Word Game Dictionary

This dictionary is for word games that are similar to Boggle, with 16 letters on board. So it doesn't have any words longer than 16 letters. Word count: 74,405.

What should count as a real word in a word game?

Most other word games like Scrabble are ruined by allowing obsolete / foreign / abbreviated words. Native english speakers don't use these words outside of word games. But if you know them for word games, you just win. Examples:

❎ JO – A slang and foreign scottish word that allows you to use a J easily.
❎ TAJ – A foreign arabic word that allows you to end a word with a J.
❎ OE – An obsolete foreign scottish word that lets you make a word with only vowels.
❎ ZA – A slang abbreviation that lets you use Z easily.
❎ BIZ – An abbreviation that lets you end with a single Z.

1. No Acronyms

Everyone knows them but they aren't words: FBI, RBI, ER. They would be fun to use, but if they were allowed you could just play any 3 letters because almost every combination of 3 letters is an abbreviation for something.

2. No proper nouns

❎ No names of places: ENGLAND, HOLLYWOOD, NILE.

❎ No names of people: PLATO, MARY, JACKSON.

❎ No names of products: PEPSI, GOOGLE, BANDAID.

3. No foreign words, unless very common

If every foreign food was a word, the game would have millions of words.

✅ SUSHI, BOBA, CURRY.

❎ NIGIRI, CONGEE, DOSA.

4. No abbreviations, unless very common

In general, if an abbreviation is more common than the original word, it should be included:

✅ PHOTO (short for PHOTOGRAPH)
✅ FRIDGE (short for REFRIGERATOR)

❎ DOC (short for DOCTOR)
❎ ALT (short for ALTERNATE)

5. No slang words

Slang just means not common and only used by certain cool people.

Most slang words are also abbreviations, so they might not be included even if they became mainstream:
❎ DISS (short for DISRESPECT)
❎ SUS (short for SUSPICIOUS)

Not common enough to be included in a word game:
❎ FINK
❎ HANGRY

6. No Obsolete Words

❎ THEE
❎ YARE
❎ ELD

7. No Contractions

Since the game doesn't have an apostrophe, you can't make contractions.

❎ YOU'D
❎ SHOULDN'T'VE

8. No Hyphen Words

Since the game doesn't have a dash symbol, you can't make hyphen words. These shouldn't be included as one word either (XRAY).

❎ X-RAY
❎ T-SHIRT