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12 Word Games for Kids: Free, Brain-Boosting Ideas

Want to improve your child’s skills for reading, writing, and spelling without too much fuss? Word games for kids are an engaging and effective way to keep them learning while having fun for any age group! In this article, I’ve rounded up a list of the best word games for kids to boost learning and bring endless giggles. 

Key points

• Word games work well for improving reading, spelling, and language skills.
• Word games have to be kid-friendly and age-appropriate to be effective.
• Brighterly is an online 1:1 reading platform with gamified learning, offering free reading worksheets and word games. 

How to play word games with kids?

To play educational word games with kids, it’s important to pick games they’ll enjoy, like rhyming, alphabet challenges, or word matching. You’ve got to remember: keeping it short, playful, and full of laughs is what makes it a fun activity, so don’t aim for perfection.

How do word learning games impact kids?

Word games for children can significantly improve kids’ vocabulary and retention, improve word recall, and comprehension. And if parents and educators make this experience interactive and playful, these games could boost curiosity, enhance problem-solving, and strengthen language skills. Fun word games for kids are also a great tool to gain confidence in using new words. 

Impact of word game for kids: Why it matters

• Vocabulary growth – word games with kids expose them to new words in context, making it easier to remember and use them correctly. 
• Better spelling and reading – word games improve spelling accuracy and reading fluency.
• Improved communication skills – word games to play help children articulate ideas, listen actively, and build confidence when speaking.
• Better cognitive skills – word games can involve strategy, quick thinking, or pattern recognition, which naturally improve cognitive skills. 
• Emotional benefits and stronger bonds – playing with family members teaches emotional intelligence and creates stronger bonds with peers. 

Do online tutoring platforms use word games to play with students?

Yes, online tutoring platforms use word games to play with kids, as this is a research-based, proven method to improve kids’ reading skills. One of these platforms is Brighterly reading and math platform.

What is Brighterly?

Brighterly is an online one-on-one educational platform focusing on reading and math for K-9 students in the United States. The platform’s math and reading program fully aligns with the school curriculum (US Common Core) and provides personalized paths, adapting educational plans to each student’s goals, strengths, and learning gaps and objectives. 

Why Brighterly is one of the top educational platforms in 2025?

Brighterly has been named one of the top educational platforms of 2025, and parents stand by it. The platform provides all of the great features of competitor platforms at a much more affordable price. 200K+ parents have already joined Brighterly, with their satisfaction reflected by the average TrustPilot score of 4.5. 

Key features of Brighterly

• Highly vetted tutors
• Free worksheets and tests

Highly vetted tutors

Brighterly works exclusively with professional math and reading tutors with several years of experience who are specially trained to tutor 1:1. They utilize gamified, interactive approaches to make educational materials effective and easy to digest. Additionally, Brighterly performs rigorous background checks and a selection process to prove each potential candidate’s qualifications. 

Free worksheets and tests

In 2025, Brighterly introduced a reading program for K-9 students and curated hundreds of reading worksheets that are perfect for solo practice at home or with a Brighterly tutor. If you’re looking for printable word games for kids, or word puzzles, this is an optimal solution for you, whether you’re a busy parent looking for extra reading practice or an aspiring tutor.  

Also, the platform offers free reading tests designed to evaluate your child’s skills without any pressure or commitment. 

To sum up, Brighterly has strong potential to become the best reading program for kids on the market, thanks to its cost-effective prices, a personalized program, and highly vetted tutors. 

12 word games for kids

• Rhyme Time
• I spy 
• 20 Questions
• Word within a word
• Hangman
• Pictionary
• Alphabet word game
• Word ladder
• Word bingo
• Charades (word edition)
• Puzzles word search
• Crosswords

Word games for preschoolers

#1 Rhyming word game for kids: Rhyme Time 

If you’re looking for word games for 5 year olds or preschool word games, Rhyme Time is for you. This game challenges kids to think of as many rhyming words as possible for a given word. 

For instance, if you start with a “cat”, your kid might say “hat”, “bat”, or “mat”. This builds phonemic awareness, boosts vocabulary, and sparks creativity. And you know what? It works great as one of the family word games — no rules, no guesswork, no one is confused!

#2 Sight word game for kids: I spy 

“I spy” is a fun and interactive game that helps children practice sight words and vocabulary. One player can say: “I spy with my eye something that starts with…” and say the letter or a sight word. The other searches for the object that matches the description.

Word games for kindergarten

#3 Word game for kindergarten: 20 Questions

Looking for words game for kindergarten? 20 Questions is a great game for younger kids!
In 20 questions, one player thinks of a word, and the other tries to guess this word by asking yes-or-no questions. 

How to play 20 Questions

Players essentially need to narrow down possibilities by asking, “Is it an animal?”, “Kitchen utensils?”, “Something you can eat?” Continue up to 20 questions until you find the word you’re looking for.

#4 Word association game for kids: Word within a word

This is one of the simple kid word games,  where your child has to find as many words as they can within a longer word you’ve written down for them on paper. For example, the word “Monday” — how many words can your child make out of Monday? New, money, done are the 3 possible words, but the game lasts as long as imagination does.

Word games for elementary students

Word games for 1st graders

#5 Word game for kids in the 1st grade: Hangman

Hangman is one of the classic, commonly used word games for first graders, where one player thinks of the word and the others try to guess it letter by letter. This game encourages spelling practice, vocabulary, and strategic thinking. 

What you need to play 

This is a great game for the whole family to play! Get a pen and paper, or download one of the apps if you want to play solo – each wrong guess draws part of the “hangman” figure.

#6 Word games for 6 year olds: Pictionary

Pictionary is a fun drawing game for 6-year-olds to play. It has a vocabulary and word recognition aspect to it, so it’s a great word game too. 

How to play Pictionary

Basically, with Pictionary, one player draws a word or a phrase, and the other one has to guess it. Perfect for classroom or family time and encourages observation and teamwork.

Word games for 2nd graders

#7 Word games for second graders: Alphabet word game

The alphabet word game is easy — players have to pick letters and try to name as many words starting with that letter as possible. Categories are also fun, think animals, foods, and places!

#8 Word game for kids in the 2nd grade: Word ladder

Another exciting word game for 2nd graders — players start with a simple word and change one letter at a time to create a new word. For example, “seem”-”seek”-”seen”.

Word games for 3rd graders

#9 Word game for kids online in the third grade: Word bingo

Word bingo is an easy game for 3rd graders to play. Each player gets a bingo card with words. When the word is read aloud, kids mark the matching words on their cards and complete a row or a column, which can also be played online.

#10 Word games for 10 year olds: Charades (word edition)

Charades is super fun even for adult players — I personally love to play it. 

One player has to silently act out a word or a phrase while others try to guess it. You can play out a cat, or a car — wherever your imagination goes is great! It can be adapted for different ages, and older kids can play out more challenging words. 

Word games for 4th graders

#11 Online word game for kids in the 4th grade: Puzzles word search

Puzzle boards are fun for practicing spelling, vocabulary, and pattern recognition. All you have to do is download a themed puzzle board and search for hidden words in the grid or letters. Many online versions include hints, times, and difficulty level — kids live for that interactivity! 

Word games for 5th graders

#12 Word games for 5th graders: Crosswords

Crossword is one of the great word game ideas for any age — it strengthens vocabulary, spelling, and problem-solving skills, and it’s also available online! Crosswords challenge children to fill in a blank square with words that match given clues.

Selecting word games for kids: Conclusion

Reading practice can become more enjoyable if you play word games — they strengthen vocabulary growth, spelling, reading, communication, and cognitive skills. I especially love group word games like Word Charades, I Spy, and Word Bingo.

Brighterly has curated hundreds of worksheets with fun word games that are essential to building basic and advanced reading skills. And if you want your kid to build excellent reading skills, Brighterly offers you reading lessons at just $17.3 (counting 3 lessons a week with a 12-month learning plan) — so much affordable than other platforms.

If you are looking for a reading platform that is:

• Transparent in its pricing;
• 1:1 learning based;
• Delivers practical results in reading…
  

Then book reading class now and explore Brighterly’s unique approach to teaching!