Word Bandit

Word Bandit – review and giveaway

As you all know, I’m always looking for new ways to encourage my son to read and help with his spellings.  As soon as Drumond Park mentioned their new game aimed at players aged 8 years and over I knew I’d found another tool for my armoury!  Word Bandit is a board game which features four different word games for the whole family to enjoy.

Word Bandit

Word Bandit consists of a game board, the Word Bandit unit, a sticker sheet, 2 playing pieces, sand timer and instructions.

Word Bandit

Once you’ve adhered the sticker to the front of the Word Bandit unit you are ready to start the game.

Word Bandit

You are meant to play the game in two teams but as it’s often just me and my eight year old son at home, we just played against each other, and it worked just fine.

You pick your playing piece – red or blue and place them on the red start space on the board.

Word Bandit

The idea of the game is to be the first team to get to the finish. Sounds easy, but there are a number of obstacles along the way.

Depending on which coloured space you land you will play one of four different games on that move, giving you between one to four rows of letters on the Word Bandit unit to play with.  You lower or raise the cover on the unit to show the right number of rows relating to the coloured space you land on and the other team count how many words you can make before the timer runs out.  At the end of your go, you move your playing piece the same number of spaces as words made, and play moves to the other team.

If you land on a purple space, you get to use all four rows on the Word Bandit unit to find words that wind around the grid of the letters, whether the letters be next to each other, up, down or diagonal. A word can be spelt out in any direction and it’s been a great way for my son to really concentrate on finding words.

If you land on a green space you get to work with three rows on the unit, and this time you are also looking for the initials of famous people.  You can use cartoon and book characters as well as actual people.  My son certainly found this round a bit trickier.

Landing on a yellow space sees your option of rows drop to two.  But this game is slightly easier as you are looking for words that begin with the topic mentioned on the space which could be such things as animals, clothing or sports.

Word Bandit

If you land on a red space you have one row of letters to play with in the Words Containing game.  Spin the handle and see what letters you have, then name as many words containing two of the letters shown.

You do have to beware of the Word Bandit.  If he shows up on your rows, then you have one less letter to play with.  But if he turns up on three wheels in a one or two row game the playing team gets another free spin.

Word Bandit

We’ve enjoyed playing Word Bandit, and I like the element of having four different games in one.  It also helps my son to know that even if he finds one game hard, there are others in the round that he might do better in.  It’s challenging but lots of fun, and the sort of game that would work well with families over the holiday periods ahead.  Certainly one that generations can enjoy together.  No batteries required either which is always a bonus.

For more information and stockists please visit www.drumondpark.com. I’ve also included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases).

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review


I’ve teamed up with Drumond Park to offer one reader the chance to win Word Bandit.  Just complete the Gleam form below for your chance to win.  Good luck!

Terms and conditions:

(Please note that all entries will be checked against comments for validation).

Only the first step of this form is mandatory, all other steps are optional. Only one entry per person is allowed.

This giveaway is for UK residents only.

Once a winner is randomly picked, I will check if the winner has done what was requested and I will contact them, if they do not reply within one week, the prize will be allocated to another person.  The winner’s details will be sent to the PR Langshot Communications for Drumond Park, in order that they can arrange delivery

The giveaway will close on 7th November 2018 at midnight.

Don’t forget to visit my Giveaways page for more great prizes on offer!

Word Bandit game from Drumond Park worth £24.99

255 thoughts on “Word Bandit – review and giveaway

  1. I would play word bandit with my husband and our two eldest grandsons who enjoy words and reading!

  2. Definitely one for all the family. My little man is learning his words and spellings now so maybe he can be on my team 😉 x

  3. i would play with both my daughters we are really big on board games, especially as winter is drawing closer and we start spending more time at home x

  4. We love playing board games together on a Sunday afternoon. I’d love to play this with my husband and children.

  5. I would play this game with my 2 daughters and my other half. We love family games. I think its very important. We have had the playing cards out this evening 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway

  6. I’d play with my husband and daughter. We try and have a family board game night every other weekend so trhis would be fab x

  7. This looks great fun but educational at the same time. My great-niece Phoenix needs help with her spelling and this would be a great way of teaching her, but having fun at the same time.

  8. This would be a fab addition to our game collection. We have a weekly family game night where the dreaded xbox is banned and we play together so I would play this with my hubby and the kids!

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