Muted Mystery
Objective: To determine the missing sound (or sounds) in a word or phrase.
For group play (or a teacher- or parent-led game for one or more guessers)
One person (the “host”) comes up with a word a phrase, spells the word or phrase phonetically using the cards, and lays the cards face up in their proper order, but does not include one or more sounds in the word or phrase.
The guessers try to sound out the word or phrase that has been laid out in front of them and determine which sound or sounds are missing in the word or phrase.
Possible variations: This game can be made easier by allowing guessers to consult the remaining cards in the deck and by adding a space in the word or phrase where there is a missing sound.
Note: Consider having two decks on hand in case a sound is needed more than once. Further, as words can be pronounced differently depending on accent and dialect, there can be more than one way to transcribe a word phonetically. Thus, the host might consult Dictionary.com or another dictionary of their choice in advance to ensure they are abiding by standard phonetic transcriptions.