This game is for four players. Make grab bags with small prizes inside. Fill a clean, dry, quart-size milk jug with alphabet cereal letters or pasta letters for each player. Shake the jug vigorously to mix the letters. Have each player spill his letters into a tray.
Set a timer for 5 minutes. Each player arranges his letters to spell as many words as possible. When the timer goes off, all players must stop arranging letters.
Award one point for each word that all players used. Add two points for each word used by three players. Each word used by only two players is worth five points and each word used by only one player is worth 10 points.
Players may challenge words by asking if they are in the dictionary. Use an unabridged dictionary to verify words. All words except proper names are eligible. Historical events, famous people and names of famous landmarks are permitted. The challenging player gains 50 points if the word is not in the unabridged dictionary. The challenger loses 25 points if the word is in there.
Add up all players' points. The player with the highest total chooses a prize from a grab bag.
Use a ruler to make a 5-inch by 5-inch square on the 8-inch by 10-inch white poster board sheets. Divide the square into five columns down by five columns across. This will make 25 squares.
Write one letter of the alphabet in each block, except the center one. Put "Q" and "U" together in the center block. Do not write the letters in the same order on each card.
Place 26 lettered balls in a bingo tumbler. Call out the letters as they come out of the machine, placing them in a rack for verification of any bingo wins.
Continue calling numbers until someone gets five letters in a row, across, down, or diagonally. Bingo variations such as layer cake; postage stamp, four corners and cover all make this game even more interesting.
Settle ties by playing one of the variations. Layer cake covers five in the first row, four in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth and one square in the fifth row. It can be bottom up, upside-down, left-facing or right-facing. Postage stamp is any four squares together, touching in the center. Four corners and cover all are exactly as they sound.