Surfside Scramble, from Educational Insights, is a quick word game for two to four players ages 8 and up. The game is beautifully packaged in a surfboard-shaped box with a fun, colorful design, and is available in several colors. The set contains 60 double-sided flip flop letters, a two-minute timer, four surfside game boards, and a score pad.
Each player draws 15 flip flops from the bag, and when the timer starts, players must race to arrange their letters into word chains. Each word must begin and end with a letter in the chain, and use all of the letters in between. When time’s up, or when someone has used all their letters, all players count their words. Extra points are earned for using all their letters, making the longest word, and making the most words. For example, if a player’s word chain consists of T E A L O S T R E A T O N E W, that player will earn a point for each word: tea, teal, lost, treat, at, atone, to, ton, tone, on, one, and new. The player with the most points after five rounds wins the game.
This game is great for players of all ages, and is easy to learn yet fun and challenging to play. The surfside theme of the game is aesthetically pleasing and adds a fun and creative flair to the game. It can also be played solo—a player can try to beat his or her own score before the timer runs out. The double-sided aspect of the flip flop tiles also adds a Memory-like side to the game; players must try to remember the letters on the face-down side of the flip flop if they want to maximize their word chain. Word games are always fun, and packing it in an adorable beachy box makes it even more appealing.
