Word Quest

The word list changes each time the game is played, but it is the same game over and over. If you do not like word search puzzles, this game is not for you. On the other hand if you love word search puzzles, this game is definitely for you. Instead of carrying around a book of word searches, you can have an application on your iPhone that allows you to play word searches.

One of the features that keeps you wanting to play is the time factor. There is a superficial clock that runs while you are searching for words. The goal is to try and find all of the words before two minutes. If players are able to find all of the words before the two minutes, they will score bonus points. If they can’t find all of the words before two minutes, they just don’t get the bonus points, but the game continues. It is fun to try and see if you can beat your best score. Some puzzles are faster to solve than others for whatever reason and the challenge to beat my best time kept me playing a few more games.

If you like word search games, check out Word Quest on the Apple App Store.

Guess the News

Players attempt to guess the news based on articles from different RSS feeds. Players have to use letters to build the correct headlines. There are three modes of difficulty. There should be enough challenge for even the greatest word puzzle solver. There is a new challenge every day since the headlines are based on the news of the day. The news changes every day and so does the challenges.

If you like word puzzle games, head over to Free Game of the Day and pick get Guess the News for free.

Bookworm is a word game, as you may have guessed, that challenges players to create words using letter tiles. The catch is the tiles have to be next to each other and players need to be able to draw a line from one letter tile to the next to spell a word. The bigger the word the more points that are scored and the bigger chance of a bonus tile appearing. The bonus tiles are power ups that help players along the way. As the game progresses, players will need to over come obstacles like flaming tiles. The flaming tile will need to be used before reaching the bottom of the board or the game will be over.

“Bookworm has set the gold standard in word games, boasting over 100 million downloads to date across a variety of platforms,” said Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “With the Nintendo DS version, we’ve pulled out all the stops to give players even more deep content and specialized features than ever before.  These include a Multiplayer mode for the first time ever in the popular Bookworm series that allows users to go head-to-head using one or two cartridges, as well as a library building system that provides exciting new game action for both old and new Bookworm players.”

Press Release Follows:

SEATTLE, Washington – December 10, 2009 – PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of the world’s most widely played video games, today announced the launch of Bookworm™ for Nintendo DS, a new adaptation of one of PopCap’s most successful franchises and the most popular digital word game in history.  The Nintendo DS version of Bookworm is available now at major retail outlets for US $19.95.

“Bookworm has set the gold standard in word games, boasting over 100 million downloads to date across a variety of platforms,” said Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “With the Nintendo DS version, we’ve pulled out all the stops to give players even more deep content and specialized features than ever before.  These include a Multiplayer mode for the first time ever in the popular Bookworm series that allows users to go head-to-head using one or two cartridges, as well as a library building system that provides exciting new game action for both old and new Bookworm players.”

In Bookworm, to complete each level, players link adjoining letter tiles to build words and feed “Lex.”  They’ll use Reward Tiles and spell Bonus Words to boost their score while overcoming obstacles such as burning tiles that end the game if they’re not used before they reach the bottom of the screen.

In this Nintendo DS adaptation, players will spell their way to a higher rank across three different game modes.  Players can link letters in the fast-paced Action mode; if laid-back wordplay is more their style, Classic mode provides plenty of action at their own pace; or for the ultimate challenge, players can compete against friends in the Multiplayer mode.  The Multiplayer mode is a new feature offered for the first time in any version of Bookworm, and is played over the DS WirelessCommunications network.

Players will test their vocabulary might with 20 themed Bonus Book Collections and the ability to build out 18 unique library rooms. They can also build their spelling skills and track their progress with in-depth stats and charts.  Additionally, all features have been specifically tuned for dual-screen, vertical gameplay, allowing players to hold their DS like an actual book, while enjoying endless challenge and fun.

Key features include:

- Collect up to 20 books and build out 18 library rooms
- Customize game backgrounds with the libraries you’ve built
- Pick up and play — start working wordy wonders in seconds
- Unlimited levels keep players rising up the ranks in the Hall of Fame
- Watch your brain grow with the all-new Lex Ray
- Save high scores and best words for posterity

Most gamers are probably familiar with PopCap’s hit game, Bookworm, but for those that are not it is a word game. Players match adjoining letters to make as big a word as possible from the given letters. The bigger the word the more points. There are power ups along the way that will help players boost their score.

“We’re leading our foray into the DSiWare market with Bookworm – a game loaded with deep, classic gameplay action that we believe raises the bar for what should be offered in Nintendo’s online store,” said Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “We’re bringing quality, value and tremendous fun in this downloadable adaptation of Bookworm that’s sure to provide many hours of enjoyment and challenge to DS players everywhere.”

Bookworm is available now for 500 DSi Points (U.S. $5.00).

Press Release Follows:

SEATTLE, Washington – November 30, 2009 – PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of the world’s most widely played video games, today announced the launch of Bookworm™ for NintendoDSiWare, a new adaptation of one of PopCap’s most successful franchises and the most popular, multiplatform digital word games in history.  Marking PopCap’s entry into the DSiWare™ category, this version of Bookworm delivers the highest caliber of gameplay available in a downloadable title that has been optimized for the Nintendo DSiWare platform.  The game is available now at Nintendo’s online shop for 500 DSi Points (U.S. $5.00).  Bookworm will be followed by an all-new adaptation of Bejeweled Twist™ for DSiWare later this fall.

“We’re leading our foray into the DSiWare market with Bookworm – a game loaded with deep, classic gameplay action that we believe raises the bar for what should be offered in Nintendo’s online store,” said Ed Allard, vice president of strategic development at PopCap. “We’re bringing quality, value and tremendous fun in this downloadable adaptation of Bookworm that’s sure to provide many hours of enjoyment and challenge to DS players everywhere.”

In Bookworm, players whet their appetite for spelling fun in PopCap’s hit word-puzzle game, an immersive title for word game aficionados of all ages and levels.  Players link adjoining letter tiles to build words, complete each level and feed “Lex.”  They’ll use Reward Tiles and spell Bonus Words to boost their score. Bookworm was originally released by PopCap in January of 2005 and has been adapted and customized for ten different platforms, boasting over 100 million downloads, and making it one of the world’s most popular, multiplatform digital word games.

Now adapted for NintendoDSiWare, Bookworm includes the complete game action of Classic mode.  All features have been specifically tuned for dual-screen, vertical gameplay, allowing players to hold their DS like an actual book, while delivering endless challenge and fun.

The words that need to be finished/guessed are taken from news stories. The news comes from all different types of categories, from international news, entertainment news, sports and even random news stories. The stories come from all of the big news sources, such as CNN, CBS and ESPN. A little snippit from the article is given and the player has to figure out the headline for the article.

Figuring out the headline involves taking the selected letters and making a word out of them. There are multiple words to complete and a jumble of letters to use. The letters that can be used for a particular word are highlighted in the jumble of letters. Players use the highlighted letters to make a word in the highlighted spot in the headline. As mentioned above, the easy mode already has letters in the word and the medium and hard levels just have a v to represent where a vowel is in the word.

Players have the option of playing in timed or classic mode. Classic mode allows players to take their time and take as long as they want to complete a word. Timed mode is just as it sounds, a timed mode where players only have a certain amount of time to complete the words. Each time a word is complete the clock is reset for the next word. If a letter is placed in the wrong spot, time is deducted from the clock. If the clock expires before the headline is complete, the game is over.

The control mechanisms are really easy. Players can choose to double tap the letter or drag a letter. Double tapping a letter will cause the letter to be put in the next available slot. If the letter is not correct, it will go to the correct spot automatically, in classic mode, but the player will not get the points for that letter and the letter turns red. If the player chooses to drag a letter, they can drag the letter to any spot in the word. For instance, if you know the word ends in an e, then you can drag the e to the last letter slot in the word.

Each letter has a point value associated with the letter. Each time the letter is placed in the correct position in the word the player gets the points on the letter. Building the words quickly, will result in more points because a bigger multiplier is used. The points build up the meter and players have to get the meter to the blue triangle to progress to the next level in the game. If the blue triangle is not achieved, the game is over and players must start over.

Guess the News is a very different, but extremely fun game. It is refreshing to see different types of games on the iPhone/iPod Touch and not the same old genres of games. This game will be of interest to anyone that enjoys word games such as Wheel of Fortune, Scrabble or even Hang man. Guess the News can be played in small bits of time, but it is really addicting and hard to put down, so good luck with only spending small amounts of time with the game. If you are looking for a good word game, check out Guess the news. The game is only 99 cents until Oct 8th. After Oct 8th the game goes up to $2.99, which is still a fair price for the amount of game you are getting.

Those of you unfamiliar with the first Bookworm Adventures, gameplay is simple: you combat enemies by spelling words – unlike Bookworm, the letters need not be adjacent. The longer the words, the more damage they do. Players are awarded potions and gem letter tiles depending on how good the word is. Gem tiles may add special damage effects like poison or burning, or even heal Lex’s wounds.

After spelling a word, the enemy attacks back, doing damage to Lex or the letter tiles themselves. Every enemy has their own unique attacks as well. After each adventure, Lex may earn potions and bonus tiles by playing minigames, which are available after being unlocked by the adventure portion. Along the way, Lex can earn artifacts that give him special powers, and use up to three of them at a time.

Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2 features much of the same addictive gameplay, but now there are very important differences. The biggest are companions – Lex may meet special characters who travel with him on his quest, and offer assistance for an entire level (“book”). For example, the Cheshire Cat will remove all harmful effects on Lex every four turns, while Mother Goose will issue a healing potion every four turns. The companion takes the place of one of the artifacts. The artifacts themselves have some more weird powers; for example, the Mad Hatter’s hat will grant a random bonus every time Lex shuffles the letters.

There are also three new minigames in addition to the three carryovers from the first game; a personal favorite is the Mutant Letters in which you must unscramble as many themed words as you can before the timer runs out. There’s also a new gem tile which only appears if Lex uses three gem tiles in a word; the new gem acts as a blank letter tile from Scrabble. Another important change is that unlike the first game, you may replay the adventure again without having to create a new profile.

Even if you’re new to the series, you’ll be charmed by the latest edition of Lex’s adventures, and like all Popcap games, can be played in small doses or “how did it get so late?” binges. You can download the game and a demo version from Popcap’s official site here. If you’re into word puzzle games, you won’t find much better.

Each book offers a complete story and features 10 chapters. Players will not miss out on any content if they choose to buy the books individually. No matter which version players opt for, players will take on the role of Lex and right all of the wrong in the world by spelling your way to victory. Players attempt to beat their foes by spelling words using ever changing tiles. As soon as a word is spelled the used tiles disappear and new tiles fall from the top of the board mixing things up. The bigger the word the more points. Players also have the help of special tiles that help damage the opponent.

In celebration of the release of Bookworm Adventures Volume 2, PopCap has droppped the price of the original game for the iPhone. It was $4.99, but for the next week players can get the game for $.99

Bookworm Adventures is a great word game and there is no reason for the second version to not be just as good.

Press Release Follows:

SEATTLE, Washington – July 30, 2009 — PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced the immediate availability of Bookworm™ Adventures Volume 2 (BWA 2) for the PC. The sequel to the 2007 original takes players into three new literary landscapes with a bevy of new features and lexical challenges. Initially available on PopCap.com, STEAM and iWin, BWA 2 will carry a list price of US$19.95 for the full, three-book deluxe edition. Beginning on August 19, individual books of the game will become available on PopCap.com and partner sites including MSN Games, RealArcade, and Yahoo Games. The three books, “Fractured Fairytales,” “The Monkey King” and “Astounding Planet,” each offer a complete story and 10-chapter adventure in which players once again take on the role of Lex the intrepid Bookworm to right wrongs and defeat evil-doers through superlative spelling and use of the game’s many new and existing role-playing game elements. To celebrate the first new installment in the Bookworm series since 2007, PopCap has also dropped the price of Bookworm for iPhone from US$4.99 to US$.99 for one week beginning today.

“Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 is the long-awaited sequel to one of the world’s most popular word games,” said Ben Rotholtz, VP of Marketing at PopCap, “and in this new collection we’re delivering dozens of hours of entertainment to delight even the most seasoned vocabulary aficionados.”

In the Bookworm Adventures series, players take on the role of Lex the Bookworm, leading him through a series of books involving fictional characters which Lex must overcome by forming words from an ever-changing set of letter tiles. Making longer and more complex words gives Lex greater fighting prowess, while special “gem” letter tiles offer a range of power-up effects of their own. Various potions and treasures give Lex added power, defense, health, and dozens of other persistent or one-time abilities. In the new sequel, wild card “rainbow” tiles, 20 new treasures and zany literary “companions” –  including Mother Goose, the Cheshire Cat and author H.G. Wells – all provide players with even more powers and abilities. Three new mini-games augment those from the original BWA, offering a total of six different “side quest” activities to earn additional potions and power-ups.

New Features in Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 include:
•    3 all-new books of ten chapters each: “Fractured Fairytales,” “The Monkey King” and “Astounding Planet”!
•    All-new infinite Replay mode! Pick a book, fight foes and score big points!
•    6 mini-games, including all-new “Mutant Words,” “Golden Coins” and “Word Up”! (Each book contains two mini-games)
•    Battle more than 130 ferocious new foes while wielding over 20 terrific new treasures! (Each book contains approximately 40-45 new enemies and seven treasures)
•    Companions! Literary figures join Lex and battle by his side! (two per book)
•    Rainbow Tiles! New potent wild card tiles allow you to build the gigantic words of your dreams!
•    Arena mode! Spell quickly to defeat your toughest enemies!
•    Achievements – earn trophies, points and badges!

The sequel has added all new environments to spell words and a host of new features. Players are still helping Lex form the best words possible from the given letter tiles, but in three different books. Each book has ten chapters, which makes for a good amount of game play. The longer the words players can create, the more power they get in their fight. There are gem tiles along the way to help with the fight, as well.

Bookworm Adventures was a fun game that any type of gamer would enjoy and this sequel should be no different. If you are into word games, you definitely need to check out Bookworm Adventures 2 on July 30th.

Press Release Follows:

SEATTLE, Washington – July 15, 2009 — PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced that Bookworm™ Adventures 2 will launch on the Web for PC one month from today. The sequel to the 2007 original takes players into three new literary landscapes and adds reams of new features and fun touches to the most popular digital word game franchise of all time. Available beginning July 30 exclusively on PopCap.com, BWA 2 will carry a list price of US$19.95.

“Bookworm Adventures Volume 2 exceeds its predecessor both in wordy fun and goofy puns,” said Tysen Henderson, Executive Producer at PopCap.  “From the crazy book themes and  brand-new game play to the powerful new ‘companions’ who join Lex on his adventure, Bookworm Adventures Vol. 2 takes the original word-game-with-light-role-playing-game play and runs in some exciting, funny new directions.”

In the Bookworm Adventures series, players take on the role of Lex the bookworm, leading him through a series of well-known books and fictional characters which Lex must overcome by forming words from an ever-changing set of letter tiles. Making longer and more complex words gives Lex greater fighting prowess, while special “gem” letter tiles offer a range of power-up effects of their own. Various potions and treasures give Lex added power, defense, health, and dozens of other persistent or one-time abilities. In the new sequel, wild card “rainbow” tiles, 20 new treasures and zany literary “companions” –  fictional animal allies including Mother Goose and the Cheshire Cat – all provide players with even more ways to spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S. Three new mini-games augment those from the original BWA, offering a total of six different “side quest” activities to earn additional potions and power-ups.

New Features in Bookworm Adventures 2 include:

• 3 all-new books of ten chapters each: “Fractured Fairytales,” “The Monkey King” and “Astounding Planets”!
• All-new infinite Replay mode! Pick a book, fight foes and score big points!
• 6 mini-games, including all-new “Mutant Words,” “Golden Coins” and “Word Up”!
• Battle more than 130 ferocious new foes while wielding over 20 terrific new treasures!
• Companions! Literary figures join Lex and battle by his side!
• Rainbow Tiles! New potent wild card tiles allow you to build the gigantic words of your dreams!
• Arena mode! Spell quickly to defeat your toughest enemies!
• Achievements – earn trophies, points and badges!

Scuzzleword is said to offer fast paced vocabulary puzzle action. Players have to think fast and complete the word puzzles or find themselves on the losing end of the competition. Players can start out in beginner mode and when they have conquered that mode, move on to the challenge mode.

“Scruzzleword takes the best of crossword, mixes it with a little Sudoku, and then flips it on its ear to create one of the best word games available,” said Ashish Toshniwal of Ymedia Labs.  “The game was designed with intuitive controls and friendly gameplay elements, which mean players of all ages and skill levels will enjoy this game.”

If you are into fast paced word challenges, check out Scuzzleword in the Apple App Store.

Press Release Follows:

Redwood City, Calif. – July 1, 2009 — Ymedia Labs, a developer of casual games and social media applications, announced today that Scruzzleword is now available for the Apple® iPhoneTMand iPod® Touch.  Priced at $1.99, this inventive new word puzzler is a sure bet for those looking to flex their craniums and stretch their vocabulary muscles!

To be among the Scruzzleword elite, players will need to move fast and think even faster.  This vocabulary busting word game is packed to the brim with 50 different puzzles.  It also features two different modes of gameplay, beginner and challenge.  But don’t get caught up in the details, because every second counts in this timed war of words!

“Scruzzleword takes the best of crossword, mixes it with a little Sudoku, and then flips it on its ear to create one of the best word games available,” said Ashish Toshniwal of Ymedia Labs.  “The game was designed with intuitive controls and friendly gameplay elements, which mean players of all ages and skill levels will enjoy this game.”

Scruzzleword features hours of engaging game play and is suitable for players of all ages.  For more information, please visit: www.ymedialabs.com/scruzzleword.  To purchase Scruzzleword, please visit the App Store here.  A free version of the game is also available on the App Store here.

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There are six letter tiles at the bottom of the screen. The player has to take the provided letters and attempt to make different words out of those letters. It can be challenging to find words that use the given letters, but the more you play the easier it becomes. It takes a few turns to get into the swing of creating words, but then the words come a bit easier.

There are three different game modes to choose from, Practice, Examination and Challenge mode. Practice mode lets you practice creating words from the letters given. The solutions for the creations are given. Practice mode is a great way to get use to the game. Practice mode does not allow players to gain any points for the words, which makes sense.

Examination mode is the single player mode. Players try to create as many words as possible before time runs out. Players need to create at least five words with the given tiles and then the have the option of getting new tiles and creating words using the new tiles. The points carry over from each set of tiles so there is no downfall to swapping the letters. There is a downfall to getting a word wrong, though. Each time players create an invalid word, they are docked a point.

Challenge mode allows players to play against each other. There are two different ways players can challenge their friends. They can use their phonebook on the iPhone or they can use the Facebook connect options. The Facebook option allows players to challenge their Facebook friends.

Wordulous is a great word game. It can be challenging in the beginning, but once your brain gets the hang of it, it is not so bad. I especially like the comparison at the end in the Elimination mode. The game takes your score and tells you a class of people you compare to, such as cavemen, jokers or cops. If you like word creation games, head over to the Apple App Store and check out Wordulous.