HOW TO PLAY
How to play Word Rush
- Players
- 2–12
- Time
- about 6 minutes
- Ages
- 10+
- Price
- Pro
Word Rush is a pass-the-bomb word game for 2 to 12 players. When the bomb comes to you, you see a short set of letters like ING. Type any real word that contains them in that order — swing, kingdom, finger — and hit enter to pass the bomb on. The fuse is hidden, so it could go off at any second.
It's tense, quick and very loud when played in the same room. In one-phone mode it becomes a real hot potato: type your word and physically hand the phone to the next person. Word Rush is part of FamGames Pro.
What you need
Two to twelve players. Each player needs a keyboard (a phone is fine), or you can pass one phone around.
Rules: how a round works
- The bomb comes to you. You see a letter combination, such as “ING” or “PL”.
- Type a real word. Your word must contain those letters in that order. Press enter to pass the bomb.
- Hidden fuse. Nobody knows how long the fuse is. If it explodes while you're holding the bomb, you lose a life.
- Collect the alphabet. Letters are shown under your name. Use every one of them across your words to earn a bonus life.
- Last one standing. Everyone starts with three lives. The last player with lives left wins.
Scoring
You earn points for every valid word, with longer words scoring more, and a large bonus for being the last player standing.
Difficulty levels
- Easy: A longer fuse, and easy letter combinations for longer.
- Normal: The fuse gets shorter as the letter combinations get harder.
- Hard: A short, twitchy fuse and hard letter combinations almost straight away.
Tips and strategy
Keep panic words ready
Common endings like ING, ER, ED and TION come up a lot. Have two or three words in mind for each before the bomb arrives.
No repeats
Each word can only be used once per game, so once “thing” is taken, move on to “nothing” or “clothing”.
Short is fine
Long words score more, but a three-letter word that passes the bomb beats a ten-letter word you didn't finish.
Chase the alphabet late
Bonus lives come from using unusual letters. Once you're comfortable, pick words with Q, X, Z and J to finish your set.
Variations and house rules
- Category rush (house rule): every word must also be an animal, a food, or another agreed category.
- Spelling practice: on Easy, Word Rush is a sneaky spelling exercise for older kids.
Who it's best for
Fast typists, competitive families with older children, and groups that enjoy noise and suspense.
Playing on FamGames
Part of FamGames Pro, which unlocks all 12 games with unlimited rounds and no ads. The host picks the game and difficulty, creates a room and shares the five-character room code. Everyone else joins from their own device — no download needed. No phone for everyone? Switch to one-phone mode and pass a single device around.
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Last updated 2026-10-21