My Word, The Better Letter Game
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1930
"My Word, The Better Letter Game" is an English card-based word-making game published around 1930 by W. H. Storey & Co Ltd. The complete game consists of 54 cards made of chromolithographed card, accompanied by a rules booklet with a cover printed in black and gold, housed inside a dark red card box featuring a padded lid. Each card measures 8.9 cm in height and 5.7 cm in width.
Of the 54 cards, 48 feature letters of the alphabet, while six display one, two, or three stars. The reverse sides of the cards are printed in red. Cards bearing stars feature corner inscriptions reading "MY WORD. TRADEMARK BRITISH PAT.NO. 449212 FOREIGN PATS.PENDING." The accompanying rules booklet is inscribed with "PUBLISHED BY W H STOREY & CO LTD CROYDEN PATENT NO 449212".
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The game was designed to foster spelling skills while challenging players to deplete their hands as quickly as possible. Playable by any number of participants, each player begins with ten cards. Players take turns laying complete words face up on the table, discarding a card, and drawing from either an exposed or blind deck. Participants can expand upon previously formed words or substitute letters, gradually constructing an interlocking crossword layout on the playing surface.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Chromolithographed card
- Dimensions
- Height (card): 8.9 cm; Width (card): 5.7 cm
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- W. H. Storey & Co Ltd
- Place recorded
- England
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- My Word, The Better Letter Game
- Museum object number
- MISC.68-1977
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.