Scrabble

Almost everyone’s played Scrabble. Link words together, find a way to use that big-scoring Z, add an S to that word to score points you don’t deserve; but what about playing against friends on Facebook miles away, anytime, anywhere? Welcome to EA’s Scrabble for iPhone and iPod touch.

No matter the format, the concept of Scrabble is the same. In case you’ve been living under a rock in the middle of the desert, Scrabble is basically a crossword puzzle in reverse. Each player gets 7 tiles, each one a unique letter with a unique score (which are based on the use of the letter in the English language; less common the letter, the more it’s worth). Words are laid down on the board, intersecting each other and connecting to one another. Special tiles that earn you multiplied points on a word or letter are laid across the board in a sunburst pattern.

You can play either by yourself, against a computer, pass-and-play against friends, local multiplayer WiFi, or the brand new Facebook-driven multiplayer. There’s also several game modes, with a choice of easy, normal or hard difficulties, which include either playing until a certain score, to a certain number of turns, or Classic mode where players go until no more words can be made with the remaining pieces. There’s also two different dictionaries to choose from for the diehards; Merriam-Webster and the English TWL (the Scrabble Tournament Word List).

The conversion from board game to digital game definitely isn’t a new concept, but the iPhone’s touch screen allows for some of the best digital board game experiences, and Scrabble is far from an exception. The board is displayed at an overview, but using the familiar pinch/stretch gestures zoom in and out, or dragging a letter to the board also automatically zooms the board in. These controls work extremely well, besides some minor qualms here and there that don’t seem to hinder gameplay.

If you’re having trouble finding words in your rack, dragging the letters around reorganizes them, along with a shuffle button to mix them up. There’s also an option to trade out letters, or a “best word” button to automatically lay down the best word possible. A note I’d like to make is that a small problem occurs when reorganizing letters in your rack; it feels blind because of no feedback or animations. It plops down where it wants to at times, making it feel messy and pointless.

As mentioned earlier, a recent update featured online play via the Facebook platform. While it’s not a public-lobby, anyone with a Facebook account can play against anyone else as long as they’re friends; even those without an iPhone. Setting up a game and selecting people to play with is a fairly easy task. You can invite them by typing their name and selecting from a pop-up of suggested people, or go through your friend list and even see who’s signed into Facebook right at that moment. Those who are offline that get invited can pick-up the game when they sign in. Friends on the Facebook site receive a notification when invited, and are able to play in-browser against others either on an iPhone or those who are also on the site.

Turns are organized in a way that if you want to sign-in, place a word, sign back out again and come back the next day, it’s possible. It’s also possible to have multiple games like this going at one time. It also works very well to play in real time; it’s very quick and responsive, and there’s also an in-game chat window. Players’ names are displayed at the top right along with their score. You can also find out more about each player by clicking on them.

All of the game is bright, colorful, and sharp. The presentation of the game was kept at the front of the brain, with only a few UI tweaks that could be done to bring it to look and perform at it’s best. The menu items at times, especially some selections when setting up a Facebook game, seem like those with fat fingers may have trouble getting around, as some buttons are either crammed up against another or relatively small. For most, however, it should be no problem.

Overall, Scrabble is a classic game which never fails to please. But modern multiplayer features bring it to a new level and make it the best Scrabble experience besides sitting down with friends and the board itself. $5 is by far not too much to ask, as it’s a great rendition, plus some, for both the Scrabble-obssessed and casual players alike.

Current Status: Recommended

Reviewed at: v1.1.88
Reviewed on Firmware: 2.2.1
Download size: 9.2MB
Released on: Jul 9th, 2009
Retails for: $4.99
Compatible with: iPod touch Gen 1 & 2 / iPhone Classic / iPhone 3G