Entries Categorized as 'Games: Word'
June 17, 2009
I believe I mentioned I loves me some word games, so I plundered 99Games’ library and picked the other word game they’ve published to review, because I also like Bookworm, and WordsWorth is the same sort of concept.
I’m sure everyone is familiar with PopCap’s seminal letter chaining game; chain together a series of connected letters to form words and score points. WordsWorth uses the same sort of concept, but uses hexagonal tiles instead of square Scrabble-style ones. Functionally, it’s the same difference, really, since Bookworm’s tiles were vertically offset anyway, giving each letter access to 6 adjacent ones. There are a number of the same concepts available…
Posted in Games: Word, Paid Apps 
4 Comments »
June 14, 2009
I loves me some word games, make no mistake, and it was nothing short of providence when 99Games E-Mailed me about this at the very same time I was browsing for a TextTwist type of game on the App Store. It’s like they knew. Yes, yes, I know, TextTwist Turbo is available on the App Store, but that’s an abbreviated version of TextTwist proper and just didn’t appeal to me. I’m not big on these thirty-second ADD-inspired twitch games. I want the full experience. I want to be able to take the desktop or Flash game with me on the go, not some foreshortened mobile…
Posted in Games: Word, Paid Apps 1 Comment »
May 13, 2009
When Fredrik dropped me a note about this game, I have to admit that the description sort of puzzled me because I couldn’t quite picture it — but as soon as I saw the screenshots he attached, I knew exactly what this was. I’ve played this game before, must have been at least a couple of years ago. It was a Flash or Java-based game, and I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called, but I became quite addicted to it, because it was such a simple premise, yet so effective and engaging for word game enthusiasts like me.
So, I’d like to say “It’s very…
Posted in Games: Word, Paid Apps No Comments »
April 20, 2009
A little over a month ago I reviewed Skyworks’ Arcade Bowling and found that, while it wasn’t perhaps as realistic as 7 Balls 10 Cups, it certainly worked the visual angle well, and overall it was really quite a decent skeeball game. Moreover it looked polished enough that it was clear Skyworks were in it for the long haul and produced some rather quality material. Thus when they E-Mailed me about a rather impressive three new releaes plus an update, I thought it would be cool to make a week out of reviewing the new stuff and a couple of existing apps I haven’t covered yet, so I’ve got 5 of Skyworks’ titles…
Posted in Developer Spotlight, Games: Word, Paid Apps No Comments »
March 24, 2009
I’ve played the PC version of this, and I’m sure that there are plenty of Wii and NDS gamers who are familiar with this as well, but for those who aren’t, and who love word games and puzzle games, this one’s going to be a real treat for you lot.
As its name suggests, WordJong is a blend of word game and Shanghai Mahjongg. The object is to spell words from 2 to 9 letters in length, score as high as you can, and clear the board with no tiles left. The arrangement of availavble letters is laid out in familiar Shanghai configurations, with tiles arranged stacked up in…
Posted in Games: Word, Paid Apps No Comments »
March 19, 2009
I like word games. It’s hard to go wrong with a word game, and it’s one of the few genres I think where derivative gameplay doesn’t induce boredom quite as badly as other genres. (With some exceptions, of course.) Moreover, when a new game comes along that brings a little something new to the table, it’s a special treat.
Blue Ox Technologies then have brought forth a special treat indeed. It’s called Moxie, and it’s a bit different than other word games out there. About the closest I can come to describing it by referencing something similar is that it’s kind of like a bit of Scrabble mingled…
Posted in Games: Word, Paid Apps No Comments »
December 18, 2008
Another word game while we’re at it, this one in the spirit of Bookworm, but with a kind of Tetris twist about it.
The object of WordPops is, of course, to spell words. You start off with two rows of bubble-encapsulated letters with which to spell things, and new letters rise up from the bottom at regular intervals. Words are spelled by dragging your fingers over the letters in the order of the letters in the word you want to spell. You must keep the pile down as much as possible in order to avoid letting the letter-bubbles pile up (er, down) to the bottom. As with…
Posted in Games: Word No Comments »
December 18, 2008
Something just a wee bit different for those who like word games. Konstroo is a word game that exists in two parts: In the first part, called the Decipher phase, you are given 3 scrambled words of 4 to 6 letters long depending on the difficulty setting, and your job is to unscramble them by dragging their letters around to form the intended word. If you’re not sure what the word is, there’s a hint available that will be displayed beneath the letters to point you in the right direction — but you’ll take a score penalty for each hint you use. The game doesn’t tell…
Posted in Games: Word 2 Comments »
November 29, 2008
A rather simpler word game of the Bookworm variety, Code Alpha requires you to spell as many words as you can as quickly as you can. A time limit bar shrinks at the bottom, and refills a certain degree with every word spelled — the higher scoring the word, the more time gets refilled. Longer words obviously score more.
Each level that passes gives you a new background, and also speeds up the timer, so the game gets more and more fast paced as you go. The backgrounds are generally nice to look at, though some are rather busy and distract from searching for words. This is only an…
Posted in Games: Word No Comments »
November 20, 2008
App Name: JumbleQuest
Version: 1
Developer: telience.com
Category: Word Games
I like how things suddenly become a quest just because new background images that are suggestive of a journey are used. In JumbleQuest, you “travel the solar system solving progressively harder word jumbles”.
I’m guessing this was really aimed at a younger crowd, because the vast majority of word jumbles it presented were ridiculously easy — either because they were short, easily identifiable words, or because the scrambling was poorly executed resulting in a jumble that already looked like the original word with only two or three letters in the wrong place. I did stumble over a few 6-7 letter words, but not for long.
The scenery is pretty nice — they’re digitally rendered images of various planets,…
Posted in Games: Kids, Games: Word No Comments »
November 9, 2008
App Name: Picture Clue Lite
Developer: TechReply.com
Category: Word Games
A rather simple yet strangely addictive word game. Guess the letters of the “prize word” in red at the bottom of the grid. With each letter guessed a square of the image will be revealed giving a clue as to the related words. Along each side of the grid are bonus words — these can be guessed before the prize word, but you get more points the fewer letters you use to guess the prize word. If you guess the prize word first, you’ll be given the opportinuty to solve the bonus words for 10 points each — but one wrong letter guess and it’s the end of the round.
Graphically things are kept pretty…
Posted in Games: Word No Comments »
November 8, 2008
App Name: Magic Words Arcanum Lite
Developer: Audacity Software Pte. Ltd.
Category: Word Games / RPG & Adventure
Another crossover game much like the original high concept freebie Aurora Feint from the first days of the App Store, which I covered in the very first issue of Frapstr. In Magic Words Arcanum however, bits of Puzzle Quest get mashed up with Bookworm.
Primary gameplay is pretty much entirely Bookworm but with hexagonal tiles, and instead of filling up a meter to advance levels, you’re just eliminating tiles from the board. Eliminated tiles still have letters you can use though, so you can still form words as normal. Longer words score more and can eliminate extra tiles as a bonus. Occasionally jewels will appear on letters. Words formed…
Posted in Games: RPG & Adventure, Games: Word No Comments »
