FingerGaming

Rating:

• Price: $4.99 (Get It)
• Version: 1.1
• Official Site: Gameblend Studios

The iPhone isn’t exactly hurting when it comes to word-based puzzle games. Even with the existence of standout titles like Textropolis, every week brings a handful of new Boggle clones that do little but bloat the App Store’s oversaturated puzzler lineup.

It’s rare, then, that a word game features a concept so novel that it stands out among its App Store competition. WordJong features both a unique gameplay mechanic and near-limitless replayability, making it one of the best puzzlers I’ve played on the iPod Touch so far.

Each board in WordJong is set up much like your average Shanghai solitaire mahjong puzzle. To win, you must remove all tiles from play. Instead of matching their faces, however, you must form words using the letters printed on each tile.

It’s a simple concept that works brilliantly, and your success at the game is limited only by your own vocabulary. Extra points are awarded for longer words, or by using uncommon letters such as Q or X. The object in each level is to beat an established high score, though this is optional, as merely clearing a level of all tiles is often difficult enough in its own right.

Since some letter combinations can prove difficult to work with, WordJong awards a word of five or more letters in length with a bomb, which may be used to take out one tile of the player’s choosing. Multiple bombs can be used in the same game, as long as a player can continue to come up with words of appropriate length.

A few more gameplay twists add further challenge. After each tile is removed, it will reveal tiles underneath it or beside it, which may be used immediately after. You can plan ahead to use this to your advantage, though often, you’ll find out through blind luck that the letter hidden under a tile just happens to be the very one you need to finish a word. This mix of luck and skill makes WordJong all the more compelling a challenge.

If the game is lacking in any way, it’s in the fact that the dictionary often leaves a lot to be desired. It seemingly refuses to recognize any word that’s even mildly offensive — the standard curses and epithets won’t work, of course, but even words like “sexy” and “orgy” are out. I ran across a few other bizarre omissions as well, though those two stand out the most, obviously.

Otherwise, WordJong features great gameplay and near-infinite replayability — the game unlocks a new puzzle every day of the week, and already includes several months’ worth of previously unlocked levels from the start. Add in daily high score challenges and numerous unlockable achievements, and you’ve got a puzzler that you could end up playing for months. The App Store may be flooded with word-based puzzlers, but this one is definitely worth your time.

Tags: Puzzle, reviews, wordjong