Our family is simply crazy about word games. We thought we owned the best of what's available, but when we set out to play PickTwo Deluxe for the first time, we were surprised and delighted.

The object of PickTwo Deluxe is to be the first player to use all your letters by building a crossword with the letter tiles. There are 240 letter tiles (a lot!), but the game goes quickly and is fast-paced. Once a player has built a crossword using his original eight letter tiles, he yells, "Pick two!" and everyone must pick up two new tiles. Play continues, with each player building upon the existing personal crosswords.

The best part? You can always change your crossword by rearranging the letters and even words to use up your tiles. When the center pile of tiles is gone, the first one done wins the round. The lowest score of remaining letter points after five rounds of play wins the game.

We love PickTwo Deluxe because it is what we call a "leveler"--it levels the playing field somewhat for all our children because they can all play and participate regardless of their skill level. The younger ones are content to simply make words with their tiles, while older children play competitively. Two crossword-playing grandmothers, an uncle, an aunt, and cousins have all joined us in playing PickTwo Deluxe and all have declared, "What a great game!"

And it is. Just be prepared to spell quickly, pound the table lots of times with your fist, and laugh a lot. Then toss the spelling books for the day and call it school!

Product review by Kendra Fletcher, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, July 2006