Word Spiral
by Amanda Nettgen
(USA)
Game:
Word Spiral
Download from:
GameHouse (FULL FREE VERSION when you open a free trial Fun Ticket account!)
Rating:
4/5
Quick verdict
Do you like the beach and word games? If so, you’ll be on Cloud Nine with this quirky word game.
What's it about?
The first thing you may notice in Word Spiral is the pretty bubbling effect your cursor has over the different tabs. Amongst a desktop-worthy beach background, choose from three modes: Relaxed, Regular, or Speed Play.
You’ll have to play all of the modes at some point if you wish to earn all of the items for "your" beach. The unique puzzle number you’re on will be displayed under each choice.
Word Spiral – on any mode – is a combination of several different games. Its closest relative is Bonnie’s Bookstore (kind of like Boggle), but the layout looks like Zuma and the whole purpose is to solve a crossword puzzle. Whew.
In Relaxed mode there’s not a time limit, but you do have a limited number of turns.
With Regular play you get WordSpiral
plus a time limit, but it is much slower one compared to Speed Play (which can be short and difficult).
With any method, the bulk of your time is spent forming valid words of three or more letters. One letter can only reach so far to the next letter, but they don’t have to touch directly as in other word games, which I thought was interesting.
New letters will "spiral" in after you’ve made your word. Created words go directly towards filling in twin letters contained in the round’s crossword puzzle (similar to the download Wheel of Fortune game).
You have to keep a kind of short-term mental memory of which letters you have already used, so you don’t keep spelling words that refuse to reveal any more of the bigger puzzle. You can hit Shuffle to jumble the display up if you get stuck, but be aware that you’ll lose a turn or time doing this.When your time or turns are up (or you simply are able to deduce the remaining crossword letters easily), the focus shifts to completing the level’s puzzle. You have three strikes available in which to make mistakes in guessing. Stats will pop up with your score, longest word and highest-scoring word and the end of the level, if you proved to be successful.
The best and perhaps main reason to play Word Spiral is to collect all of the objects (i.e., a sandcastle, beach chair, or sea gull) to fill up each of your five beaches. You acquire a given item by spelling the listed Bonus Word for each level.
The same item will be available in the next round if you aren’t able (or forget) to form the Bonus Word the first time. The first beach has 37 items to obtain; that’s a crowded beach!
Free downloadable word game reviews and links!
Bonnie's Bookstore game review
Bookworm Adventures game review
Free Bookworm download game review
Scrabble download game review
Scrabble Blast review
Scrabble Journey review
Scrabble Rack Attack game review
Super Word Power game review
Wild West Billy game review
Word Krispies game review
Word Slinger game review
Word Spiral game review
Free Scrabble download guide!
Free downloadable board games
Free Bookworm word game downloads
Free online board games guide
Pros and cons
Word Spiral is great for those who eat up word games. If you’re a fan of Bookworm Adventures and the like, chances are you’ll enjoy (and possibly become addicted to) Word Spiral. It’s awesome for people who are trophy fiends.
The only bad thing I could see was that none of the crosswords to solve are themed. It’s purely a shot in the dark at first when it comes to filling in the horizontals and verticals.
The verdict
Word Spiralis geared towards word game lovers, achievement-seekers and perhaps females (who tend to like the beach more). It’s a good option for your deserving brain and to use your Fun Ticket on.
Get WordSpiral FREE to keep forever when you open a trial GamePass Account!