Editor’s App Picks: Unolingo and Wordoid

I love puzzle games and word games, and lately, I’ve been enjoying these two.

Wordoid (4/5 stars average Amazon review, guidance suggested, currently FREE)

Amazon Description:

If you’re a word person, you’ll find wordoid! to be right up your alley. This fun, fast-moving word game for your Android device is easy to learn but hard to put down.

Build Words and Beat the Clock
Connect letters on a grid to create words–you’ll receive new letters and earn points for every word you make. Wild card and bonus tiles add to the fun and help you boost your score. Race against the clock and see how many words you can create!

wordoid!Long words earn more points than short ones, and working a bonus tile into your word will definitely give you a leg up–so it pays to be strategic. As with most word games, proper nouns and abbreviated or hyphenated words aren’t allowed in wordoid!. That shouldn’t be a problem, though, because there are plenty of words in the English language to choose from (and you know a whole lot of them!).

My Take

Wordoid is a lot like Boggle, but with a larger grid of letters to choose from. I’m not sure why the rating is “guidance suggested”, since I’d feel totally comfortable allowing my kids to play this game.

Another significant difference between Wordoid and Boggle is that in Wordoid, when you link up letters to form a word and submit that word, all the letters you used in it are removed from the game grid and are replaced with new letters.

This adds a new dimension to the challenge, because sometimes you need to choose between two or more possible words that include a certain letter you know will be gone from the grid as soon as you submit the word.

I like the notebook-and-handwriting style graphics, the simplicity of play, and the timer element. The time alloted is long enough that you don’t feel rushed or stressed (at least, not until the last twenty seconds or so!), yet short enough that you feel challenged and know you must work quickly.

I rate Wordoid 4.5/5 stars. I’m holding back that last half a star only because of the game’s simplicity. It would be nice if there were more variation than just the usual word search and provided wildcard and bonus tiles, but considering that this game is free, it’s hard to complain or expect much more from it.

Unolingo (4.5/5 stars average Amazon review, all ages, currently priced at $4.99)

Unolingo is like a cross between a crossword puzzle and Sudoku.

Amazon Description:

If you like crosswords, Sudoku, or word games like Scrabble, you’ll love Unolingo. This word puzzle is fun for the daily commuter, the casual puzzler, or the serious word buff, and it’s great for your Android device or Kindle Fire.

UnolingoWord Up!
Every Unolingo puzzle is a 10 x 10 crossword without clues, with 26 empty squares that require the precise placement of each letter in the alphabet. Select from your choice of four difficulty levels, and use your word knowledge, reasoning, and deduction skills to complete the puzzle.

This release includes our original 20 introductory puzzles, plus 160 word puzzles guaranteed to keep you challenged and entertained for hours. Unolingo puzzles can generally be completed in five to 15 minutes–perfect for when you’re on the go.

Features
– Series 1 Puzzles: 160 puzzles offering hours of enjoyment
– Unique hint and audit functions to help you solve the most difficult puzzles
– Bonus puzzles accessible by sharing your scores and achievements on Facebook
– Flexible design supports casual play, collaboration with friends, or time-based competition
– Extensive performance statistics to monitor your progress and compare with others

My Take

I love crossword puzzles, though it can be frustrating when a certain clue is too obscure or written in such a tricky way that you have no idea what the answer is, and end up being unable to complete the puzzle.

You will NEVER have that problem with Unolingo, because there are no clues and all the words are familiar ones.

The challenge of this game lies in matching up the letters to the words in the grid correctly, because in every grid there are numerous blanks that could be filled by more than one possible letter to make an acceptable word. This is where the Sudoku-like element comes in.

You must begin by placing letters in words where there’s only one possible letter that’s a fit, then use those words to help clue yourself in to where the other letters should go.

If you’re stuck, the game allows you to view hints or ‘audit’ your letter placement—check to see if any letters you’ve already placed are in incorrect locations. This adds time to the clock, reducing your score, but I find that since I’m only playing solo and not using any of the online competitor comparison features, I don’t really care what my scores are.

Those who find themselves really addicted to this game (and it IS kind of addictive, especially if you’re a word game fan!) may also want to check out Unolingo Series 2, Unolingo Series 3, Unolingo Series 4 and Unolingo Series 5.

I rate Unolingo 5/5 stars. It’s a fun and original twist on the classic crossword, and the added logic puzzle/Sudoku gameplay element adds to the challenge and fun.

 

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