WordGame
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Google web search reveals English letter frequency, helps our Scrabble hustle
Wordsmiths go to great lengths to master a game of Scrabble or Words With Friends. Rarely are their efforts quite so calculated, however, as what we're seeing today. After Google research director Peter Norvig used his company's search engine to determine letter frequency in the English language, Deadspin and developer Kyle Rimkus compared it against Scrabble's point system and available words to determine which letters generate the most value relative to how often they can play. In short: H, Y and Z produce the most bang for the alphabetic buck, while J and Q are plagues on the rack that are seldom worth saving for a special moment. We can't guarantee that following the Google-derived tips will have serious opponents begging for mercy -- a wide vocabulary is often the real clincher -- but they may help a few of us wondering what to play on that triple word score.
Daily iPad App: Letz: The Story of Zed does match 3 right
Letz is a game that doesn't necessarily excel in its mechanics -- it's a match 3 game, basically, though there is a fun addition in the form of a word-making challenge as well. But where Letz really shines is in the icing. The sounds and graphics on this one are just pure sugary pleasure -- the kind of great bleeps and bloops that you hear on the floor of a casino when everyone around you is winning lots of money. Ok, so maybe it's not for everyone, but I am completely charmed by Letz's cotton candy graphics and all the sounds the game makes. Match 3 isn't that complicated a game form, obviously, and that's what you're doing here (though you can collect letters as you match tiles, and then match those letters up into words, including one story word per stage in the campaign as you play through it). But despite the simplicity, the game's big board allows you to chain tiles and shapes to your heart's content, sometimes getting up to a minute or two of dings, rings and rewards for just the right match. An XP system with plenty of objectives also keeps the action interesting, and the whole package is just excellently charming throughout the game's huge amount of content. Letz (full title, The Story of Zed) is a bargain for just US$1.99 on the iPad. It's a very well-polished game that's almost excessively rewarding, and match 3 aficionados especially will have a great time with it. If you've yet to be convinced, there's a lite version to try out as well.
Guess the secret word by video: Clucks for iPhone
Fans of the party game Taboo know how tricky (and hilarious) it can be. Players are presented with a "target word" and five no-go descriptor words; then they have to get their partner or team to figure out the target without using any of the five forbidden words. Similar word-guess games can be found in a few places on the App Store, but they still depend on having all the players in one place. Clucks, the latest iOS offering from AOL's mobile team, takes the Taboo guess-the-word concept and supercharges it with video, social sharing and anti-cheating voice recognition. The free game is designed to keep you honest while challenging your friends to figure out what the heck they're talking about. Gameplay is pretty straightforward: Clucks presents you with your target word and the five forbidden words just as you'd find them on a Taboo card. When you're ready with your hint approach, hit the button and record a 12-second video of your clues to your buddy. Once uploaded, on the receiving end they'll have 25 seconds to decipher your meanderings and fill in the blanks on an answer, Draw Something-style. Of course, while they're watching you, their phone is recording their reactions -- the combined side-by-side video can then be shared to Facebook or Viddy for more yuks. What's to keep you from cheating and using one of the no-go words in your clue video? The Clucks donkey, of course -- an intermittent check powered by the voice recognition savvy of Nuance. From time to time your recordings will be scanned by the donkey to check for words in the forbidden list; if you're caught, you'll be penalized points (and have to live with your shame). When you launch Clucks you have the option of playing practice "Barnyard" rounds, where you guess from pre-recorded clues. To play against others in the launch version, however, you need to connect the app to Facebook; if you don't have a Facebook account you probably won't get much out of it. Clucks takes a proven game concept and scales it for mobile with some high-powered technology partners in Viddy and Nuance, but will it deliver the fun? In my limited testing (a social game is hard to play when nobody else can download it yet), I found it an enjoyable distraction, although the fact that you're being recorded while guessing is easy to forget; I made some unfortunate faces. You're also uploading and downloading video on every turn, so play on WiFi if your data plan is constrained. The Clucks app is rolling out today but may not be available in all App Stores immediately. You can see a quick demo video below. Note: Clucks publisher AOL Mobile and TUAW have the same corporate parent, AOL.
Merriam-Webster announces Dictionary API for developers, coming to a word game near you
Merriam-Webster just announced its new Dictionary API, which gives developers access to the full dictionary and thesaurus, along with more specialized content like medical, Spanish, ESL and student-targeted vocabulary lists. The API will let app makers integrate word definitions, etymologies, audio pronunciations and more. While this content will no doubt make it into a slew of educational apps, Merriam-Webster says it will also enhance word games, so maybe Scramble and Words with Friends will finally start accepting those obscure three-letter words you have up your sleeve.
Daily iPhone App: SpellTower is a fast-paced word game with local multiplayer support
SpellTower is a challenging word game that was recently updated to version 3.0. This latest version includes retina graphics for the new iPad and local multiplayer support. Similar to Bookworm and other word games, SpellTower has a grid of letter tiles that you use to spell words by selecting adjacent letters. Each correct spelling removes tiles and earns you points. The goal of the game is to remove as many letter tiles as possible. There are four different game modes - a Puzzle mode that'll add a new row of letters every time you correctly spell a word, an exPuzzle mode that challenges you to spell longer words, a Tower mode that lets you spell as many words as possible and a Rush mode that forces you to spell quickly. The game includes a few specialty tiles that'll sometimes help, sometimes hinder you in the game. There are blue lettered tiles that knock out an entire row of letters and black tiles that'll block you from spelling words. These black tiles disappear when you spell an adjacent word. The biggest improvement in version 3.0 is a new multiplayer mode that lets you play against a friend via Bluetooth. This multiplayer mode takes the Rush game and pits you against a friend. You have to spell as many words as possible before your letter tower reaches the top. SpellTower adds a twist to the game by throwing letters to your opponent every time you spell a correct word. Not only do you move ahead when you spell a new word, you also set your opponent back. Whether you're playing the fast-paced Rush mode or the casual Tower mode, SpellTower will give your brain cells a workout. It's available for US$1.99 and includes both an iPhone version and a retina-capable iPad version.
Daily iPad App: Word Jigsaw challenges you to spell while you complete a puzzle
Word Jigsaw mixes two of my favorite games. It's a word game that challenges you to spell words and it's a puzzle game that requires you to build a jigsaw puzzle. The game starts with a puzzle that has a variety of pieces. You can choose the puzzle size -- the tiny one has five pieces while the giant one has twenty. Each piece has letters that are used to spell a word. The game tracks your time while you build the puzzle and spell the words. If you get stuck, there's a hint button that'll place a puzzle piece for you. You can't just put the pieces together and hope the words turn out right. On more than one occasion, I was able to complete the puzzle, but the words were wrong. In those cases, I had to start over and build the words first and then fit the puzzle pieces together. There's no game center integration, but the app keeps track of your time and shows your average completion time and your record time in the stats section. If you enjoy word games, then Word Jigsaw deserves a spot on your iPad or iPhone because it's both challenging and fun. It's not a mindless game, but one that requires you to think and plan as you build your words. Word Jigsaw supports the retina iPad and is a universal app that's available for both the iPad and the iPhone. The free version includes ads and three levels, but you can remove the ads and unlock all the levels by purchasing the full game for US$1.99. You can also buy a bucket of hints for 99-cents which will remove the ads.
Daily iPhone App: 7 Little Words will cast a spell on you
Puzzlejuice adds all kinds of bells, whistles and fun to the "word game" genre. The equally excellent 7 Little Words (free) goes in the opposite direction, boiling wordplay down to its core. It offers just seven words and a series of letters (in groups of two or three at a time) to spell them with. 7 Little Words is one of those games that's super easy to play but fiendishly difficult to master. There are 50 puzzles in each of the game's pack (each with their own set of seven words and grid of letters to choose from), and you have to make guesses for each word from clues like "bunny food" (CA-RR-OTS), or "make dirty" (SO-IL). It's a "pure" experience, in that there's no timer, no extra points...no points at all, in fact. It's just you, some letters, and the words you need to make with them. 7 Little Words a very "Zen" experience, yet there's a lot of pleasure to be had in sitting down, thinking hard, and hopefully coming up with the words you need. The game comes with 50 puzzles, and extra packs can be bought for 99 cents each (more have been added since we last looked at 7 Little Words, as well as a new shuffle option). If you like crossword puzzles or just word puzzles at all, 7 Little Words is worth the download for sure. It might frustrate you a little bit (seriously, some of the puzzles will have you forehead slapping when you finally figure them out), but most word game fans like a good challenge anyway.
Daily iPhone App: W.E.L.D.E.R.
WELDER is an interesting take on the word game "genre" for iOS -- it is indeed a puzzle game where you need to make and spell words to score points, but this one is sort of a weird mix of Bejeweled and Scrabble (kind of like Bookworm, actually). You get a grid of letters (and some special blocks) on the screen, and you have to move those around in different ways to line up words and get the points rolling. The game isn't actually timed, so the focus is all on making as many words as you can in as few moves as possible. What makes the game so unique is its premise -- not only does everything in the game window look great and "feel" real (even the points counter spins and dings as if it were an actual object), but the whole aesthetic behind the game itself, highlighted in this trailer (where the title is translated as Word Examination Laboratory for Dynamic Extraction and Reassesment) really puts a whole other level of polish and fun on the whole proceeding. The game has some really nice extras as well, including the ability to look up any words in the iOS dictionary, share any really great spellings on Facebook or Twitter, and full Game Center integration, including a "Palindrome ranking." WELDER is really unique, and if you like word games at all, you should give it a look. It's available for half price during the launch period, as a universal app for only $1.99.
TUAW's Daily Mac App: Bookworm
If you're into word games, today's Daily Mac App will be right up your street. Bookworm, from PopCap, is a word game that combines Boggle-style word making with Bejeweled-style tile removal. You're presented with a board of tiles filled from the top that's seven columns wide and seven to eight tiles high. You link adjacent tiles to make words with a minimum length of three letters and for each word you make you get points based on its length and letter types. Each word removes those used tiles from the board. The "Classic game" is simple enough, but as you progress you must deal with "burning tiles" that burn through letters, dropping down one tile per turn. If they reach the bottom of the board it's game over, so you have to use them in a word pretty fast. Other special tiles come into play as rewards. Green tiles appear randomly and will increase your word score if you include them. Gold tiles are earned by creating words with five letters or more, and are worth even more. Diamond and sapphire tiles are also available for massive scores. You can boost your score by creating the suggested bonus words that pop up too. There's also an "Action game" that drops many more burning tiles requiring you to match words as quick as you can to survive. It's a great game for word game fans and can get pretty addictive as you level up at the end of each round. Bookworm is available for US$6.99 from the Mac App Store, directly from PopCap if you're not on Snow Leopard or Lion and is available in the browser for free too.
Kindle 2 gets more game, Kindle 1 gets more wrinkles
Sure, Jeff Bezos may be keen on keeping Kindle a "purpose-built reading device" (for now, at any rate), but that doesn't mean you can't have a little multimedia fun, right? Amazon has published two diction-centric games, Shuffled Row and Every Word, free of charge and available now for delivery via Whispernet. Both involve word creation -- the former with 60 disposable letters and the latter with six or seven reusable tiles à la Scramble -- and neither seem to be available for the Kindle 1. Second-generation and DX owners seem to be playing without issue, but the most faithful of early adopters? You just got another reason to upgrade -- a minor one, yes, but it very well could be a sign of Things to Come.
Because spelling bees are apparently hot
Sure, you've trained your brain, but can you spell? Crave Entertainment wants to know ... or rather, Mr. Niceguy [sic] wants to know. That's the guy who will rake you over the coals if you pick up Spelling Challenges and More! this summer. The title promises 25,000 words and 100 difficulty levels for a fine-tuned word game experience. If you do well, Mr. Niceguy gives you cash and prizes. We wonder what he'll do when we fail. It's inevitable, after all.Director of brand marketing for Crave Entertainment Doug Panter said, "Movies like Akeelah and the Bee, Bee Season, and Spellbound have made spelling bees and word games hot." Oh really? Well, for only $19.99, we may give it a shot.
