Word Games

Monica Cahilly '83 and her four sisters grew up on a rural Vermont farm with notelevision. They loved talking and language: family discussions were a prime entertainment. Their father once suggested creating a game based on the complexities of thr Wnglish language. When he retired in 1995, the family began developing the game for production. Suceed they have: their board game. "Bethump'd Eith Words, "was recentlyselected as 1997's Best New Word Game by games magazine The name of the company, Mamopalire, comes from the first two letters of the sistes' names-Mary, Monica, becca Monica is the

The name of the company, Mamopalire, comes from the first two letters of the sistes' names-Mary, Monica, becca Monica is the company's spokesperson, "All of the family has been involved in some way or other, "she says. The game has been her family's baby "We take turns burping it and feeding it at midnight, "she says. "That's what has mdethe game so rich. It's not one person's idea."

Game play begins when one person selects the "game word." The object of the game is to land on each let ter of that word before your opponents do. One progresses by answering language-based questions of varying difficulty. A senior edition, aimed at teens to adults, is already out, and two more editions are in the works a family edition and a more advanced "linguist Edition." You can find the game at The Museum Go., Neiman Marcus, Crown Bookstores, and die Dartmouth Bookstore. For her part, Monica Is content to continue working in the family business, doing some environmental consulting, and raising three game players of her own. "I have the best of every possible world right now," she says;

Cahilly's word game comes up a winner.