Word on the Street is composed of a board, 17 letter tiles, a sand timer, and a ton of category cards. The board is composed of a “street” with two sides (each with two lanes) and a middle lane. 17 letters of the alphabet are represented; vowels are excluded, as are J, Q, X, and Z. Begin by placing each tile on its corresponding letter on the “middle lane.”

There are 216 category cards with a category on each side, so plenty without having replay categories even after a few games. Divide the players into two teams and decide which side of the street each team is playing on and decide which side of the category cards you want to play (green are easier than blue).

On your team’s turn, draw one category card and turn over the timer. Team members then need to choose a word that fits their category. Once chosen, they spell the word out loud and one person moves the tiles. Each time you say a letter, move that tile one space closer to your side of the board. When a letter is moved off the board, it is “captured” and cannot be moved again.

However, if the other team challenges the spelling or the choice of word, then tiles may have to be moved back. So, for example, Team A draws the category “Another word for pretty” and they choose the word “beautiful.” However, when spelling it, they miss the U. Team B challenges them and points out the missing letter. So the B would stay where Team A had moved it closer to their side, but the rest of the letters (that include or come after the error) would go back to their location before the start of Team A’s turn.

If Team B challenges Team A on their spelling or word choice but Team A was correct, then Team B loses their next turn. If players cannot decide who is correct on a word choice challenge, then the challenged team gets to redo their turn with a new category.

I originally got Word on the Street when my kids were pretty young, far before they started spelling. So, we didn’t play it at all. However, now that my kids are actually spelling and writing, we were able to play a successful game. We even all had fun.

If your kids aren’t quite ready for Word on the Street, there is a junior version of the game. However, that game just uses categories easier for younger players and the full alphabet. Spelling is still required. An idea that I had (unfortunately, not when my kids were younger) is that we could play with one adult on each team. Kids could choose the words while the adults spell them. This would relieve the pressure for the kid to spell while also involving them. Removing the sand timer could also make the game easier to play. However, it did keep the game moving along.