I bought this for my verbal eight year old based on the reviews.  We have had it one year now and have played it 3 or 4 times.  For us, the negatives are: 1) you are essentially playing alone, building your own crossword without even needing to know what the other person is doing.  The only time you pay attention to them is when they take a tile and you have to take one too.  2) the child (at least mine) sometimes needs help fitting in awkward letters or reconfiguring her board, but she's on her own in this game.  Handicapping the adults by having them pull more tiles doesn't even this out so overt help is needed, which makes it less fun. 3) the child is not learning any new words since they don't need to pay any attention to any board other than their own, so the educational value is less.