http://appshopper.com/link/word-solitaire

Foreword

Word games I find quite fun but I never go out of my way to get them. I just would rather a game where I kill people I think. I do have Scramble which is good fun but Word Solitaire adds something so different and unique that I prefer it over Scramble.

Gameplay

Well I’m hoping people know what solitaire is. I’m not getting into that now. Anyway word solitaire changes things. Instead of numbers and your various suits, the cards now have letters on them. Instead of getting the numbers in order you must make words. The slight different is that instead of putting the finished bundles on top, instead you just keep all the words until all letters are used. It may sound simple, then again it mightn’t, but this game presents a very nice challenge. Finishing a level is quite tough. So far I have only gotten to level 2. To complete a level you must have every letter used in a word on the board.

Now if you are stuck you can use your extra cards down the bottom. These are like the extras in solitaire only different being these aren’t necessary in Word Solitaire. You can use them for help but they don’t have to be used to complete the level. But every time you look through them you lose 16 points. This is to stop you from just keeping going through them. You have to try limit their use.  You also have a fire down the bottom right. Cards can be placed here and they will be burned, meaning they are gone totally. Three cards can be burned per level.

I’m not sure how scoring is calculated but basically the bigger the word you make the more points you get. You are shown your score down the bottom, with your moves and time, so you know what you have. I’m not sure the point of the levels but really I think they are there to add an extra challenge. As well as going for score you can see how far you can get through the game.

Presentation

I like the backgrounds for each level. They are all famous paintings. I was pleasantly surprised to find Salvador Dalis famous painting of the melting clocks as the first level. I’d just like to point out I’m not an art lover, I just visited his museum in Figueres in Spain only two weeks ago. And it was really cool. Anyway in terms of graphics and sound there isn’t much to talk about. Its all nice but honestly how much can you really do with a solitaire game.

Cons

You can Tweet (in this case you tap a bird to tweet it) your score but this is really the only way of letting people know your scores. I think global leaderboards would be great for this game. Although it might make me feel bad because my high score is only 274.

Final Word

I have had so much fun with this game and it presents such a unique challenge that I want to keep playing it. Its currently only $1 and that is a real bargain. I’d suggest picking it up, especially if you like  word games and puzzles.

– Unique gameplay

– Challenging but in a good way

– Online leaderboards (not a must)

Gameplay 9.5/10

Presentation 8/10

Word Solitaire 9/10