Boggle
Encyclopedia
Boggle is a word game
designed by Allan Turoff and trademarked by Parker Brothers
, a division of Hasbro
. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice
, in which players attempt to find words in sequences of adjacent letters.
, each with a different letter printed on each of its sides. The dice settle into a 4x4 tray so that only the top letter of each cube is visible. After they have settled into the grid, a three-minute sand timer is started and all players simultaneously begin the main phase of play.
Each player searches for word
s that can be constructed from the letters of sequentially adjacent cubes, where "adjacent" cubes are those horizontally, vertically or diagonally neighboring. Words must be at least three letters long, may include singular and plural (or other derived forms) separately, but may not use the same letter cube more than once per word. Each player records all the words he or she finds by writing on a private sheet of paper. After three minutes have elapsed, all players must immediately stop writing and the game enters the scoring phase.
In the scoring phase, each player reads off his or her list of discovered words. If two or more players wrote the same word, it is removed from all players' lists. Any player may challenge the validity of a word, in which case a previously nominated dictionary
is used to verify or refute it. For all words remaining after duplicates have been eliminated, points are awarded based on the length of the word. The winner is the player whose point total is highest, with any ties typically broken by count of long words.
One cube is printed with Qu. This is because Q is nearly always followed by U in English words (see exceptions), and if there were a Q in Boggle, it would be unusable if a U did not, by chance, appear next to it. For the purposes of scoring Qu counts as two letters: squid would score two points (for a five-letter word) despite being formed from a chain of only four cubes.
The North American National Scrabble Association
publishes the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
(OSPD), which is also suitable for Boggle. This dictionary includes all variant forms of words up to eight letters in length. A puzzle book entitled 100 Boggle Puzzles (Improve Your Game) offering 100 game positions was published in the UK
in 2003 but is no longer in print.
Different versions of Boggle have varying distributions of letters. For example, a more modern version (with a blue box) in the UK has easier letters, such as only one "K", but an older version (with a yellow box, from 1986) has two Ks and a generally more awkward letter distribution.
Using the sixteen cubes in a standard Boggle set, the list of longest words
that can be formed includes Inconsequentially, Quadricentennials, and Sesquicentennials, all seventeen letter words made possible by q and u appearing on the same face of one cube.
Words within words are also allowed, for example: "Master", the two separate words being "Mast" and "aster." Neither the cubes nor the board may be touched while the timer is running.
Big Boggle, later marketed as Boggle Master and Boggle Deluxe, featured a 5×5 tray, and disallowed 3-letter words. Some editions of the Big Boggle set included an adapter which could convert the larger grid into a standard 4×4 Boggle grid. In the United Kingdom
, Hasbro UK currently markets Super Boggle, which features both the 4×4 and 5×5 grid and an electronic timer which flashes to indicate the start and finish. Despite the game's popularity in North America, no version of Boggle offering a 5×5 grid was marketed outside Europe for an extended period until recently, when Winning Moves Games revived the Big Boggle name for a new version released in 2011. Their variant features a two-letter die with popular letter combinations such as Qu, Th and In.
In 2008, Parker Brothers released a self-contained version of the game with the dice sealed inside a plastic unit, and featuring an integrated timer. Although the older version has been discontinued, some retailers refer to the newer one as "Boggle Reinvention" to avoid confusion.
Other obsolete Boggle variants include:
In the Philippines
, a similar game which was first distributed in 1978 and is still in circulation up to the present is the game "Word Factory." The game was first patented in the Philippines, and is currently being manufactured and distributed to selected retailers by the Philippines-based game manufacturer, 13 P.M. Enterprises. Word Factory was a variation on the version of Boggle as it existed in 1978: using a 5×5 grid instead of a 4×4 one, and using plastic dice instead of wooden ones. At present, the game is being marketed to other countries, targeting mostly migrant Filipino
families.
A variant of the standard Boggle rules is periodic boundary conditions
(PBC) Boggle, in which the borders of the board are effectively expanded by being repeated periodically. The letters on the edges of the board behave as if adjacent to those on the opposite side, allowing for words to continue on another part of the board. This is known as "crossing-over." Crossing-over can take place at either an edge or a corner. In the figure, block 15 can cross-over to blocks 2, 3, or 4 while block 16 can cross-over to blocks 1, 3, 4, 9, or 13. There is no limit to the number of times a word can cross-over, however each letter can still be used only once. Since this setup greatly increases the potential word count, 3-letter words should be disallowed.
, several clubs have been established for the purpose of organizing Boggle play. Official Boggle clubs exist at a number of educational institutions, including the Dartmouth Union of Bogglers at Dartmouth College
, the Western Oregon University
Boggle Club, the University of Michigan
Boggle Club, University of Delaware
Boggle Club, Berkeley Boggle Club at the University of California, Berkeley, and Grinnell College
Boggle Club.
Unlike Scrabble, there is no national or international governing or rule-making body for Boggle competition and no official tournament regulations exist.
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
designed by Allan Turoff and trademarked by Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers
Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
, a division of Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
, in which players attempt to find words in sequences of adjacent letters.
Rules
The game begins by shaking a covered tray of sixteen cubic diceDice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
, each with a different letter printed on each of its sides. The dice settle into a 4x4 tray so that only the top letter of each cube is visible. After they have settled into the grid, a three-minute sand timer is started and all players simultaneously begin the main phase of play.
Each player searches for word
Word
In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...
s that can be constructed from the letters of sequentially adjacent cubes, where "adjacent" cubes are those horizontally, vertically or diagonally neighboring. Words must be at least three letters long, may include singular and plural (or other derived forms) separately, but may not use the same letter cube more than once per word. Each player records all the words he or she finds by writing on a private sheet of paper. After three minutes have elapsed, all players must immediately stop writing and the game enters the scoring phase.
In the scoring phase, each player reads off his or her list of discovered words. If two or more players wrote the same word, it is removed from all players' lists. Any player may challenge the validity of a word, in which case a previously nominated dictionary
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
is used to verify or refute it. For all words remaining after duplicates have been eliminated, points are awarded based on the length of the word. The winner is the player whose point total is highest, with any ties typically broken by count of long words.
One cube is printed with Qu. This is because Q is nearly always followed by U in English words (see exceptions), and if there were a Q in Boggle, it would be unusable if a U did not, by chance, appear next to it. For the purposes of scoring Qu counts as two letters: squid would score two points (for a five-letter word) despite being formed from a chain of only four cubes.
The North American National Scrabble Association
National Scrabble Association
The National Scrabble Association was created in 1978 by Selchow & Righter, then the makers of Scrabble, to promote their game. It coordinated local clubs and Scrabble tournaments in North America, including the National Scrabble Championship, until 2009. The current director is John D...
publishes the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary or OSPD is a dictionary developed for use in the game Scrabble, by speakers of American and Canadian English.-Creation:...
(OSPD), which is also suitable for Boggle. This dictionary includes all variant forms of words up to eight letters in length. A puzzle book entitled 100 Boggle Puzzles (Improve Your Game) offering 100 game positions was published in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2003 but is no longer in print.
| Word length | Points |
|---|---|
| 3, 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 5 |
| 8+ | 11 |
Different versions of Boggle have varying distributions of letters. For example, a more modern version (with a blue box) in the UK has easier letters, such as only one "K", but an older version (with a yellow box, from 1986) has two Ks and a generally more awkward letter distribution.
Using the sixteen cubes in a standard Boggle set, the list of longest words
Longest words
The longest word in any given language depends on the word formation rules of each specific language, and on the types of words allowed for consideration. Agglutinative languages allow for the creation of long words via compounding. Even non-agglutinative languages may allow word formation of...
that can be formed includes Inconsequentially, Quadricentennials, and Sesquicentennials, all seventeen letter words made possible by q and u appearing on the same face of one cube.
Words within words are also allowed, for example: "Master", the two separate words being "Mast" and "aster." Neither the cubes nor the board may be touched while the timer is running.
Boggle game variants
Numerous computer versions and variants of the game are available for play on the web and for download. (For instance, see Facebook's "Scramble" & "Prolific" applications.) Additionally, Parker Brothers has introduced several licensed variations on the game. , only Boggle Junior and Travel Boggle (also marketed as Boggle Folio), continue to be manufactured and marketed in North America alongside the standard Boggle game, apart from a licensed keychain miniature version. Boggle Junior is a much simplified version intended for young children. Boggle Travel is a car-friendly version of the standard 4×4 set. The compact, zippered case includes pencils and small pads of paper, as well as an electronic timer, and notably, a cover made from a soft plastic that produces much less noise when the board is shaken.Big Boggle, later marketed as Boggle Master and Boggle Deluxe, featured a 5×5 tray, and disallowed 3-letter words. Some editions of the Big Boggle set included an adapter which could convert the larger grid into a standard 4×4 Boggle grid. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Hasbro UK currently markets Super Boggle, which features both the 4×4 and 5×5 grid and an electronic timer which flashes to indicate the start and finish. Despite the game's popularity in North America, no version of Boggle offering a 5×5 grid was marketed outside Europe for an extended period until recently, when Winning Moves Games revived the Big Boggle name for a new version released in 2011. Their variant features a two-letter die with popular letter combinations such as Qu, Th and In.
In 2008, Parker Brothers released a self-contained version of the game with the dice sealed inside a plastic unit, and featuring an integrated timer. Although the older version has been discontinued, some retailers refer to the newer one as "Boggle Reinvention" to avoid confusion.
Other obsolete Boggle variants include:
- A version of the standard 4×4 set that included a special red "Boggle challenge cube", featuring six relatively uncommon letters. Bonus points are awarded for all words making use of the red cube.
- Boggle CDROM, a version for Windows, produced and marketed by Hasbro Interactive, including both 4×4 and 5×5 versions, several 3-D versions, and facilities allowing up to four players to compete directly over the Internet.
- Body Boggle, which is more akin to Twister than it is to standard Boggle. Two players work together as a team, using their hands and feet to spell words on a large floor mat containing pre-printed Boggle letters.
- Boggle Bowl, which is somewhat similar to Scrabble in that players must form words by placing letter tiles onto a (bowl-shaped) playing area.
- Boggle was once an interactive TV game show hosted by game show veteran Wink MartindaleWink MartindaleWinston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, that aired on The Family ChannelTelevision networks preceding ABC FamilyThe cable television network ABC Family has gone through several different owners during its history. Stipulations in sales terms for the network require that the network maintain the word "Family" in its name.-CBN Cable :...
(now ABC FamilyABC FamilyABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
) replacing the interactive version of Trivial PursuitTrivial Pursuit (game show)Trivial Pursuit is an American game show that ran on The Family Channel from June 7, 1993 to December 30, 1994, with reruns continuing until July 21, 1995. loosely based on the board game of the same name. It was hosted by Wink Martindale with Randy West announcing.-Format:The show was played in...
. - Coggle, which functions in a similar manner to Boggle but involves creating a word to fit a particular theme. Was mainly aimed at the French and Canadian market.
- Boggle Flash. An electronic version of Boggle, but consists of 5 tiles in which 1-10 players make words by swapping tiles.
In the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, a similar game which was first distributed in 1978 and is still in circulation up to the present is the game "Word Factory." The game was first patented in the Philippines, and is currently being manufactured and distributed to selected retailers by the Philippines-based game manufacturer, 13 P.M. Enterprises. Word Factory was a variation on the version of Boggle as it existed in 1978: using a 5×5 grid instead of a 4×4 one, and using plastic dice instead of wooden ones. At present, the game is being marketed to other countries, targeting mostly migrant Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
families.
A variant of the standard Boggle rules is periodic boundary conditions
Periodic boundary conditions
In mathematical models and computer simulations, periodic boundary conditions are a set of boundary conditions that are often used to simulate a large system by modelling a small part that is far from its edge...
(PBC) Boggle, in which the borders of the board are effectively expanded by being repeated periodically. The letters on the edges of the board behave as if adjacent to those on the opposite side, allowing for words to continue on another part of the board. This is known as "crossing-over." Crossing-over can take place at either an edge or a corner. In the figure, block 15 can cross-over to blocks 2, 3, or 4 while block 16 can cross-over to blocks 1, 3, 4, 9, or 13. There is no limit to the number of times a word can cross-over, however each letter can still be used only once. Since this setup greatly increases the potential word count, 3-letter words should be disallowed.
Club and tournament play
While not as widely institutionally established as ScrabbleScrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
, several clubs have been established for the purpose of organizing Boggle play. Official Boggle clubs exist at a number of educational institutions, including the Dartmouth Union of Bogglers at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, the Western Oregon University
Western Oregon University
Western Oregon University is a public liberal arts college located in Monmouth, Oregon, United States. It was originally established in 1856 by Oregon pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names include Oregon Normal School, Oregon College of Education, and Western Oregon State College...
Boggle Club, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Boggle Club, University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
Boggle Club, Berkeley Boggle Club at the University of California, Berkeley, and Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
Boggle Club.
Unlike Scrabble, there is no national or international governing or rule-making body for Boggle competition and no official tournament regulations exist.
In popular culture
- Boggle was featured prominently in an episode of King of The HillKing of the HillKing of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
entitled "Peggy The Boggle Champ" (Season 1, Episode 9). It also appeared as a cheap Bar Mitzvah gift Elaine gave to her boss's son in an episode of SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
(Season 9 Episode 3 - "The Serenity Now"). - Klingon Boggle appeared in The Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang TheoryThe Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
(Season 2, Episode 7), although it was referred to much earlier, in the pilot episode. - Appeared in an episode of Felicity entitled "Boggled" (Season 1, Episode 4)
- It is the game of choice for the foxes Nelson and Vince in the BBC 3 sitcom MongrelsMongrels (TV series)Mongrels, formerly known under the working titles of We Are Mongrels and The Un-Natural World, is a British puppet-based situation comedy series first broadcast on BBC Three between 22 June and 10 August 2010, with a making-of documentary entitled "Mongrels Uncovered" broadcast on 11 August 2010...
, though Nelson has admitted to bending the rules in the first episode. - In the TV series Family Game Night, a variation of this game was called "Bounce N Boogie Boggle".
- In an episode of Degrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
entitled "Drop The World: Part I," Holly J and Sav play a game of boggle at the beginning of the episode.
External links
- Smoggle Multidimensional and multilanguage C++ Boggle solver.
- DeepSearch Solution To The Top Ten 5x5 Boggle Boards Search - By JohnPaul Adamovsky
- Boggle Variations 4x4, 5x5, Wild Card, Quick Boggle