Fun! Addicting!
I love Scrabble, and this great networking version of the game lets you play against random strangers over the internet or with people you already know. I have played this game every day since I was introduced to it last month. I play it on my iPod Touch, which has been upgraded to 4.0. I have had up to 5 games going simultaneously (though I'm sure others have more).
USEFUL FEATURES
Because it allows push notifications, the app notifies me that it's my turn with a little audio "trill" and a badge showing the number of games awaiting my input. A chat box allows me to leave messages for my opponent like "Great word!" or "Drats, I have horrible letters this round!" or even, "Sorry I haven't played since yesterday- had a busy day!" Another useful feature is a rematch button that allows me to immediately start a new game with the same opponent.
GLITCHES
I have two main complaints about this game: one involves server problems which cause the game to crash on occasion. During these crashes which seem to happen about once a month, the game is unavailable for what seems like a few hours (It's hard to tell, since I only return to the game at my convenience to see if it's back up). Also, it seems the server is updated every few weeks, rendering the game unavailable for an hour or more. Other glitches may or may not be server related; after I upgraded the iPod to 4.0, several of my apps (third party and native) began to act strangely, so I'm not sure how much of the sporadic slow-loads or crash-while-loading occurrences are due to the upgrade or the app itself.
Another problem with this game that is more annoying than those glitches are the players who either don't have time to play, lose interest, or disappear for mysterious reasons. I would love for this game to offer players a chance to set the number of days between plays so that the game is automatically forfeited by the player who does not make a move within a set amount of time. I cannot stand to look at games 22 days old that I cannot terminate or resign because it's not my turn!
FUN STUFF
One of the fun things about the game for this Scrabble lover is the number of points given to letters. Some letters that are only 1 point in Scrabble have more points in Words. And maybe it's my imagination, but it seems a little easier to come up with huge-point words in here than in Scrabble. I've found that I can never let my guard down because my opponent might come up with a 75 point word and leave me scrambling!
So, I obviously love Words With Friends. I even like the corny name. The frustrations I've listed in no way make me to want stray from the game- it's that good! But those problems do cost the game a ratings point, so I give it a 4 out of 5. By the way, if you are looking for opponents, players list their usernames in the Facebook fan club for this game in order to find people to play against. That's how I found one of my most formidable opponents. In fact, it's my turn now...
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