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Izzy and I love playing word games so we were excited to review Lex Match– the crazy cube word game from Winning Moves. Five-letter word games have been viral this year so I’m sure this game will be of interest to many. Read on to hear our thoughts on this fun, word game:
About Lex Match – the crazy cube game
Two iconic games have joined forces for an all-new word-building experience! Lex Match combines the fast-paced, cube-swapping competition that is Top Trumps Match with the spelling and vocabulary challenge of Lex-Go for a whole new dimension of wordplay! Perfect for players aged 4+, Lex Match is optimised to develop spelling and vocabulary. Be the first to line up five letters to spell out a word by pushing out your opponents’ cubes and inserting new ones to disrupt their words and form your own.
Make words horizontally, vertically and diagonally, and use the LEX cubes, which can stand for any letter you like. If your opponent makes a word that uses a letter on one of your cards, you steal their points! You can use three- or four-letter words for younger players, and when you’re finished, you can pack up the entire game, including the cubes and cards, in the game grid, which also works like a handy carry case. Now you’re ready to take Lex Match wherever you go, for endless portable fun.
Key Features:
- ORIGINAL SPELLING GAME that combines Top Trumps Match with Lex Go
- LOVE ANAGRAMS AND CROSSWORDS? Lex Match is a perfect gift for players aged 4 and up
- THINK FAST AND SPELL OUT WORDS by placing letter cubes into the game grid
- CAMOUFLAGED LEARNING: 2-player game that teaches new words, and develops logic, dexterity and critical thinking skills!
- HAND CARRY CASE: The easy-to-carry plastic case makes this a perfect travel or holiday game.
- Lex Match is optimised to develop spelling and vocabulary making it the perfect gift for young children
Lex Match- What’s in the Box?
When we opened the box we were pleased to see that Lex comes in its own strong all-in-one carry case. This makes it a great game to take with you and play anywhere. You could bring it to a friend’s house, your grandparents or on your travels with you.
The white case also cleverly doubles as the game board and contains all the cubes and cards that you need to play the game. An instruction booklet is also included.
Setting up and Playing Lex Match
Lex Match is so quick and easy to set up. Just open each side of the white carry case, so you have a “board” each. Put the 25 cubes into the game grid ready to play. Try to make sure that no more than two letters that could form a word are next to each other on either side of the game. Make sure the LEX cubes are spread out evenly across the grid and the word LEX should not face either player. Once you’ve added all the cubes, turn the grid around to play on the opposite side to the one you filled.
Agree on a spelling source, such as a dictionary or website before the game begins. We used an online dictionary, but it’s a good idea to keep a dictionary by your games so kids can learn dictionary skills while playing a game.
Shuffle the 15-letter cards and deal two face down for each player.
Just before you play turn them over so they are face up in the card spaces in front of you. Don’t let the other player see them.
The youngest player starts.
Playing Lex Match Word Game
The youngest player begins by pushing the top left corner cube out of the game grid. Player 2 picks up the cube and looks at the letter and uses it to push out and replace any cube in the grid in an attempt to begin a five letter word.
Take it in turns to push out cubes and form words. The aim is to make a five-letter word and to get a matching letter with one or both of your letter cards.
The LEX Face
The LEX Face can represent any letter. You can only use one LEX Face per word.
“Match!”
When you have created a five-letter word in a row, shout, “Match!”
Once your word has been checked and approved, if your cards match one of the letters in the word you score 2 points and win the match. If your word contains both the letters on your cards, you score 3 points and win the match. However, beware- the other player still has a chance to snatch the match!
Snatch The Match!
The losing player shows their cards. If either card matches a letter in the word, they snatch the match and get two points and you get none. The snatching player always gets two points.
If nobody’s card matches a letter in the word, you keep one point.
Keep playing. The first player to 5 or 6 points wins the game!
Our Thoughts on Lex Match- the Word Game
Izzy and I really enjoyed playing this game. Mainly as we love making 5-letter words. It was a fun challenge to make them playing in this way. I also think it’s good that the letter cards provide an element of luck to the game. So, even if a player is slower at making words, they also have a chance of picking up the points. The game is suitable for players aged 4 and over. It is a game for 2 players, but I can see a family of four playing this in teams so parents and offer support to younger children. You can also play a three-letter version for young writers. If you want to raise the stakes (and make the game a bit faster) use a timer so players only have a max of one minute (or less if preferred) per turn.
LEX Match is a fun game bit kids will improve their literacy and logic skills as they play. We would recommend LEX Match.
LEX Match is available from Winning Moves for £19.99 (price correct at time of publishing).
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