Wuzzled! Preview

Word games are among the types of games that have always been popular and a source of great fun for the whole family. The games of this group are usually easy to learn and offer a great way to use and grow your vocabulary while enjoying time with your friends and family. In fact, these games are perfect to be played in groups making any Word game the perfect option for parties and family reunions. They are also perfect option to maintain your mental health and your ability to think critically at any age.

The New game from IconiQ Studios, Wuzzled! is a fantastic mix of everything I love about Word games. First, you will need to challenge your brain to combine vowels and consonants to form the One Word that can send your opponents wondering around in despair. Then, you need to use your deductive and strategic skills to outsmart them and show that your vocabulary is stronger than theirs. There is space for only one Word at the end of a game of Wuzzled!, and that would be yours if you know your ABC. Sounds exciting? Let's look in more detail into this lexicon waltzer of nouns.

“C” Is For “Components”

I know, we should not judge a book by its cover, but it can be very hard when the box of a boardgame is so nicely designed and sturdy. The first thing I loved about the game is how compact and portable it is. This is not only a result of the good size of the box but also of the thick cardboard it is made of. The outer graphics IconiQ Studios has chosen for Wuzzled! is also quite nice and captivating and the box will easily stand out on any shelf with its pastel colours and polished design.

Once you open the box, you will find that a lot of efforts has also been put into Wuzzled! game components. These include a bag with 150 letter tiles, 104 coin tokens in two colours and a rulebook plus a tile holder; a guess pad and a pack of alphabet sheets per player in one of the four player colours complete the set. Each of these components are organized in a handy plastic insert that makes setting and putting away the game a breeze.

All the components are of very good quality and nicely designed to fit the purpose. For example, the tiles are all double sided with a different letter on each side to actually extend the number of available tiles for your games. The tile holder is also quite handy as it helps to keep your secret word hidden while also displaying the guessed and missing letters to your opponents. I love the addition of a numbering scale on these holders as it can be quite helpful to ensure young players can position the guessed letters properly on them. I know that by experience as I played this game a lot with my 9 years old son and he really appreciated the numbering.

“P”, I Mean “G” Is For “Gameplay”...

Learning how to play Wuzzled! is quite easy although that does not mean the game is simple. In fact, the game does not only require a decent vocabulary but also a bit of strategy to decide which opponent to challenge and when as this word game is designed to be a 2-4 players game.

During set-up, each player chooses an hidden word that their opponents will have to guess in order to eliminate the player from the game. The word needs to be composed behind the tile holder using the letter tiles and once everyone is ready the game can start. The size of the hidden word is agreed between all players and I suggest also to ensure everyone knows the ground rules about the type of acceptable words and the use of plurals.

Each round of the Wuzzled! is composed by a “Guessing” phase and a “Checking” phase. In the first one, each player attempts to guess the hidden word from one of their opponents by writing on the guess pads both the word and the opponents. Once everyone has completed this phase, the pads are revealed and one player at a time checks the words that have been guessed against their hidden word. The tile corresponding to a letter of the hidden word that has been guessed in its exact position should be moved on the the front of the tile holder to be visible to everyone while any letter of the guessed word that is not included in the hidden one should be marked on the Alphabet sheet with a red coin marker. If a letter of the guessed word is part of the hidden word but it is in the wrog position, a yellow coin should be used to mark it on the alphabet sheet. These coins are clear and they allow the players to see which letters they may need to use to guess the hidden word.

At the end of the Checking phase, any player whose hidden word has been guessed will drop from the game. The game will continue one turn a t a time till only one player and one hidden word will remain. As up to four players can play at the same time, cleverly choose who to attack at each round is very important. For example, I saw a few times two players focusing on guessing each other hidden words one round after the other just to knock each other out at the same time and allowing the third player to win without breaking a sweat.

Wuzzled! - Final Words

When I first played Wuzzled! it reminded me of a modernized version of some of the classic old-school 80’s games I used to play with my friends including Hang-man, Mastermind and Code Breaking. At the same time this game felt very fresh and unique as I found that Wuzzled! offers a new level of challenge to both adults and young players.

In fact, most of the classic Word games are designed to either be a direct competition among two players or to be a point-scoring game for larger players counts. Wuzzled! Is quite different as it pitches up to 4 players against each other pushing the need to find a strategy to beat all the opponents without losing. Getting a good hidden word is for sure quite important but it is also key to choose which other word you want to guess and when. When an opponent is left for example with just one letter to guess, would you be the one taking them down or would you focus on another opponents? Players do not get points for guessing the hidden words therefore you may want to start attacking another opponent right away but what if everyone takes the same decision and no-one knock that opponent from the game? Decisions and strategy are as important as a good vocabulary in this game and that's what makes Wuzzled! a very enjoyable nice little game.

Overall, Wuzzled! makes a great game for the whole family and it can be easily played indoor and outdoor and it can be played in less than half an hour making it also ideal for an occasional break at work. The game and the components are also designed to be very accessible to any ages. I played it with my wife and 9 years old son during last summer long (and frequent) rainy days and we had a lot of fun. We also learn or re-discovered a few new words....

Last but not least, the game plays also very well at any player count although I found it is much more fun at high player counts. I am now seriously considering to buy a few copies for a birthday party or for next family reunion as I don't feel there should be nothing stopping the game from being enjoyed with 8 or more players. It will be a really fun and chaotic word exchange for sure!