To be entirely honest the only reason I'm doing this review of Scrabble is because I didn't want all of my posts to be about films. So yeah in a way this is filler. But hopefully filler that's at least mildly interesting.
For Christmas 2012 my Dad bought me Connect4. Well he bought me the £3 copycat from Wilko the cheapskate. Then a year later he gave me Scrabble. And it was the best gift any of us got. It got to that point where (only 2 weeks after getting it) my Dad's girlfriend had it on her phone, him and her were both playing it at work and my Grandma now breezed through the dictionary looking for interesting words. We were all hooked. Then of course I came back to uni and took Scrabble with me. There were tears, but not because I was going.
Since I had Scrabble with me I got my girlfriend to play too (yes I know what women want). She became hooked as well and some weeks later she told me she had it on her phone, and then wickedly remarked that it was to wipe the floor with me in the future. Instead of getting the board out now for convenience we play together in bed against the computer.
A couple of days ago waiting for my order at my local I downloaded it myself, thinking I could just play whenever -on the bus, waiting for food etc. and because I wanted to see if i could beat the computer. I played against the computer on Expert for two minutes and gave up - you try doing something with E E E I U A G on your first go - so then decided I would start from the bottom at Beginner, win 3 games in a row without losing and then move up a difficulty.
Anyway that's my colourful history with Scrabble, lets move onto the app itself.
Playing the game is straight forward enough, drag the tiles from the bottom onto the board and arrange wherever you want (provided game-play allows it of course) there is then option buttons below your tiles such as 'shuffle', 'exchange' and 'dictionary'. I honestly don't think game-play could be any easier, its brilliantly simple and incredibly engaging. I've developed an intense rivalry with the app's teacher, who will tell you what the best answer was after your turn in as patronising a phrase possible 'Oh, okay... Let me show you what you might have missed' It only makes it all the more infuriating for the best answer to be 'GJETOST' and because of where it's place on the board it ends up being 72 when you were struggling to get 12.
Going online is also a breeze, provided you've got internet or can connect to WiFi you're good to go more or less immediately. Its a bit of pain having to sit through the tutorial of how to play when I don't think it could be more obvious but to those new to the app it may be quite helpful.
Whats also really helpful during play against the computer you get given both of the blank tiles, whereas in regular play you may not get either.
There is also a neat feature in that you can keep records of your scores, your wins, losses and if you're really proud of them you can share them online for all to see.
The only major gripe I have is that sometimes after play, for instance if you were playing your second game in a row the screen may start to freeze and you'll have to press your home button or lock and unlock it to get it going again. Additionally the quality of picture on a Samsung compared to that of an Iphone is shocking - not that its bad, just the Iphone is noticeably better. Furthermore the game does diminish your phone battery a lot quicker than just using it normally. But then again so does every good app (looking at you Facebook).
In conclusion, despite a few minor gripes the Scrabble app for android is simple and engaging and recommend anyone (those who enjoy the game already, or who are trying to best someone else) to get it. Oh and did I mention its free? Why are you still reading this and not downloading it already?
For Christmas 2012 my Dad bought me Connect4. Well he bought me the £3 copycat from Wilko the cheapskate. Then a year later he gave me Scrabble. And it was the best gift any of us got. It got to that point where (only 2 weeks after getting it) my Dad's girlfriend had it on her phone, him and her were both playing it at work and my Grandma now breezed through the dictionary looking for interesting words. We were all hooked. Then of course I came back to uni and took Scrabble with me. There were tears, but not because I was going.
Since I had Scrabble with me I got my girlfriend to play too (yes I know what women want). She became hooked as well and some weeks later she told me she had it on her phone, and then wickedly remarked that it was to wipe the floor with me in the future. Instead of getting the board out now for convenience we play together in bed against the computer.
A couple of days ago waiting for my order at my local I downloaded it myself, thinking I could just play whenever -on the bus, waiting for food etc. and because I wanted to see if i could beat the computer. I played against the computer on Expert for two minutes and gave up - you try doing something with E E E I U A G on your first go - so then decided I would start from the bottom at Beginner, win 3 games in a row without losing and then move up a difficulty.
Anyway that's my colourful history with Scrabble, lets move onto the app itself.
Playing the game is straight forward enough, drag the tiles from the bottom onto the board and arrange wherever you want (provided game-play allows it of course) there is then option buttons below your tiles such as 'shuffle', 'exchange' and 'dictionary'. I honestly don't think game-play could be any easier, its brilliantly simple and incredibly engaging. I've developed an intense rivalry with the app's teacher, who will tell you what the best answer was after your turn in as patronising a phrase possible 'Oh, okay... Let me show you what you might have missed' It only makes it all the more infuriating for the best answer to be 'GJETOST' and because of where it's place on the board it ends up being 72 when you were struggling to get 12.
Going online is also a breeze, provided you've got internet or can connect to WiFi you're good to go more or less immediately. Its a bit of pain having to sit through the tutorial of how to play when I don't think it could be more obvious but to those new to the app it may be quite helpful.
Whats also really helpful during play against the computer you get given both of the blank tiles, whereas in regular play you may not get either.
There is also a neat feature in that you can keep records of your scores, your wins, losses and if you're really proud of them you can share them online for all to see.
The only major gripe I have is that sometimes after play, for instance if you were playing your second game in a row the screen may start to freeze and you'll have to press your home button or lock and unlock it to get it going again. Additionally the quality of picture on a Samsung compared to that of an Iphone is shocking - not that its bad, just the Iphone is noticeably better. Furthermore the game does diminish your phone battery a lot quicker than just using it normally. But then again so does every good app (looking at you Facebook).
In conclusion, despite a few minor gripes the Scrabble app for android is simple and engaging and recommend anyone (those who enjoy the game already, or who are trying to best someone else) to get it. Oh and did I mention its free? Why are you still reading this and not downloading it already?
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