Words With Friends! Fun Boomer and Senior News AND Activities for You and Your Grandkids!

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The headlines are busy nowadays, letting each baby boomer and senior citizen know the important news that we need to be exercising our brain cells as much as our bodies. As members of the Sandwich Generation, still raising children or babysitting grandchildren, many of us are already doing that quite well, as we help with homework, run around with kids, and stay extra active mentally and physically.

But just in case you want some extra help, my grandkids and I have discovered a great new addition to our list of best eductional apps for kids and it's just as good for boomers and seniors – perfect for the Sandwich Generation family. What is it, you may ask? It's called Words With Friends and it's very similar to Scrabble.

When you open either of the Words With Friends game apps (free or paid), you see the screen above. The first person to play makes a word from the letters at the bottom of the game screen and places them on the board, making sure to use the box with the x somewhere in the word, as that is the starting point.

The play then passes to the friend or family member you have linked up to play with – whether in your home or anywhere around the world. (More on that on Friday 🙂 ). They then make a word from their letters. They must add on to at least one of your letters.

Each time your turn is completed, you press the arrow key at the bottom, then press submit. Both players are then updated, and your opponent is quickly notified. 

Sometimes your opponent will play right away. Sometimes hours, or even days, can go between turns. It's perfect for the busy Sandwich Generation, because you play when you can, and easily ignore it when you can't. 

They even offer you the option to play with a total stranger, though I personally avoid that totally as you also have the option to message the other player back and forth and I am not comfortable with that – especially since I have grandkids playing with my account as well. However, in at least one game, that has actually proven to be a blessing to the player's health! 

If you decide to give it a try, you will need to give them your email address (you can always create a free email address at a site such as gmail or yahoo – just for this game if you don't want to use your own) and pick a "player name" for yourself. Think about that carefully before you sign up. I originally thought I would only play with one person so I picked something that I knew would make them laugh. Now that I'm playing with several grandkids and a couple of friends, it's a rather dorky name but I'm pretty much stuck with it. 🙂 

Whether you decide to play with family, friends, and/or (cautiously) with strangers, it's fun, it's a great brain exerciser, and depending on which app you choose – it can even be free. If you do upgrade to the paid version – don't delete the free one til you read Friday's article. 🙂  In fact, check back all throughout this week for more tips, ideas, and suggestions of interest for another of the good fun and educational apps for the Sandwich Generation on iPhone, Android, or iPad. And…