I want to play scrabble with my kids. But the youngest is a little girl (8-years-old). She doesn't understand much English. My idea is to make up a game that we can play without the dictionary.

Suggestions?

My own thoughts:

1. Anything goes, if you can justify it and everyone agrees. (Children aren't likely to understand this variation.)

2. Any language goes, as long as everyone knows the words.

3. Any words are OK. Obscene words? Slang words? Words are words, and if they can be "justified", then they count for points.

I'm just thinking out loud here, folks, and would like some advice. I want to play scrabble with my children. But they don't speak English for a living.

Ideas?

You could play in German, but you'd need the special board.

My wife's family are Scrabble fanatics. When her mother was alive, and all the adults would play, it would be "It has to be in the dictionary, and you lose a turn if you have to look it up" But as grandkids came into the picture, we did the anything goes version. No obscene words, we'd discourage slang, but pretty much if everyone was okay with a word, it was allowed.

Don't see why it wouldn't work with other languages...if all speak the various languages in play, then let them play with the rules you have outlined above. I would add no "Texting Words" such as LOL.

Scrabble is great game for language skills. I did not play it growing up, and it shows. My wife regularly kicks my butt when we play.

Stoneunhinged. check this out on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=german+scrabble+game

According to my mom, who used to teach art history at university, I was about 7 or 8 when I first beat her at Scrabble.

She said that I laughed so hard I fell off my chair.

Then, apparently, to console her, I told her that it wasn't her fault that she didn't know any big words.

That's hilarious!

How many points do you get for that?

Zwei hundert! Vit die triple verd schor!