Playing games on a smartphone is one of the most popular activities for millions of mobile users. Most users are not hardcore gamers and play via mobile apps. Below are some of the most popular word games available for Android and iOS mobile devices. Some are free with advertising, and some are paid apps. All, however, are in the top ranks of entertainment, based on total number of downloads and use frequency.
Words with FriendsWords with Friends is the number one word game available. Similar to Scrabble, which has its own game app, players have greater opportunity to score larger numbers of points. Tiles claim higher point values, and more bonuses tempt players as well.
Users of this game app state that Words with Friends loads faster than Scrabble and doesn't strain the eyes as the Scrabble app does for some. The biggest advantage, they say, is its smooth operation on most smartphones.
A disadvantage Words with Friends report is the lack of point value preview: You must add the points yourself prior to play to discern which word play you prefer.
Words with Friends is either free with ads or ad-free with a $2.99 purchase.
Word AceIf you love both word games and poker, Word Ace just might be your mobile game of choice. Identical in early play to Texas Hold 'Em, players are first dealt two cards each, face down. Then a five-card community share is dealt face up in the center.
The “cards” dealt, however, are letter tiles instead of suited sequences, and players bet on their tiles-cards and win by word creation capability.
Word Ace is free for iPhone users. Android fans can play a very similar game called
Card Ace.Moxie 2Moxie 2 is very similar to solitaire but with words instead of suits and sequences. To start, three four-letter words are presented. The starter words change each day, so returning users don't have a familiarity advantage over newer users. Everyone is challenged.
You can add two additional letters to each word from your “deck” of 64 letters, shuffled randomly. But that's not all you can do with the center sets: You can click on any letter position to replace that letter with the next letter tile in your queue. You cannot choose any other replacement letter: It must be the next one in your cache line.
You can add or replace letters, but once placed, you cannot remove them and try another for more points. Once it's “there,” that's your play, and only another turn can change it.
If you create a word that is not in the game's dictionary, the word turns grey, and you receive no points until you correct the spelling.
The game is won only when all the tiles are used.
HexalexHexalex is a tile-based word-creation game that adds to the horizontal-vertical alignment. Hexalex adds complexity by allowing diagonal words as well, and like Words with Friends and Scrabble, all connected words must be spelled correctly and create an actual word.
As the name implies, the tiles are hexagonal instead of squared, allowing angled insertions onto the board.
If Scrabble or Words with Friends becomes too familiar, and you crave a change of pace, iPhone users often play Hexalex for that brain twist so desired.
Sorry, Android users – iOS
smartphones only on this one.
Written by by Jaye Ryan, a freelance author who loves to write about mobile gaming for MobilePhones.org.uk.
