertically or diagonally across the grid. Crossword puzzles provide a hint and a specific number of horizontal or vertical spaces for the expected word. Word grids provide just the spaces and a theme. In both crosswords and word grids, the words used to fill in the blanks intersect with other words by using the same letter, such as the "G" in "tiger" and "giraffe." For all of these puzzles, the words and hints are related to a specific theme given in the title which is how they help to build your vocabulary.