Publisher: Unstable Games
Age: 8+
Players: 2-5
MSRP: $14.99
I’m bad at word games. Like embarrassingly bad, which is even worse, since I write for a living! But I shouldn’t hold that against If Words Could Kill, a recently released card game by Unstable Games, makers of Twisted Cryptids and Here to Slay.
The dueling word game is simple but effective, with only a few minor flaws that hold it back from greatness.
Words with Frenemies
The premise is simple: transform the most recognizable word game, Scrabble, into a fast-paced card game.
Each player is dealt five letter cards. Just as in Scrabble (or Words with Friends), each letter has a point value. Rarer letters, such as C or J, are worth more than common letters such as S or N.
The first player then has 45 seconds to form a word using the letters in their hand, along with a single wild card.
The box includes a standard sand timer, but we’re all using phone timers these days, right?
After forming a word (or sweating profusely, like me), that player then “attacks” another player, forcing them to play a higher-pointed word. Unlike Scrabble, players don’t have to physically connect to the existing word, but they can use any of the word’s letters as if they were in their own hand, giving them more options and variety.
And yes, you can be a jerk and add an S on the end!
As players end their turns, they draw back up to five cards. Play continues until someone fails to play a higher-pointed word in time. There’s also a catch where you can’t attack the person who just attacked you (unless there’s only two of you).
Instead of keeping score, the game uses player elimination, which is not something most modern games are big on — especially word games! Which means yours truly is the first to go, and gets to watch everyone else play (and be astonished at some of the words they come up with!).
A Murder of Words
In If Words Could Kill, each player has three lives represented by special Shield cards that come in three different levels. When a player is attacked and fails to play a better word, they must flip over their lowest-level Shield. If they must flip over their level three Shield card, they lose.
The Shield cards provide some helpful catch-up mechanics that can swing things back in a player’s favor. The first level card is always an extra letter card with a higher point value. However, since attacked players can always use the previous word’s cards, that Shield letter often becomes the focal point of that round’s back-and-forth duel, which is kind of neat.
The second level Shield card is a bit more complex, offering a special ability. There are several different kinds, but too many of them slow the game down and interrupt the fast pace (such as searching through the discard pile for a single card). I wish they all would’ve included the same basic ability of resetting your hand and time — basically a do-over for a whole turn. Which I desperately need!
Turning over the third Shield card is an automatic loss with a slight twist —you redirect the same attack at a different player. It’s mostly there to just keep the game moving, and not punish the player who did the eliminating.
Although there’s no lore or story (besides the ominous title), the game features a witchy theme, with elegantly scripted letters, and crows on the back of the cards (the third Shield card is also referred to as the Murder card).
It’s nice to have a theme with a word game, but the font is a little too fancy to reliably and quickly read through the letters. The S’s look like the exaggerated kind we all used to draw in school, while many letters feature curvy little tails on the left side. It’s a minor complaint, however, and I do enjoy a more immersive theme, even in smaller games.
The Takeaway
If Words Could Kill is the perfect low-cost, low overhead card game to turn a social hangout into some competitive wordsmithing that anyone can enjoy.
Even someone who is absolutely terrible at word games!
If Words Could Kill is available through parent company Tee Turtle, as well as at Amazon.
