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WordsWorth (iPhone)


Review by Ben Briggs, April 10, 2009

iPhone integration (About)
  • Save state: Yes
  • iPod music: Yes
  • Status bar: Yes
  • Version: 1.4
  • Price as reviewed: 59p
  • by 99Games

Word puzzle games are a definite match for the iPhone. The touch controls and high resolution display make even the most mundane puzzle feel fun - as long as they have something new. Something different. The problem we have with WordsWorth is that it's come out of the same cookie cutter as many previous word games. It didn't hold our interest for long.

That's not to say it's a bad game - just not an excellent one. The first thing you'll notice is that it's actually very customisable - you can set different options for board size, minimum word size, tile scramble times and even the dictionary. You can also play timed or untimed.

As words are found and tiles cleared, new ones drop in from the top of the screen. More points will be awarded for using rarer tiles such as Qu or Z - or by utilising the special wildcard tiles in the game. Green tiles award more points than bog standard tiles, the blue tiles can be used as any letter, and there's also tiles that auto scramble the board without penalty. Maximising points usually involves creating long words with at least one of these special tiles (and possibly more).

You can shake your iPhone to clear the board and start over, but this may drop in some red timed tiles. If you don't make a match with a timed tile, it will be game over. Shakes are necessary eventually, as the game uses a random letter generator - it's entirely possible to have a big block of L tiles for example.

The presentation is a little basic. The sound effects are OK, but the music isn't brilliant (it cuts off oddly too at the end) - we much preferred listening to our own. You can submit your high scores online though, which is a nice plus. The graphics aren't that impressive - let's face it, there's much better looking word games on the iPhone.

It's really easy to dismiss WordsWorth as being basic - because it is. That may be fine for most people, but it just didn't interest us for long enough. Nevertheless, if you're looking for a simple word game that has online high score tables, a good degree of customisation and a no frills user interface, give it a try. It's only 59p.

Grade: D, Mediocre

A simple word game that actually works quite well - but it was all too easy to lose interest.

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