Word Play Trivia Quiz

Answer: Crossword

Though several forms of crosswords existed prior, Arthur Wynne is credited with the creation of a "word-cross" puzzle published in a 1913 "New York World" newspaper. His diamond-shaped grid is the predecessor of the crosswords we solve today.

Answer: Hangman

As play progresses each correct guess fills in one of the blanks. Each incorrect guess fills in part of the drawing. The person guessing wins if they can fill in all of the blanks before the drawing is completed.

Variants of the game can be played with a different picture, or the player guessing might be trying to complete a number sequence or a phrase.

Answer: Boggle

The points for each player are ultimately determined by the length of the remaining words (after removing all duplicates for each player). Since its publication in 1972, there have been several variations published, including different sized trays and a Boggle Junior.

Answer: Lipogram

This is a game that doesn't require a composition. Indeed, we used to play by pulling a letter from a Scrabble collection and then whoever could sensibly string together the most words in one or more sentences would win.

One example of a written lipogram is "Gadsby" a novel by Ernest Vincent Wright, a "50,000 word novel without the letter 'E'".

Answer: Word Search

For this type of puzzle the grids vary in size and thus difficulty. Some of these puzzles provide the words that the player is searching for. Some of the more difficult searches do not provide a list. Generally the rules allow that the words can be found horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Some of the puzzle authors form them so that words can be found either forwards or in reverse.

Answer: Ghost

Each time a player completes a word they earn a letter in the word "ghost"; once they have earned all of the letters in "ghost", they are eliminated from play. Though it can be played on paper, it's also a great car game because it doesn't need any equipment.

Answer: Cryptogram

Cryptograms often appear in newspapers; I first found them with the Sunday comic section puzzles. When using a simple substitution cipher, each letter has been swapped with its cipher. Many folk start by trying to solve the smaller words (one letter words are generally "A" or "I") and then solve the remaining words using letter patterns.

Answer: Scattergories

Scattergories originally came to market in 1988. This game can be very challenging as it is required to think of 12 words constrained by the initial letter displayed on the die.

The game was adapted to become a game show hosted by Dick Clark in 1993.

Answer: Charades

It's believed that the game of Charades started in France during the 18th century. The game has been played so often that there are many accepted sings that are commonly used. Some include tugging at an ear for "sounds like", or moving your hands farther apart could mean "more".

Answer: Scrabble

Scrabble® Brand Crossword Game was trademarked in 1948. Though interest grew steadily, it was rocketed to fame in 1952 when the president of Macy's placed a very large order for his store.

The game inventor, Alfred Mosher Butts, began developing the game when the architecture firm that he worked for laid him off in 1931 during the Great Depression. He calculated the letter frequencies based on several sources, including the "The Saturday Evening Post", "The New York Times", "The Herald Tribune" and a dictionary. His initial name for the game was "Lexiko". When he was re-hired by his firm, the game took a back seat and it wasn't until 1947 that James Brunot began producing the game and renamed it to Scrabble.