Crosswords at the Expo

A client recently asked me to design some games that can be played in an expo booth with a bunch of slightly jaded wanderers who don't have too much time. Based on my experiences at the ISPI expo, I was able to develop a set of games in the "party-games" category. Specifically, the set includes word games, trivia games, graphic games, and communication games. The games are fast paced and easy to play. Each game is designed for use with one to ten players on a table top or in a crowded booth.

To keep track of scores (and to entice the players to stay at your booth or keep returning to it), we gave tokens to the winners. The players can exchange their tokens for various gifts. Another motivator was a Hall of Fame display. We wrote the names of the top five players on this poster and kept updating the list.

One of our expo games uses crossword puzzles that can be solved in 2 to 3 minutes. The facilitator quickly demonstrates how to solve a sample puzzle. Depending on the number of players and the preferred level of competition, you have a choice of 12 different ways to conduct the game:

One Player

Earn a token. Let the player solve the crossword puzzle. If the player is successful, give him or her a token.
Hall of Fame. Use a stop watch to time the player. If his or her time to solve the crossword puzzle is among the top five shortest ones in your record of previous players, give the player a token and add his or her name to the Hall of Fame poster.

Two Players

Collaborate to earn a token. Let the players work together to solve the crossword puzzle. If they succeed, give the players a single token (and let them decide who gets it).
Hall of Fame. Use a stop watch to time the two players working together. If their time to solve the crossword puzzle is among the top five fastest ones in your record of previous players, give a single token to the two players and add the two names to the Hall of Fame poster (on the same line).
Contest. Give copies of the same crossword puzzle to both players. Ask the two players to work independently. Give two tokens to the first player who solves the puzzle. If the other player also solves the puzzle within an appropriate time limit, give him or her one token.

Three Players

Collaborate to earn a token. Let the three players work together to solve the crossword puzzle. If they succeed, give the players a single token (and let them decide who gets it).
Hall of Fame. Use a stop watch to time the three players working together. If their time to solve the crossword puzzle is among the top five fastest ones in your record of previous players, give a single token to the three players and add the three names to the Hall of Fame poster (on the same line).
Contest. Give copies of the same crossword puzzle to all three players. Ask the players to work independently. Give two tokens to the first player who solves the puzzle and one token to the second player who solves the puzzle.

Four or More Players

Collaborate to earn a token. Let the players work together to solve the crossword puzzle. If they succeed, give the players a single token (and let them decide who gets it).
Hall of Fame. Use a stop watch to time the players working together. If their time to solve the crossword puzzle is among the top five fastest ones in your record of pervious players, give the group a single token and add their names to the Hall of Fame display (writing all the names on the same line).
Contest. Give copies of the same crossword puzzle to all the players. Ask the players to work independently. Give two tokens to the first player who solves the puzzle and one token to the second player who solves the puzzle.
Team Contest. Organize the players into two teams. (It does not matter if one of the teams has an extra player.) Give copies of the same crossword puzzle to both teams. Give two tokens to the first team that solves the puzzle and one penny to the other team if it also solves the puzzle within a reasonable period of time.

Back to the Games page