I’ve never been very good at word games. Probably because my brother has a natural talent for recalling (and correctly spelling) obscure words. I’d rather play something I actually have a chance of winning.

We recently found another card game at our local Goodwill for 88 cents from a company that we trust for great family games. PDQ from Gamewright Games is a Dr. Toy award winning game, and we were delighted to find a copy at such a great price.

See this card game that will test your word knowledge as well as your speed of recall. PDQ from Gamewright is this week's Thrift Treasure! - SahmReviews.com

Like most games of this size, the box doesn’t include anything more than the basics. In this case it is only a custom deck of 78 letter cards and instructions.

See this card game that will test your word knowledge as well as your speed of recall. PDQ from Gamewright is this week's Thrift Treasure! - SahmReviews.com

Getting started is rather simple. Shuffle the deck and deal out three cards face up to the center of the play area. Each card will have one letter on it, and here is where your brain needs to kick in.

See this card game that will test your word knowledge as well as your speed of recall. PDQ from Gamewright is this week's Thrift Treasure! - SahmReviews.com  See this card game that will test your word knowledge as well as your speed of recall. PDQ from Gamewright is this week's Thrift Treasure! - SahmReviews.com

Using the three dealt cards you must come up with a word that starts with either the first or last letter, then also includes the other two letters in order (depending on which letter you started with). There are only these three cards available and words must be at least four letters long. Every player works from the same three cards, so while you may see “DCT” and think of words like “ducting”, “deficit” or “decapitate”, your opponent(s) might call out “traced”, “thatched” or “ticked”.

The winner of the three cards is the first player to correctly call out a word that includes all three letters. In the case of a tie, longest word wins. If the words are also of the same length (or the same word), then the three cards are set aside and three more are drawn. Only the people who tied get to participate in this round, with the winner taking all six cards. The person with the most collected cards at the end of the game is declared the winner.

And then never allowed to play a word game again…

PDQ is another example of an out-of-print game that is still relevant today. You can find copies on Amazon and eBay as well as your local thrift shop. While it is rated for players aged 10+, there are alternate rules included if you have younger participants. This one might be worth keeping an “I” out for!

15 thoughts on “Thrift Treasure: PDQ

  1. You got a great deal on this game! I prefer strategy games over word games, probably because the wife whoops me at word games. Nevertheless, this looks like an interesting game!

  2. This actually sounds like a great educational tool.. Especially with newer readers and spellers,this could help them recall their words.

  3. I love finding new games for our game nights.
    Sometimes I have to pass them by though because of budget reasons.
    But it’s always great to introduce a fun new game to the kids.

    Thanks for sharing this new one. I’ve not heard of it before.

  4. What a fun game. One to really get you thinking. I love it and totally have to check it out. Would be great for our family BBQ’s 🙂

  5. With everything being online-focused, it’s great to see games being played. I love when my husband and I play board games and card games with our kids. There needs to be a balance.

  6. I’ve never heard of this treasure! I would love to play this with my emerging reader. It’d be a challenge at first, but it would get easier with repetition.

  7. If this game is at all fun, then yes!!! It doesn’t matter how you get kids to learn to read. Whatever works! They need practice all the time. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

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