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It’s time for another installment of Palm Discovery’s wReview Wednesday!

Bookworm for iPhone and iPod Touch

Most of the time, we take time out of our busy lives to relax. Some of us enjoy resting to relax, while others enjoy playing games. Although many games offer the sheer enjoyment of entertainment and amusement, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to get something out of it besides entertainment? Well, there is! Here’s a word-based game that is sure to be fun, entertaining, challenging and educational! Actually, most word-based games are educational and challenging, although this one I’m going to review today does offer more of an educational value than others.

Bookworm for iPhone and iPod Touch, a very appropriately titled word-based game from Pop Cap Games is a very well-designed game that not only offers great game play, but also provides an educational value to it. Besides the typical word-based game where you supply words to play, the game will also provide a brief definition of that word (select words only) when you submit it! Now that’s educational! Not only are you playing the game, you are also learning the definition of the word! This game not only can be appealing for the younger players but also older ones who may enjoy a bit of a challenge testing his or her skill in word vocabulary. This may be the best game you can give someone and offer them something useful besides “just” a game.

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Bookworm is very much like your typical word-based game in such that you are essentially playing against yourself in trying to come up with words based on the random assortment of letters and vowels you’re given. You are given a board of letter tiles in which you are expected to create a valid word of at least three letters but you can only choose and create the word based on tiles adjacent to each other. If you take too long in creating a word, or if you create a simple word, the game will come up with tiles that start burning. The object is to avoid the burning tiles from burning all the way down to the bottom meaning GAME OVER. One way to avoid the burning tiles is to create words that are longer and more complicated than the simple three letter words, or, if you have a burning tile, to create a word with that burning tile in it to get rid of it. As you continue with creating words, you’ll notice that the shelf below the tiles will get filled with books until it fills the entire shelf and you’ll be taken to the next level or stage of higher difficulty. The game ends when the burning tiles get to the bottom of the shelf and everything gets burned down. However, on the other hand, the game is somewhat different in that if you create lesser known words that a brief definition of the word will come up. So, if you totally lucked out with a guess, you’ll get a brief moment to learn the definition of that word. This is the first game (mind you I don’t play too many word-based games) I’ve come across that teaches you words. And for that, it is one of my favorite word-based game for that main reason. The game is not only challenging, entertaining but very educational in terms of increasing your vocabulary. I certainly can’t complain about that!

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

More details of Bookworm for the iPhone and iPod Touch (taken from Apple iTunes store)

Feed your appetite for words in this award-winning puzzle game for all ages, from PopCap.

Link letters left, right, up and down to build words to keep Lex the Bookworm sated and smiling. Bigger words return better bonuses. But watch out for burning letters — they could spell disaster!

Game Features

CLASSIC MODE
Work wordy wonders as you advance to higher levels and beat your own high scores.

TIMED GAME
Test your lexicographical prowess and link letters fast.

SHAKE TO SCRAMBLE
Can’t find the right word? Give the game a shake to rearrange the letter tiles on screen. But be careful, scrambling has its limits.

ALL NEW BONUS BOOKS
Unlock themed tomes and complete special word collections.

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Tip your screen to “landscape” for a quick look at your word history.

UNLIMITED LEVELS
Keep going in Classic mode to see how long you can link letters and create words.

HALL OF FAME
Save your high scores. Be the envy of your friends.

More Apps from PopCap:

BEJEWELED® 2 – Match sparkling gems in the world’s #1 puzzle game.

PLANTS vs. ZOMBIES™ – Soil your plants in this award-winning action/strategy game.

PEGGLE™ – Clear the orange pegs in this epic blend of luck and skill.

CHUZZLE™ – Slide and match cute, cuddly — and surprisingly explosive — furballs.

What’s New In Version 1.0.2

Words and definitions added

Bug fixes

Slideshow of Bookworm for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Video of Bookworm for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Video review of Bookworm for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Here are my observations:

I Liked:

Simple and straightforward game play

The game itself is easy and straightforward to play. Simply tap to pick letter tiles adjacent to each other to create a word of three letters or more. Then tap on either the Bookworm’s speech bubble or the last tile of the word to submit it. The object of the game is to create enough words to fill up the book shelf below and go on to the next level. Avoid burning tiles from burning to the bottom and burning the entire thing down which will mean end of game.

Challenging game play

Although the idea of the game is simple, it is a very challenging game, requiring your knowledge of words and being able to pick out tiles that are adjacent to each other that can form words. The Timed Game can be very challenging as you are required to create a word within a certain amount of time before a tile starts burning. Also, once a burning tile is burning its way to the bottom, the challenge of creating a word with that burning tile can also add to the challenge and suspense. In addition, from time to time, you may be provided with bonus tiles in green that will provide you with bonus points if you use them in a word.

Play against yourself

This is one game where you are essentially playing against yourself, as you are trying to find words that you know that you can create. Over time, you will be able to check on your progress and the break-down of your words. This is one game that will greatly improve your vocabulary and thinking skills.

Bonus letters for bonus points

As mentioned already, from time to time, there may be green bonus letter tiles that appear that will give you bonus points if you create a word with it. The challenge obviously is to create a word with it.

Great idea: Scramble tiles support

I like the idea of using the iPhone accelerometer to determine if you shake the iPhone to scramble the tiles. This is a lot of fun to do, but if you decide to scramble the tiles, you will find that some tiles will start showing up adding to the challenge once you scramble the tiles.

Stats Screen

This can be very helpful for us to gauge our progress over time and see how well (or not), we’re doing in the game. It provides us with our best and highest score, the best word, etc.

Word history and book shelves display

This is similar to that of a Trophy case in which you can get more books and unlock books as you continue to play the game over time. The breakdown of the number of books you get for each shelf (3 letter, 4 letter, etc) is a good indication of your vocabulary skills.

Integration with mobile Pop Cap website for purchases, etc

I like having a button that directly integrates the game to the Pop Cap website. This allows me to be able to find out more on the games that Pop Cap offers, plus purchase them directly from the mobile website and other information.

Games auto save and resume

The game will automatically be saved when you either exit out of a currently playing game by pressing on the Menu button or simply by pressing the iPhone’s Home button. When you next launch the game, it will ask you whether you’d like to continue the game or start a new game.

Word definition offered on lesser known words

One of the features I really liked about this game is that for certain lesser known words that the game will briefly show the definition of a word. Sometimes I may just happen to stumble upon a collection of letters that can be submitted as a word. It is those times when the game will educate me on such word by providing the definition so that I know and learn it. Great feature!

Books with themed words unlocked

In relation to the Books and Shelves display screen, various “themed” books can and will be unlocked when you create words that are in those normally “hidden” and locked books. As you continue to play and create words that are in those books, books and words will then be unlocked and revealed in the book shelf Display screen.

Burning tiles add challenge

A great idea that adds a challenge to the game is the burning tiles. Although it is something that can be distracting and obviously something you can’t ignore, it puts the ball in your court to deal with it as quickly as possible or else have it burn all the way down to the shelf. I really like the burning tiles as it forces me to act quickly and come up with a word.

Bonus word offered for bonus points

At the top right corner, there’s a “Bonus word” that if you create it in your game, you’ll get extra points.

View extended book list in landscape mode

I would have liked if the game was supported in landscape mode, but at least the game will display an extended book shelf list if you turn it in landscape view. I do however, understand that there wouldn’t be much of a game if it were rendered in landscape as the burning tiles won’t take long before it reaches the bottom so it’s not a big deal that the game isn’t supported in landscape mode.

Volume slider for sounds and music

As most of you who read my reviews know how much I stress on having a slider for volume, well, I’m glad to say that Bookworm offers that volume slider. This allows me to set the volume of the music and sound effects so that I get them at the level I want. If I want to completely mute the sound, I slide it all the way to the left or if I want it at the loudest level, I slide it all the way to the right. This allows me to customize the balance of music and sound at the level I want, not just the toggle of On or Off like many other games.

I Didn’t Like:

No Facebook Connect available

I must admit that Facebook Connect for Bejeweled Blitz! has gotten me wanting more iPhone games that support Facebook Connect and integration, if only just for “bragging” rights. I hope that Pop Cap will understand the addictiveness of this idea and start implementing it in all their games.

No support for two players

Sometimes, it would be nice to have a game that can support more than one player. I understand that this is more of a solitaire type of game, but I do find that if a game at least offered the choice of a solitaire or a two player game that it could be very beneficial when you have a friend that wants to play and you have only ONE iPhone.

No count down to appearance of burning tile

I understand that the burning tiles show up every few seconds in the timed game, but I would really like it if I got some kind of indication of how much time I have left before the burning tile comes up. This can help me a lot in figuring out the time I have to create a word before a tile starts burning. Of course, it’s not essential, but I think the game can be enhanced with such a feature.

Review Summary

Bookworm for iPhone and iPod Touch offers a very simple to understand and play word-based game that offers a lot of challenging game play. The burning tiles add that extra time limited challenge that forces you to think quickly to create a word before it burns to the bottom. Plus bonus words, letters add that extra challenge in your quest to get more points and complete the stage. What I really liked about the game is the definitions it offers when you create a lesser-known word, helping you build or enhance your vocabulary. And of course the Stats and Book Shelf Display can help any novice gamer to this game to improve and move up the stages and level to master the game and their vocab. If you ever wanted to give a youngster and even those not so young a game that is not only fun and entertaining but also education, give them the Bookworm game and even if they don’t become a Bookworm, they’ll at least have the vocabulary of one!

Enjoyed this review? Check out the many other Palm Discovery software reviews here such as palm os software review, windows-mobile software review, symbian os software review, iPhone and ipod touch software review.

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