Age range: 6+
Number of players: 3-10
Supplies Needed: None
Ghost is a word game where players try to add letters to create a new word. This game is best for older children because you need to know how to spell. It would also be a fun travel game because it could easily be played in the car.
To begin have the players sit in a circle. Or if you are traveling in the car decide on how the game will rotate, maybe from youngest to oldest or front to back. The first player thinks of a word. Then he says the first letter of that word. For example he thinks “trip” and says “t.”
The next player thinks of a word with the same first letter that the first player said. Then the second player adds the second letter to the word. The second player thinks, “teach” and says “t-e.”
Each consecutive player tries to add another letter without forming a complete word. If the letters were “t-e-s-t” and the next player could only think of the word “testy” and added a “y,” they would have made a complete word that cannot be added too. So that player would become a “half-ghost.” After a complete word is made the next player starts with a new word.
If a half-ghost ends another word then they become a full ghost and can no longer participate in forming words. But they do still have a role to play in the game, because anyone who speaks to a “ghost” also becomes a “ghost”. So anyone who is a “ghost” tries to get the other players to talk to him or her.
While playing the game a player cannot just add random letters to a previous letter. They must always have more than a two-letter word in mind. At any time another player can challenge and ask for the word that the player is thinking of. If the player who is challenged cannot say the word they are thinking of then they become a half or full ghost. If the player does say a word then the person who challenged them becomes a half or full ghost.