When more and more classics are getting a new lease on life in today’s ‘socially-connected’ world, one is hardly surprised that board game staple Scrabble gets its own makeover in the new hit, “Words with Friends”.
The reinvention takes Scrabble and pole-vaults the homerun hit to new heights using the social media model. It’s no wonder “Words with Friends” has gained a cult following with today’s iPhone & Android apps game users. If tech-savvy teens are hooked on the straightforward appeal of Words with Friends, could baby boomers’ sense of nostalgia for Scrabble be so far behind?
Zynga’s (formerly Newtoy, Inc.) popular mobile phones apps game began generating cult following for the game in 2009. It expanded to Facebook not long after, where even more game enthusiasts jumped into the fray. Throw in iPad & iPod Touch into the picture and that makes for a whole lot of exchange of words!
So, how does it all work? True to Scrabble form, Words with Friends is a laid back game where one engages an opponent to use letter tiles to form words. These are then positioned either vertically or horizontally, lined up in a grid much like a crossword puzzle.
Classic Scrabble rules still apply, like steering clear of hyphenated words, contractions (like dep’t for department), abbreviations (AA is a no-go), proper nouns (no dice for names like “Alec”) affixes or abbreviations (“LOL”will be disputed!).
Play Words with Friends online and discover that score-keeping is a cinch since the apps does this for you. This makes it easy for whiz players to earn bragging rights after having beaten 20 opponents simultaneously --- that’s the maximum number of games one can play at one time. On the other hand, one is not necessarily limited to playing with friends-friends since it is just as easy to add new ones to compete against. A notification system alerts an opponent that it’s their turn.
