Skootch Junior – Long Vowels: Card Game (Ages 6+)
Skootch cards together. Swap sounds. Score big.
- GET POINTS FOR MAKING WORDS
Skootch your cards together to build real words. Slide a beginning like g onto an ending like ame and you’ve made game. Now add up the card numbers and bank your points. The player with the most points wins. - THE CLASSIC WORD GAME, REIMAGINED
All the word-building satisfaction, none of the setup. No board, no tile racks, no hour-long matches. It’s just the cards. Learn the rules in a minute, play a full game in about 15, and challenge opponents when a word looks fishy. - FUN FOR KIDS, TEENS, ADULTS & SENIORS
A word game every generation can win. Grandparents bring the vocabulary, kids bring the speed, and everyone competes head-to-head. Perfect for family game night, holiday gatherings, road trips, and coffee-table matches, and the compact box goes anywhere. - MADE FOR BEGINNING READERS
Short words, early sound patterns, and smaller starting hands keep young players in the game. Swap one sound and cake becomes bake, then lake, then make. Kids hear the patterns and build sound awareness without ever feeling like they’re doing schoolwork. - 56 SQUARE WORD-BUILDING CARDS
Color-coded point values (1, 2, 3, and 4 points) add strategy: easy words score fast, trickier combinations score big. Includes accordion-fold directions with advanced play variations and a built-in word list. - DESIGNED BY LEARNING EXPERTS
Created by Scholar Within, makers of research-based reading and spelling programs. Parental advisory warning: this game creates agile thinkers, confident writers, savvy spellers, and word wizards. - SCREEN-FREE FUN
100% device-free. Great for game night, road trips, restaurants, waiting rooms, and rainy afternoons.
The word game where silent e works its magic.
Skootch Junior Long Vowels is a fast, friendly card game the whole family will actually want to play, sized just right for new readers.
Every card has two parts: a beginning in one corner (like g, w, or c) and an ending in the other (like ame, ave, or ake). On your turn, skootch two cards together so a beginning and an ending overlap to spell a real word: g + ame = game, w + ave = wave, c + ake = cake. Then add up the numbers on the joined cards and score your points.
Think an opponent’s word isn’t real? Challenge it! Check the dictionary. If the word doesn’t hold up, they take the card back and lose their turn.
When one player runs out of cards and everyone has had the same number of turns, the game ends. Count your points. The highest score wins.
Why kids get smarter while playing
Long vowel words with silent e are one of the first big patterns in learning to read: one vowel says its name, a silent e sits at the end, and the pattern repeats in word after word (cake, home, nose, time). Once kids recognize it, they can reuse it everywhere, and Skootch Junior Long Vowels gives them dozens of reps hearing, building, and reading it every single game. They’re practicing:
- Sound awareness: hearing how swapping one sound turns cake into bake, lake, and make
- Long vowel patterns: recognizing silent-e words where the vowel says its name, in endings like -ake, -ame, -ide, and -ose
- Vocabulary: discovering new words and defending them in challenges
- Mental math: adding card values and tallying scores
- Strategy: deciding when to play a high-value card, rebalance a tough hand, or challenge an opponent
How to play (in 60 seconds)
- Set up: Place 4 blue starter cards in a column in the center of the table.
- Deal: 6 cards each for 2 players, 5 for 3–4 players, 4 for 5–6 players. Keep your cards face up in front of you.
- Play: Take turns combining one of your cards with a card on the table to make a word. Can’t make one? Draw from the pile until you can.
- Rebalance: Once per game, trade up to 5 cards from your hand for new ones.
- Challenge: Call out a word you think isn’t real. Loser of the challenge pays the price.
- Score: Each word is worth the sum of its card numbers (a 2-card + 3-card word = 5 points). Tally as you go.
- Win: When the game ends, the most points takes the victory.
Advanced play: use any card as a starter card and/or deal more cards for longer, deeper games.
What’s in the box
- 56 square word-building cards with color-coded point values
- Accordion-fold illustrated directions with setup guide, scoring examples, advanced play rules, and possible-words list
- Sturdy two-piece storage box with divided card tray
Specifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ages | 6+ |
| Players | 2–6 |
| Play time | ~15 minutes |
| Skill level | Rookie |
| Skills built | Long vowel sounds, silent-e patterns, sound awareness, decoding, vocabulary, addition |
| Contents | 56 cards, illustrated directions, storage box |
| Card size | 64 × 64 mm |
| Box size | 146 × 78.5 × 22.5 mm (5.75″ × 3.1″ × 0.9″) |
| Materials | Coated card stock; printed with soy-based ink |
| Brand | Scholar Within® |
| UPC | 850081965060 |
| Origin | Designed by Scholar Within in California; printed in China |
About Scholar Within
Scholar Within builds research-based learning programs and games that help kids become confident readers, spellers, and writers. Skootch Junior Long Vowels brings that same expertise to the game table because the best learning happens when kids forget they’re learning.
