"I don't know," says Peter Roizen, creator of the WildWords crossword game, "but I sure would like to have their shipping addresses."

WildWords is played and scored in a similar fashion to Scrabble, but wild tiles marked with an asterisk can represent any series of letters. For example, the play of "JUX*ION" could be made for the word "juxtaposition." There are twelve such tiles in the bag.

In addition, 20 special squares on the board convert regular tiles into wild tiles. A tile is turned upside down when played on such a square and may then represent, one, two, three, or any series of contiguous letters. This adds a strategic element and considerable opportunities.

According to Roizen, "these elements shift the odds, so that WildWords is played with your complete vocabulary. Every word in English is playable--even 'antidisestablishmentarianism.'"

As players need not divulge the letter sequences represented by wild tiles unless an opponent risks challenging the play, bluffing is a component of the game. The tension and psychological maneuvering found in poker are present in WildWords.


"I have heard that Jennifer Aniston, John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Madonna, Oprah, and Dustin Hoffman are all Scrabble fans," says Roizen. "I'm sure we could convert at least two of them. Reviews of the game are always great, but we have yet to get a mention by anyone with star quality. That is what we need to go big time."

The WildWords Game Company invites anyone to submit leads on locating these and other famous players of Scrabble.

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