We gave the Major Fun award to Word on the Street in 2009. Since then, it has continued not only to be one of our favorite word games, but has shown itself to be as much fun for two people as it is for 12. Or 13 even. (Or uneven, actually. Yes, you can play in teams. No, you don’t really need the same number of people on both teams.)
This is a significant accomplishment for any game: to be so much fun with so many different groups in so many different settings – couples, families (with kids 8 and up – for younger kids, there’s also the Major Fun award-winning Word on the Street, Junior), a party full of adults, or families.
It can be taken very seriously – I mean, you can actually keep score, if you have to. Have tournaments, even. Or it can be taken as a light-hearted invitation to play with words and spelling and vocabulary and each other – with the only goal being to amaze each other with your cleverness.
It’s very well made. The tiles have a satisfying, hefty feel. The board and cards are durable. The “street” theme is cleverly echoed in the design. It’s a game you’ll want to keep for-basically-ever.
That’s why we’ve decided to call it a Keeper.