The simplest type of comma game focuses on the correct placement of a comma within a given sentence. Two examples of this type of game are Port Cities “Comma Game” and Sheppard Software’s “Comma Chameleon” game. These games ask the player to add a comma to the correct position within a given sentence. Understanding the basic rules of comma placement is vital to success in this type of game. Most of these games only require knowledge of joining and listing commas. Joining commas are used to join two related sentences into one single sentence with the use of a joining word such as “and.”
Some games focus on the player’s ability to identify a sentence that uses commas correctly. One example of a game like this is Save the Comma’s “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” game. The player has to select the question that features the correctly used commas. This game requires knowledge of all common comma usages. Bracketing commas are used to mark off weak interruptions of a sentence. A “weak interruption” is one that does not disturb the flow of the sentence. For example, “Work, for the most part, satisfied him” is a sentence that uses bracketing commas. Learning the different correct uses of commas is vital for success in this type of game.
Some comma games focus on the editing of sentences that do not include enough commas. One example of this type of game is Primary Resources’ “Writing Objects in Lists” game. Depending on the specific game, knowledge of different types of commas may be needed. The games essentially require the player to rewrite a sentence he is provided with to include the correct use of commas. This is generally done by replacing superfluous uses of the word “and” with a comma.
Other games focus on the fact that commas are often used incorrectly. One example of a game like this is Villanova University’s “Avoiding Comma Splices” game. These are very similar to the adding commas games, but require the player to replace commas with other things such as full stops, semi-colons and conjunctions. Knowledge of all correct types of commas is required for these games, including gapping commas, which are used to indicate the omission of a section of text that would otherwise be repetitive. For example, the sentence “Some Americans believe in the law of God, others, in the law of science.”