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Scrabble posts

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Scrabble for iPhone gets a Facebook boost

by Michael Rose (RSS feed) on Mar 24th, 2009

Say the words 'Facebook' and 'Scrabble' in the same breath and you're likely to get the evil eye from fans of the lamented Scrabulous application that formerly called the social network its wordy home, even though the official game has made its way back onto Facebook. Despite the stomp job on the unofficial version from Hasbro The Hardnosed Holder of the copyright, the game is still addictive in analog, online and iPhone formats.

Now a new version of the iPhone Scrabble game, which previously permitted networked head-to-head play over WiFi, is giving players the option of using the Facebook Connect tools to play against friends far and wide. Announced today at the Game Developers Conference, the FBC-friendly build of the app requires you to add the Scrabble application on Facebook, then log in from the iPhone to connect the two. If you don't already own the iPhone app, it's $4.99US. Play can cross over between the web and iPhone versions of the game with no difficulty -- I'm loading it up as we speak and challenging my Facebook buddies (who are, without exception, better at Scrabble than I am) to a match or two.

We'll have a full rundown of GDC opening day iPhone news later on tonight.

Tags: facebook, games, iphone, network, scrabble

Filed under: Gaming, Software, Reviews, iPhone, iPod touch

TUAW Review: Scrabble for iPhone

by Steven Sande (RSS feed) on Dec 27th, 2008

Hasbro's Scrabble is a classic board game, and Electronic Arts made the crossword game one of the first releases for the iPhone / iPod touch platform. Although the game has been available since July, I decided to wait to review it until some of the early bugs were squashed and new features were added. Since Scrabble is a holiday favorite for families, it's the perfect time for a review of the game.

The original board game is played with 100 small hardwood tiles, most of which have a letter of the alphabet and a point value printed on them. The playing board is a 15 by 15 grid with some squares marked as double or triple letters or words. The object, to those few people who have never played the game, is to create words from a rack of letters randomly assigned to you.

Points are assigned per word based on the individual point values of the tiles and whether a letter or word overlays a colored multiplier square. After the first word has been placed on the board, subsequent words must touch another word in crossword puzzle fashion.

Continue reading “TUAW Review: Scrabble for iPhone”

Tags: board games, BoardGames, games, iphone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, scrabble

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store

iPhone game news from EA's press conference at E3

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 15th, 2008



I'm at E3 in Los Angeles all week for TUAW's sister site Joystiq, and this afternoon we got to see the Electronic Arts press conference at the Orpheum Theater. Among bigger EA games like Spore and Dead Space, Travis Boatman (who has graced these pages before talking about mobile games on the iPhone) of EA's mobile games division came out on stage to talk about iPhone gaming. He said that obviously there is "a lot of interest" around mobile gaming lately, especially around the iPhone, and that EA is committed to capitalizing on that interest.

They premiered three games in the App Store at launch (Sudoku, Tetris, and Scrabble), and Boatman pointed out that they've tried to innovate in all three -- Tetris features a unique piece-drawing system, and Spore (full name: Spore Origins, a mini version of the bacteria stage of the game, complete with a creature creator) will use the accelerometer to control its creatures. Additionally, EA wants WiFi to be a big part of their games on the iPhone -- they're planning on releasing a patch to the Scrabble game that will allow people to play together online.

Finally, Boatman hinted that they were aiming to do a lot more with the iPhone's processing power -- they plan ports of Tiger Woods and Need for Speed on the iPhone. As Mac gaming fans, EA isn't exactly our favorite game developer, but getting big developers behind real innovation on the iPhone will help lift the tides of the software in the App Store.

Tags: app-store, ea, gaming, iphone, scrabble, spore-origins, sudoku, tetris, travis-boatman

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