National Words With Friends Day
July 19
About National Words With Friends Day
National Words With Friends Day is celebrated every year on 19 July, honouring the hugely popular mobile word game and the friendly competition it inspires. In 2026 it falls on Sunday, 19 July. The day was created by Zynga, the company behind the game, in partnership with National Day Calendar, and it invites players old and new to pick up their tiles and challenge a friend.
How to Celebrate National Words With Friends Day
This is a day built around playful, brain-teasing fun, so the simplest way to mark it is to start a game:
- Start a new match – Open the app and challenge a friend, family member or even a stranger to a fresh game of Words With Friends.
- Reconnect with an old opponent – Revive a long-abandoned game or message someone you used to play with regularly and pick up where you left off.
- Play a word-game tournament – Gather friends or colleagues and run a friendly knockout competition to crown a champion.
- Learn some high-scoring words – Brush up on those tricky two-letter words and Q-without-U options that win tight games.
- Go analogue with Scrabble – If you prefer a physical board, dust off a Scrabble set, the game that inspired the digital format.
- Teach someone new to play – Introduce a child, parent or grandparent to the game and help them learn the ropes.
- Aim for a personal best – Try to beat your highest single-word or single-game score and share the screenshot.
- Share your best plays – Post your cleverest words and biggest scores online to celebrate the day with the wider community.
What is National Words With Friends Day?
National Words With Friends Day recognises both the game itself and the smart wordplay and social connection it encourages. Words With Friends is an asynchronous multiplayer word game in which players take turns placing tiles to form words on a board, in a style similar to Scrabble. The day celebrates the millions of people who enjoy testing their vocabulary against friends and family, often across great distances.
When is National Words With Friends Day?
National Words With Friends Day is observed on 19 July every year. In 2026 that date falls on a Sunday, making it a relaxed weekend opportunity to settle in for a few rounds. The date was chosen to honour the 2009 launch of the game.
The History of National Words With Friends Day
Words With Friends was created by Newtoy, a studio founded in 2008 by brothers Paul and David Bettner together with their cousin Michael Chow. After releasing Chess With Friends in late 2008, the studio launched Words With Friends in August 2009. The asynchronous design, which let players take their turns whenever they liked across many simultaneous games, struck a chord and the title quickly became a mobile sensation.
The game’s popularity caught the attention of social gaming giant Zynga, which acquired Newtoy in November 2010 for around 53 million US dollars plus stock, rebranding the studio as Zynga with Friends. Over the following years Words With Friends became one of the most recognisable word games in the world, with millions of monthly active players.
National Words With Friends Day was established in 2021, when Zynga teamed up with National Day Calendar to create an official day of celebration. The date of 19 July was chosen to honour the game’s 2009 debut, and the observance has been marked annually ever since as a tribute to players who share a love of clever wordplay and friendly rivalry.
Fun Facts About National Words With Friends Day
- The day was founded in 2021 through a collaboration between Zynga and National Day Calendar.
- Words With Friends was first released in August 2009 by the studio Newtoy.
- Zynga bought Newtoy in 2010 for roughly 53 million US dollars plus an undisclosed amount of stock.
- The game allows up to 30 simultaneous matches, with notifications letting players know when it is their turn.
- Millions of monthly active users have played Words With Friends, making it one of the most popular word games ever made.
- The studio’s very first game was Chess With Friends, released before the word game that made it famous.
Why National Words With Friends Day Matters
The day is about more than a single app. It celebrates the joy of language, the mental workout of building words, and the way a simple game can keep people connected across cities, countries and generations. For many players, a long-running game is a quiet thread of friendship that keeps them in touch with someone they love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is National Words With Friends Day?
It is an annual celebration of the Words With Friends mobile game and the friendly, brain-teasing competition it inspires, observed on 19 July.
When is National Words With Friends Day in 2026?
It falls on Sunday, 19 July 2026, the same fixed date every year.
Who created National Words With Friends Day?
The day was created in 2021 by Zynga, the company that owns Words With Friends, in partnership with National Day Calendar.
Spread the Word
Join the celebration and share your best plays on social media with #NationalWordsWithFriendsDay and #WordsWithFriendsDay2026. Tag your friends and challenge them to a game!
Related Awareness Days
- Social Media Day – Another celebration of the digital connections that bring people together online.
- National Camera Day – A fun day marking another everyday feature of our smartphones and social lives.
- Esperanto Day – A day for word and language lovers celebrating a constructed international tongue.
Links
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