How good is your linguistic gymnastics?

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Letterfall has a winner!!  The game was really popular across the Uk with some brilliant linguistic gymanstics being played out.  Great words that were used include ‘bramblings’ and  ‘horseplay’  Those finalists did better than me!

The winner is Nichola Leaver, age 20, who has been named the country’s leading wordsmith after winning a national online word competition.

Ms Leaver competed in the ‘Letterfall Championship 2014’, run by ISA provider Scottish Friendly. The competition saw hundreds of people from all over the country compete at playing the popular online, Scrabble®-inspired word game, Letterfall.

The competition ran over two months with Ms Leaver, who hails from Wrexham and studies in Chester, winning the regional championship for Wales.  In the UK Final she finished the tournament in top spot having used words such as ‘quivered’, ‘cuticles’ and ‘flounder’ to arrive at an impressive score of 62,414 – more than 13,000 points clear of her nearest rival.

Ms Leaver commented: “I’ve always loved word games but to be honest, I never thought I was going to win. Letterfall is an easy game to play, but when the pressure is on, especially when you are closing in on the top score, it did get a little nerve-racking.”

I am seriously impressed!  The prize of £500 is sure to have had an impact on her Christmas too!

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Playing with words is a great way to increase vocabulary and as a teacher I often would give my classes riddles or word games to play if we had a spare five minutes.  They are great little time fillers and keep you alert.  As a child one of my favourite games was Boggle.  It was a little perspex pot that had dice with different letters on each side.  You shook the pot and then when the dice had settled you wrote down as many words as you could make whilst the egg timer counted down the two minutes.  The game suited me because it was fast, I often got bored with long board games unless it was a rainy afternoon and I could do nothing else! I am also three years older than my brother so I usually won which also added to the reasons I would choose that game over many others!

Throughout my childhood I was an avid reader and read all sorts of books from classics like Anne of Green Gables (who I adored) to more contemporary Judy Blume (what 14 year old didn’t read Forever under the duvet!) I went on to do my teaching qualification in English and Drama which shows that I have always adored words.  The fact that I am now trying to make a living out of freelance writing probably also shows my fascination with language.

If like me you like word challenges you should have a look at the game Letterfall. Scottish Friendly have challenged  linguistic gymnasts to pit their wits against each other.  The game is a mix between old school boggle and tetris.  Played online you need to make up words using the letters that drop down.  There are prizes available to as the top scorer in each nation will receive £100 and be eligible to go forward to the grand final in Glasgow on the 28^th November 2014 where they will compete in a play-off competition to win £500 and the coveted Letterfall National Champion trophy!

Did you know that for the past 15 years, Scottish Friendly have sponsored the Scottish Friendly Children’s Book Tour and in association with the Scottish Book Trust have brought leading UK and international children’s authors to children in schools and libraries across the country. I didn’t know this but it pleases me immensely. My son especially is always full of enthusiasm when they have had a visiting author.  It always encourages him to read and try different genres of books too.

We are very lucky living here near Cheltenham as each year there is a very large literature festival that houses some of the best authors and speakers we have to offer.  In the past I have listened to Bob Geldof who was inspiring and my children have listened as books came to life after being read by their creators.

Therefore if you like words and want to test your skills, play the game.  I’d love to know your scores!

Disclosure:  This post is an advertorial.

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