Choose User Story

Welcome to our WordLibs Generator! Our tool can help you create your own fun word games or play one of our existing stories.

How To Use WordLibs

If you would like to play an existing WordLibs game:

1. Choose a game. To find a game, you can either pick from the combined list of all WordLibs games or filter by category. You can also select 'User Stories' to play games created by users of The Word Finder.
2. Choose the printer-friendly version if you'd like to print and play the game physically. You can find the printer button right under the game title. You can also choose to play the game online.
3. Decide if you'd like to fill any spaces randomly. The 'fill all random' button will automatically fill most game boxes. This is an easy way to speed up the process of creating a completed Word Libs board. If you'd prefer to do things the old-fashioned way, you can also fill in all the squares manually.
4. Fill in the spaces with the prompted objects. To fill in an empty space, just click in the box and type in the appropriate noun, verb, or object.
5. Once you're done, generate your final puzzle by clicking 'Go mad!' You will be brought to a separate page where you can view your completed WordLib.
6. If you need to restart at any time, click the 'clear' button at the bottom of the page.

If you would like to create your own Word Libs game:

1. Click the 'add new story' button. This button at the top of the page will take you to a separate form where you can generate your own story.
2. Enter your story title. In the 'story title' box, enter what you would like your story to be called.
3. Enter your name as the 'story author.' Make sure to attribute yourself as the writer in the 'author' box. This will tell anyone playing your story who created the game.
4. Select the story category from the drop-down menu. Our story categories include topics from Animals to Food to Mysteries. Find the category that best fits your story so that others can easily find it. Or, if you don't believe your story fits any of these categories, select 'general.'
5. Enter your story content. In the content box, enter the body of your story. Make sure to use shortcodes to sub out the words you would like players to fill in. For instance, instead of writing a sentence like 'My mom went to the park to run,' you might type in 'My [NOUN] went to the [NOUN] to [VERB].' You can type these shortcodes in by hand, or you can click the shortcodes in the sidebar to have them automatically entered. You can also enter custom shortcodes. For instance, you could enter a custom shortcode like [RELATIVE] or [ICE CREAM FLAVOR] to prompt players to enter a more specific word.
6. Click 'create story'. You will be brought to a separate page where you can play the puzzle that you just created.

Predecessors of Word Libs, Mad libs, Revelations

WordLibs is just one in a series of word-entry games which have been around since the early 1900s. Revelations About My Friends is one such game. Released by Frederick A. Stokes Companies in 1912, the game asks readers to write in words from different categories in order to create a story.

Consequences is another popular word-entry game, which gives players a sheet of paper and asks them to write down words within specified categories. Each player folds over the paper to hide what they've written before they pass the sheet around the circle. At the end, the stories are read aloud. This is very similar to the game Exquisite Corpse, or Exquisite Cadaver, which functions in the same way as Consequences but often asks players to draw out parts of an image rather than writing out parts of a sentence. Most recently, and perhaps most famously, MadLibs have popularized the word-entry game form with books and puzzles for all ages.

Tips to Writing Fun WordLibs

Writing your own WordLibs can be a fun challenge, especially if you share the puzzle with all your friends and see all the weird different ways they fill the game in. But it's harder than it seems. Here are a few tips on how to create fun, entertaining WordLibs.

1. Pick a specific theme or setting for your story.

WordLibs work best when they have a clear setting and theme. This helps to keep the story focused, and also helps the player to imagine what they're writing. Try to visualize where your story takes place before you start, as though you were writing a regular story, and then substitute word gaps from there.

2. Customize your prompts.

Instead of just using the basic [NOUN] or [VERB] stand-ins, try being more specific. For instance, instead of writing 'The [NOUN] ate a [NOUN]', you could write 'The [ENDANGERED ANIMAL] ate a [RARE ICE CREAM FLAVOR].' This creates a fun challenge for players trying to find words to fit the prompts, and also forces people to think outside the standard box to have weird words.

3. Create specific, strange sentence structures.

The weirder the words you do put in your WordLibs, the more fun the final result will be, no matter what people plug in. Make sure to use your words well to add flavor and imagery to your pieces!

4. If you're struggling to figure out what to say, try writing out normal sentences, then replacing words with shortcodes.

An easy way to make the WordLibs creation process easier is to just write out a normal story and then go back and sub in shortcodes for words. For instance, you could write out a story about a tiger who goes to the zoo in search of pistachio ice cream. He might meet a penguin, watch a fireworks show, then take the subway home. You could then go back through and sub out some of the verbs and nouns for shortcodes, so it's up to the reader to decide what type of animal goes out and where they go out to.

Feedback

What do you think about our WordLibs games? Was this tool useful for you, do you prefer Mad Libs or are there features you'd like to see added? We'd love to hear from you! Reach out using the 'Contact Us' page linked below to share your suggestions.

The Word Finder has lots of fun word games. Check out our Activity Room to find more fun activities for adults and kids alike.