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Using Quiddler Junior to Build Language Skills

Put Your Spelling Skills to the Test!

Can you use the cards in your hand to form one or more words and earn the most points? If so, you can become a Quiddler Junior champion!

game pieces

Combining elements of classic games like Rummy and Scrabble, Quiddler Junior is a fast-paced card game that changes with every round as you advance from spelling with just two cards up to spelling with seven cards. It’s great for ages 6 and up and requires at least two players.

Are you ready for this speedy spelling challenge?

Let’s Play Quiddler Junior!

In this first round, everybody gets just two cards. Put the rest of the cards face down in a stack to form a draw pile. Now flip one card and lay it next to the draw pile to form a discard pile. Now check out your cards!

a player holds quiddler junior game cards

Hmm. Unfortunately, you can’t spell a word with those cards, but you have two options. You can either take the N card from the discard pile or you can choose the top card from the draw pile.

That N card isn’t going to help you spell a word, so you might as well grab from the draw pile!

a quiddler junior game card

Wow! Look at that … you got AN! Now look at the 3 cards in your hand. But remember…you started this round with two cards, so you have to make a word with just two of your cards.

child holds quiddler cards

Great! You can use F and AN to make the word fan! Now discard the extra card—in this case, the letter S. Since your two cards make a word, you get to go out! Lay your cards on the table in front of you. Now the other players each get one chance to draw a card and make a word.

quiddler junior game play

After everyone has played, it’s time to add up your scores! See the point values on each card? You receive 6 points for the word fan—4 points for F and 2 points for AN. Player 3 spelled ad and receives 4 points—3 points for D and 1 point for A. Poor Player 2 can’t spell a word with L and I, so she doesn’t get any points. But we’re not quite finished counting points yet! Fan is the longest word in this round, so you receive an extra 5-point bonus! You end the round with 11 points.

Are you ready for Round 2? This time, every player gets 3 cards. Good luck!

4 Ways to Build Language Skills with Quiddler Junior

  1. Strengthen spelling skills. This game encourages kids to be creative with their cards and find the words that will earn them the most points. There are several cards that have common letter combinations (like AN, OO, and QU) to help your child build longer and more complex words. This helps reinforce which letters frequently work together to form words.
  2. Discover new words. To help kids learn new words and get ideas for words they can play in the game, every card shows a word containing the featured letter or letter combination along with an image that illustrates the word.
  3. Explore the alphabet and how it works. Every letter card is given a point value, and these point values reflect how easy it is to use certain letters to build words. For example, frequently used letters (like vowels) have lower point values. Letters that are more difficult to use like Q, X, and Z are worth more points.
  4. Expand working vocabulary. Kids have a vocabulary of words they use every day, and they may tend to fall back on using those words again and again. This game helps build creativity with word choices, broadening your child’s working vocabulary.
download the Quiddler Junior game sheet

Notes from Our Game Testers

Some rules can be adjusted for younger players.

  • The strategy of drawing and discarding cards may be confusing for some children, so you might consider just playing with the cards in your hands or elect to use just one draw pile.
  • Eliminate the 5-point bonus for longest word to level the competition when playing with younger spellers.
  • The game comes with 96 scoring chips for easy scorekeeping. Instead of having one scorekeeper for the game, add some basic math to your educational game-playing and let every player calculate his own point totals!
  • For older kids and adults (age 8 and up) try Quiddler!

Does your family have a favorite board game that is a fun and “sneaky” way to build language skills? Please share in the comments below!

All About Learning Press, Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. All proceeds from our partnership with Amazon.com will be donated to local libraries.

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whosaidmoo, LLC

says:

I bought both Quiddler Junior and Quiddler to try them out. I would recommend Quiddler but not Quiddler Jr. Quiddler Junior uses pictures paired with letters to “help” with sounds. However, I find that a picture of “feet” on a card with “et” or a picture of an “eye” on a card with an “e” does NOT help a student but just confuses them at this early stage. The regular version of Quiddler does not have pictures on the cards but just the letters and can easily be played with the trimmed down rules of the Junior version.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen this type of issue on other education games too. (In Sequence Letters, the game uses a cereal box for the letter c. It would be fine for more advanced students who have learned that c can also say s.) I’ve had to modify several games because of these types of issues. Games are great for reinforcement and kids love them. Be careful though. Make sure that you actually play the game prior to using it with a student to avoid confusion and things that have not been explicitly taught.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for sharing this! We really appreciate the review and feedback, and I know this will be helpful for others.

Jonell

says:

My reluctant speller has been loving this game. Thanks so much for suggesting it here.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for letting us know your child is enjoying this game, Jonell! Great to hear!

YaadStyle Homeschooling

says:

Interesting game. Looks like a lot of fun.

Elizabeth Gaines

says:

7yo twins each with their own set of cards. Thanks to the review suggestions in the back of the book, we have been playing Go Fish with the words they both need to review while also having so much fun.

I have been looking for other ways to integrate board/card games with our Reading and Spelling lessons and this seems like an option we will have to explore!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I love the idea of playing Go Fish with two sets of cards, Elizabeth! What a fun way to review!

We have a few game reviews for building language skills that you may enjoy.

Anna

says:

That looks like a fun game for spelling practice!

Lacey

says:

Love this idea. Thanks for sharing!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Lacey!

Sera L

says:

I didn’t know quiddler Jr was a thing, but our family loves Quiddler!

Sue

says:

Love this idea! Our boys love games and this makes it strengthen their skills! Win win!

Melina DuPont

says:

Sounds like a great way to make spelling fun! Thanks for the idea!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Melina. I hope you have a lot of fun with this game!

Charity B

says:

This is a neat idea. I will use it with my 6 year old

Brittney Mowrer

says:

This game look so fun! I’ll have to look into getting it to add to our huge game collection

Beth

says:

Quiddler has been a family favorite for years! So happy to learn about Quiddler Jr.!

Jenny Ham

says:

Great idea kids have fun with a great learning tool. Love it.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Jenny!

Lynnith Andreou

says:

I love the lay out of this game!

Kamal Lahloh

says:

Good one, I love it

Megan Burkholder

says:

We love using games to reinforce new skills

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

We agree, Megan! Games are wonderful for reviewing and building skills!

Stacy Lutje

says:

Such a great idea!

Anita Huber

says:

This makes learning so much fun! My children love to play games!

Teri

says:

Loving all the fun ideas.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Teri!

Teri

says:

I am enjoying all the great ideas.

Shea

says:

Such a great idea!

Dinah

says:

How fun! I’ll have to try this game. I already have two students in mind!!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I hope your students enjoy it, Dinah!

Sara

says:

We love, love, love AAR and AAS! Such a gift to our family homeschool!

Rayna Bowen

says:

My daughter loves boated games I’ll definitely be on the lookout for this one!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I hope your daughter loves this game as well, Rayna!

Anjali Chopra

says:

I love the games you provide to enhance learning

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Anjali.

V

says:

This seems like a very good game for students to learn how to spell. Especially practicing with other students. They really enjoy learning from their peers.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great observation! This is a great game for practicing spelling.

Tara Morgan

says:

I love seeing new learning games that help children grow academically.

Heather

says:

We’ve never played this game before. It sounds like fun. I love all the game ideas you have on this blog. I need to look here more often to shake up our reading and spelling lessons.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you for letting us know you enjoy the game ideas we offer on the blog, Heather! It’s great to hear they go over well.

Yvonne

says:

Such a fun idea!

Abigail Morton

says:

Love this idea! I didn’t realize that there was a junior version of Quiddler, will have to add this to our collection. Thank you!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Abigail!