Guest Author - Megan Romer

Pick Two!, by Tah Dah Games, is a fast-moving crossword game where players race to create a crossword out of the letter tiles they choose. Each player starts the game with seven letter tiles and race to put those tiles into a crossword puzzle shape using real words. When any player has used all of their letters, they shout "Pick Two!" and everyone, regardless of their progress, must pick two more letter tiles from the pile in the middle of the table.

The game can be played by anywhere from 2-6 players (although fewer players may consider playing with fewer tiles). You'll need a LOT of space, so put the leaf in the dining room table for this one. We have a bunch of empty poster frames that someone gave us which we used for individual playing spaces around the living room. If you're one of those families that (unlike us) actually cleans your house on occasion and your kitchen floor is reasonable, try playing it there.

The tiles are thin plastic, and we found ourselves having a hard time lifting them from the table. We improvised and put them all in an old rice bag and reached in and grabbed them. It moved things along a little better, although with lots of people, it might be more practical just to leave the pile in the middle.

We're Scrabble nuts in our house, and it's fun for us to discover new games that use the same set of skills. This one certainly makes you work on your speed, although doesn't test your use of "difficult words" quite the same way that Scrabble does. What's great about that is that lots of kids would be able to play Pick Two! right alongside their parents, the downside is that hardcore Scrabble players (but only the really hardcore ones) will feel like their encyclopedic knowledge of three letter words will be wasted.

PICK TWO! AT-A-GLANCE:

GAME BOX INCLUDES:180 letter tiles, score sheet, unsharpened pencil, 1 minute timer, rule sheet

YOU'LL NEED: Bag for the tiles, either for storage or for use during the game; Large playing space

SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $15.95 (available at www.tahdahgames.com)

TRY IF YOU LIKE: Scrabble, WildWords, Anagramania, Boggle

PERFECT FOR: Scrabble freak parents to play with their not-as-freakish kids, anyone who does the Sunday Times crossword puzzle religiously....

RATING: Three and a half ever-expanding crossword puzzles out of five