How to Make My Own Jumble Puzzle
The Jumble puzzle was invented in the early 1950s and has been a staple on newspaper puzzle pages for more than 50 years. At heart an anagram puzzle, Jumble has layers of puzzles that build on each other, culminating in a final answer phrase. While the newspaper Jumbles incorporate an amusing comic to hint at the final pun answer, you can create your own Jumble puzzles using only the word anagrams and the final answer phrase.
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Instructions
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1
Write down a final two- or three-word phrase. The answer phrase should incorporate 10 to 15 letters.
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2
Make a list of all the separate letters in the answer phrase. Think of a list of four or five words, with each word using two or three of the letters in the answer phrase in any order. If you get stuck finding a particular word, use a crossword puzzle dictionary. These words will be the clue words.
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3
Write out a series of blank boxes. Each line should have the same number of boxes as letters in a clue word. Put a neat circle around each box that contains a letter in the answer phrase. Draw a series of boxes at the bottom of the page, broken up into sets to indicate the number of letters in each word in the answer phrase.
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4
Mix up the letters in each clue word and print them above each set of clue word boxes.
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Tips & Warnings
Gauge your audience age and interests when making the clue words and answer phrases. Use pop culture references or specialized terms for club and group puzzles, and simplify the words for younger children.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit pencil image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
