The Fascinating Science of Word Whizzle at Church.

What is the word whizzle at church?

If you love playing word whizzle, then this article is for you. Word whizzle at church refers to playing a card game called Scattergories in which the player has to make a category out of the letters they draw or “scatter.” The object is to come up with an answer in as few letters as possible. If it takes more than 3 cards, the remaining players have a chance to respond with a single word that meets the criteria of that category.

This type of game is also known as Scattergories or Word Whiz at Church. The article below is about the word whizzing that goes on in churches and not about playing Scattergories at home. (If you have played this game, we would like to hear from you! Email us the facts.)

The following article was written by Steve McEachern and first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, a peer-reviewed publication of the Christian Research Institute. It is used here with permission for church use only. The CRI website states that “The purpose of CRI’s publications is to disseminate information on significant issues related to Bible prophecy, end-times events, and related subjects.

What are the features of word whizzle at church?

1. The word whizzing is often verbal rather than written. Usually, the goal is for the cardholders to come up with a word or phrase using only letters from the category cards. As it happens in this game, often not even knowing what the category was, but the goal has always been to come up with a common theme by using as few letters as possible.

2. Word whizzing can be played in small groups or even in “gatherings” where a team is trying to come up with a common theme. The goal can be to collect the most words.

3. A number of different formats are used, including playing two-to-three categories and/or having only one person draw a category card. (A person could also choose to “mulligan”, drawing one category and then forcing the other players to draw.) Some games are played with no new people joining in until all current players have drawn categories written on cards. (This helps prevent the development of cliques and keeps people from using more than three letters in their word.

4. If a player is unable to think of enough words using the letters in the category, he or she must play out the rest of their turn by saying “any word” if they draw more than one word card during a round. The purpose of this rule is to prevent players from getting stuck with one word and not being able to play any more words that could possibly win them the game.

5. The cards used for this game should be about 3¾” × 5½”. That is a standard playing card size. The category cards should have the category title on one side and a letter grid on the other. It is best to use three-by-five index cards and then cut them into 3¾” × 5½” cards.

6. It is best to use index cards with rounded corners as this game has a tendency to get “rough.”

7. As far as the words themselves go, there are no rules about what can be used in this game, except in more formal settings where only words from a preselected dictionary are permitted.

What are the advantages?

1. Word whizzing can be a fast-paced game that can appeal to groups of people who enjoy word games and want to do some light-hearted Christian fellowship while playing. It is usually a team competition.

2. Playing in small groups can help keep play “soft” and prevent the development of cliques, which is good because this game encourages players to think outside the box, find unusual answers, and not use more than three letters in each word.

3. Word whizzle at church has been a tradition for many years as an alternative form of Christian fellowship as well as prayer meeting or Bible study recreation in many churches (at least it has been so in my own experience. I was aware of the game at my church when I started going there in 1998, but have only been playing since 2003).

HOW TO PLAY?

1. Some games are played with 2-to-3 categories and some are played with one category. Usually, if the category is drawn then all cards must be played out until a word is found for that category. The other players then have a chance to respond by saying any word if they draw two or more cards during the same round. Other rules can vary a little from this one (see below).

2. The category card draws are usually done in teams of two or three people so that each person could play one card after others. This is a good way to play because it prevents cliques from forming and makes those players who do not know each other feel welcome. A person can also draw for their team if the other team members are not available. The person drawing should get all the cards by asking for them from the other players on their team. If a category is drawn and there are no more cards, that person should play out any word he or she can think of (if they have more than one word) until all of their categories have been played out or someone has enough words to win.

3. This game can also be played in groups of 1 person just as well as in teams. Usually, one card is drawn and each person has a turn to create a word using all the letters drawn. At the end of the game, those who have won are the first people to respond if anyone responded at all.