3 November 2008 0 Comments

Wurdle: Great Word Puzzle Game for the iPhone

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Wurdle is a Boggle type word game that combines vocabulary and arcade fun with timed games that challenge you to beat you’re previous scores. A very simple game in theory but extremely addictive in practice. For those not familiar with the game Boggle, the objective is to find words that can be made by adjacent letters without repetition in a fixed sized grid, a little like a flexible path word search without a set word list to find. With that in mind the longer the word the higher the score and with the backing of either the TWL or SOWPODS word lists, the scrabble pros amongst us can rack up fantastic scores dredging up the depths of their vocabulary. Wurdle uses a very iPhone-like method of selecting your desired words by simply tracing your finger over the tiles. Once you have your word selected lifting your finger from the screen enters the word. This simple yet effective technique allows rapid word entry that is very important for getting those high scores.

There are many options available within Wurdle that allow you to modify the game to your own taste. The game can either be played on your own or with up to four people with a pass and play system, a nice touch that harks back to the days of playing Boggle with the family. The time scale of the game can also be changed with choices between 1, 2, 3 and 5 minutes or untimed for a more relaxing word wander. The size of the letter grid can also be varied between the original 4×4 grid right up to the 8×8 grid that allows a larger possibility of words in the same grid. Thedifficulty of the game can also be dramatically increased by increasing the minimum word length between 3, 4 and 5 letters. If you come up with a lack of words available you can also shuffle the letters in the grid when playing on your own just by shaking the iPhone or by triple-tapping the display at the cost of a few points. Aesthetically the game can be changed quite drastically with 11 types of preset letter tiles available and one skinable tile that can use any picture on your iPhone. You can also change the background or wallpaper from the standard notepaper to the more varied landscapes or carbon fiber backing. The game also supports the now standard saved-state where you can exit the game and come right back where you left off, allowing you to take that call or reply to that important text message and not ruin your high-scoring game.

All in all, Wurdle is one of the best games on the App Store. If you’re a fan of Boggle or Scrabble or in fact any of the various word games then Wurdle is a snip at £1.19 ($1.99). If you’re looking for a decent game that you can play over and over, which can take as little as a minute or a much as much time as you like in untimed mode then Wurdle is definitely for you. Killing time has never been quite so addictive and with the play and pass feature making competition between friends and family fun, Wurdle is a dead set on my iPhone.

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