Introduction to Habla Kadabla
I recently tried out Habla Kadabra with a group of friends, and it really felt like mixing a magic show with a Spanish vocabulary lesson. You start by drawing cards that each have a word, a phrase, or a little grammar twist—think nouns, verbs, adverbs, and fun modifiers. Then, like a junior sorcerer, you have to conjure up coherent (or hilariously incoherent) sentences before the timer runs out. The more creative or grammatically tricky your spell, the more points you rack up.
What I love about it is how the game balances structure and silliness. There’s a set of challenge cards that might demand a sentence in the past tense, throw in a certain adjective, or even mimic the style of a famous poet—all while you’re racing the clock. But the real magic happens when someone has to link “camello” with “patineta” or “murciélago” with “aguacate” in one breath. You end up with these absurd little stories that keep everyone laughing and thinking on their feet.
It’s a surprisingly smooth way to brush up on Spanish or just flex your verbal creativity, whether you’re a classroom of students, a family around the table, or friends at a party. And because the rules are simple—draw, speak, score—you can easily add new house rules or even mix in cards from other word games. At the end of the night, you’ll walk away feeling a little smarter (and a lot more entertained) than when you started.