Customer Reviews

Rummy Roots

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This fun game is a good beginning to learning roots for words. The rules are basic and some questions arise in play that the given rules don't answer. So, we just make up our own and establish at the beginning of play.
There are several games to play at different levels of knowledge starting with a game that assumes the players know nothing of roots. If your kids can read, your kids can learn their roots.
What I really like is that it has levels of strategy that can become more complicated with each level of play, so if your kids are competitive players, the game is even more challenging.

We first played this game quite a few years ago. I think it laid a foundation for our daughter to have an interest in roots. Understanding that roots are beneficial is a great help in Biology and Anatomy & Physiology (and life in general). I'm very happy we played this game with her at an early age. If you or your child has not already explored learning roots this is a great way to start.

I ordered this game after a student complained that not only were my SAT prep lessons boring, but she also wasn't learning anything. She said it didn't do any good to learn strategies and clue words when she didn't know most of the other words in the sentence. The SAT uses so many words that are unfamiliar to my students that I could see her point. Yet I can't teach 1,000 vocab words in a semester, so I am hoping learning some Greek roots would help them decipher a few.

I had the same girl try out this game with 3 other students. They all agreed it was fun and was helping them learn the roots and a few new words. There are several ways to play - one version is similar to "Go Fish" and the other ways are more like Rummy. In the Rummy version students built words from 2 roots, but they needed to refer to a word list which was included, but I had to make copies so each student had their own.

I would like to see the game use less common roots - I feel like most people will know roots like AQUA, TELE and BIO. Also in the Rummy game, they build words, and I would like to see more advanced words - telegraph is not a word that is going to come up much or help students on the SAT. I would like to order Rummy Roots II to see if it is more appropriate for SAT prep/high school curriculum, but my main complaint is the expense of this game; Only 4 players per game and at $16 plus shipping, there is no way I can afford enough sets for a class of 30+ kids.

I am so happy I purchased this game for my eight year old. It makes learning Latin and Greek words much more fun than boring textbooks. It has actually been an enlightening experience for myself also, realizing the origins of words we use everyday. I highly recommend it.

My 9 yr old daughter likes this game - although we've only gotten to the pre-game level. It's well done. Nothing spectacular, but it's fine.