Free Online Puzzle and Strategy Word Games

 Free Online Puzzle and Strategy Word Games

In the vastness that is the Internet, there are countless free online puzzle and strategy word games to enjoy. Whether you like fast-paced arcade action involving letter tiles or more methodical titles that put your vocabulary to the test, there is a free online word game for you.

Free Online Puzzle and Strategy Word Games

Most online word games are individualized, meaning that it is just you against the game. In some of these offerings, you will be given the task of finding words hidden amongst a jumble of letters. Other titles may challenge your spelling abilities.

Some strategy word games, however, give you the opportunity to play against other human players either in person or across the web. These can be more interesting because of the human element, but it also means that you have to deal with the deficiencies of a human game. The other player may take a long time to complete their move or they may unexpectedly lose their Internet connection.

In this way, there are both pros and cons to playing online word games with and without human opponents.

Individual Free Online Word Games

The vast majority of online casual games are of this kind where you basically play by yourself. Check out these free online video games with decidedly word-oriented gameplay.

  • Bookworm: Presented with a slightly staggered grid of letter tiles, Bookworm is a title that is similar to Scrabble, except you need to link together a string of adjacent letter tiles to form increasingly long words. If the words you create are too small -- minimum length is three letters -- fire tiles may appear, burning through your grid. If these reach the bottom, the game is over.
  • Bookworm Adventures: Expanding on the popular franchise, Bookworm Adventures takes the best elements from its predecessor and places it in a fantastic action-adventure environment. There are even several role playing elements that add to the value to this already incredible game. Follow Lex as he embarks on his fascinating adventure!
  • Word Sandwich: You probably never expected to see those two words together, did you? In this innovative title, you must guess a mystery five-letter word. The way you do this is provide a five-letter word and it will tell you whether it is higher or lower than the target word. There are five target words in all, resulting in a total score based on your total time. Can you make the international high scoreboard?
  • Flip Words: If you're familiar with Bookworm, you'll feel right at home here with the 7x7 grid of letters on red circles. The critical difference is that you have a very specific objective in that the first letter in your formed words will be used in a Wheel of Fortune-like fashion to determine a mystery phrase. This phrase will come from several categories, including people, places, and things.

Multiplayer Strategy Word Games

Want to play with others? These are two of the best multiplayer online puzzle and strategy word games.

  • Literati: The grid in this title looks familiar and that's because it's nearly identical to the classic game of Scrabble. You get seven letter tiles and you must place them on the board to rack up points against your opponent. Double letter scores and triple word scores abound!
  • Yahoo Graffiti: Just as Literati is similar to Scrabble, Graffiti is nearly identical to a game of Pictionary or Win, Lose, or Draw. Enter in a room of between three and eight players, grab your favorite crayon, and get drawing! One player attempts to doodle a particular phrase while the other players must guess what that phrase is.