Show off your skills and learn a word or 300.

Words are fun, thought my friend John Hluchyj one day. Especially the ones you might not use every day, words that can delight your eyes and ears and mind.

So he collected a batch and tried to figure out how to best bring that infatuation to a bigger crowd.

One day he called me and our friend Diane over to his house to play a game. He’d printed the cards and created the board and made the rules.

Diane and I literally rolled his dice, drew some cards and looked at each other. I do believe my quick comment was: <em>I was a professional copywriter and editor for decades and I wouldn’t play this game!</em> But my overall opinion was: <em> But you do have something really intriguing here.</em>

We talked for hours that night. And met more as he floated his ideas and further versions past his family members and neighbors and other friends who said sure, they like words.

The Cattywampus Edition from John’s company Knowledgy was born. It’s the real deal.

I bought the gorgeous box (with designing ideas from Diane) after John received shipment, happily forking over the $35 to say, heck, yes, I was there.

You can discover plenty about the game at John’s knowledgystuff.com website. You’ll find video tutorials and free word of the week.

To be concise: There are word cards and occupation cards. Players draw from each and then form a sentence that illustrates the word from the viewpoint of the occupation. Use the real definition if you know it or make one up. One player per round is the judge, who has the definition card and then decides who’s done best with a big reveal. Reach the agreed grand total to win.

Fun! Learning! Great for students and adults, John figured as he finalized the Cattywampus edition. I agree.