World Record Word Game?


Word on the Street at BYU
Playing Word on the Street in the BYU football stadium.

Out of the Box Publishing attempted to set a World Record last night of the most people playing a word game – Word on the Street.

It was conducted during half-time of the BYU / Idaho football game played in Provo, UT. And we only say “attempted” because we don’t yet know if it set a record or not. But we think it was a great way to try to set a record.


The BYU football stadium holds just over 65,000 people. So getting them all to participate in a board game at half-time is a great idea. And since Word on the Street is such a great party game, why not play with 65,000 close friends to set a record?

Word on the Street at BYU
Let’s get more letters on our side!

Here’s how the Word on the Street “Tug-Of-Words” played out on the field:
Out of the Box created 9 foot square vinyl letters and set them up on the football field. The spectators (now participants) were split into two teams – the north half of the stand versus the south half. The questions were shown on the jumbo screens with 3 possible answers that the teams were to cheer for their favorite choice. Then the cheerleaders on the field would move the letter tiles according to the word.

And the questions that were used were created specifically for this event with responses being submitted prior to the event from Out of the Box fans around the world. They were all BYU related such as “Name a BYU Quarterback” or “Favorite Ice Cream Flavor at the BYU Creamery”.

The only downside to the event (and why we’re waiting to hear if it set a record or not) is that the conditions at the game were not ideal to have the full 65,000+ stadium full. A winter snowstorm had rolled in this weekend and temperatures were in the 20s around kick-off at 8:15pm. And by half-time BYU was up 42-7. The combination of late night, cold weather, and dominating first half unfortunately had a lot of people heading home at half-time.

Not us though!

My wife and I were at the game and enjoyed a date night bundled up in the cold cheering on the Cougars. I also took a few pictures of the half-time Word on the Street game. But the best photos are actually the ones that Out of the Box took during their trial run a couple days before.

Or just check out the video!
Thanks to John Ternieden for sharing the link to the video in our comments section. So here it is:

http://youtu.be/4TwiPgV2a7w

Word on the Street Expansion
Word on the Street is both a great word game and a great party game. It’s a game we love to play when we’ve got a big group of people over. But it’s also fun to play with just our family.

Earlier this year, Out of the Box released an expansion for Word on the Street that adds 432 new categories to the game. And we think that’s great. One of the downsides to a game that includes category cards is that if you love the game and play it a ton, then after a while you’re so familiar with the categories that you have your best answers already ready when the cards pop up. So a great way to keep the game fun is to add more category cards to the game.

And we think there’s a lot more fun to be had with Word on the Street with these additional cards. Some are tough and some are just simply funny. But all will ensure that Word on the Street will stay fun for us.

Word on the Street Expansion word game
432 new Categories for the game!
  • Something that floats
  • A product sold in an infomercial
  • Something associated with China
  • Something that is difficult to open
  • Something juicy
  • Something that could be used as a hammer
  • Something that is put into the mouth but not swallowed
  • and so much more…

If you haven’t played Word on the Street before, then it’s time to pick up a copy and have a blast.
And if you have played it before and love it, then definitely grab a copy of the expansion and keep the fun rolling.

4 thoughts on “World Record Word Game?

  • What a super fun idea. Kudos to Out of the Box for putting this on and the Y for going along with the idea. 🙂

    Reply
    • Okie – Thanks for the comment as it prompted me to take a look at your blog. Great reviews! And I love that you have a good range of reviews including books, movies, and theater shows. It’s also added a few more books to my “To Read” list in Goodreads. (It’s also nice to see that healthy Wishlist on BGG.)

      Reply
  • Hi Trent,

    Thanks for talking about this:) I’m glad you enjoyed the game and weathered the cold! I helped plan this event and thought you might enjoy a link to the video of the half-time event on YouTube.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TwiPgV2a7w

    Reply
    • John – thanks for the link to the video!
      Fun stuff.

      Reply

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