Gamezebo: Reviews | Word & Trivia

Bookworm Adventures 2 Review

erin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:02:45 -0500

The simple written word can hold a surprising amount of power, but who would have thought stringing together chains of letters could harness enough mojo to best a mighty serpent beast or an undead kung-fu warrior? Casual gaming powerhouse PopCap Games brilliantly melded wordsmithery and light-hearted RPG combat in 2007's Bookworm Adventures. With another round of literary combat freshly queued up, the second volume is every bit as quirky and obsession-forming as the original.

Million Dollar Password 2009 Edition Review

erin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:48:03 -0500

Ever since Regis Philbin brought game shows back from the brink of extinction with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, networks have been mining the vaults of yesteryear, updating old shows with fresh coats of paint and, of course, significantly larger prize purses. Case in point: Million Dollar Password, co-incidentally hosted by Regis Philbin. Unlike the show from the 1960s, this one is fast-paced, tension-filled, and extra flashy. The PC game version, Million Dollar Password 2009 Edition, is no different, but thankfully, like the game show, the great fun is timeless.

Word Whomp Underground Review

erin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:05:46 -0600

Word games are serious business in the casual space. Games like Text Twist and its popular Facebook counterpart Word Twist have hundreds of thousands of players. Remember the big brouhaha when Scrabulous was being taken away? People are passionate about their word games. So what makes Word Whomp Underground so different from the others? Believe it or not, its story.

Quizmas in Lapland Review

erin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:37:58 -0600

Cold weather has finally arrived in Texas and I love it as I stay cozy inside with a warm blanket, peppermint mocha coffee and a holiday game to wrap me in lovely holiday spirit. None other than St. Nicholas plays host - a Christmas version of Alex Trebek - in the Christmas trivia game Quizmas in Lapland.

The trivia game has two types: single player or multiplayer with up to three players. Both come with a mode called In-a-Row, and multiplayer mode also has 3 Lights mode and first to 10.

Text Twist 2 Review

erin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:34:06 -0600

A sequel to one of the most popular (and most often imitated) word games of all time, Text Twist 2 introduces some new modes to its simple yet addictive gameplay formula, but it's not enough to keep the title from feeling strangely barebones.

The premise is simple: at the beginning of each round you're given a set of letters (six, seven or eight depending on which setting you've chosen) and you have to make as many words out of those letters as possible within the two-minute time limit. Words that contain every available letter are called BINGOs, and you must score at least one BINGO per round to advance to the next one.

Fussy Freddy Review

erin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:49:07 -0500

If you've ever tried to feed a fussy toddler, you know that nothing works better than bribes and distractions. That's the premise of Fussy Freddy, an entertaining word game that has you dishing up letters and solving riddles in a bowl of alphabet soup.

Word Krispies has done the “word game in a food bowl” theme before, but Fussy Freddy adds a bunch of new twists that make it fun for experienced wordies and newbies alike.

Dam Beavers Review

erin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:50:22 -0500

Dam Beavers is a study in unfulfilled potential. Great word games don’t come along very often - it’s tricky to make a game that provides an interesting challenge to word lovers while still being accessible to those with less extensive vocabularies - but Dam Beavers might have been such a game if not for a few fatal flaws.

PictoWords Review

erin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:39:13 -0500

Although we don't see as many word games as we see hidden object or match-three, they're still among some of the most popular games with casual gamers. Yet strangely enough, there's a real gap in new word game concepts, with few daring to venture beyond the framework of Boggle. If you've already played most of the best, you might be feeling a bit... bored. Well, PictoWords takes up the challenges and puts forth something different in the word game genre.

Remember the game show Classic Concentration? It aired from 1987-1991, hosted by Jeopardy's Alex Trebek. The concept is very similar. PictoWord is a word game that uses puzzles made up of a combination of pictures and letters.

Word Riot Deluxe Review

erin — Fri, 09 May 2008 23:58:42 -0500

Although an Internet-only diversion (and Pogo.com exclusive at that), fans of popular TV game shows can't help but be drawn to Word Riot Deluxe. Despite being a strictly multiplayer endeavor - and one that's built around a fairly limited rule set, no less - there's much to like about the skillfully-presented title, which takes the form of a virtual primetime broadcast.

Brainiversity Review

admin — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 06:52:00 -0500

Most of us know that exercise and wholesome foods are endemic to a healthy lifestyle, so staying physically fit is part of our routine. But what about our mental skills? Like junk food for our brains, fun diversions like sitcoms and comic books, and yes even games, might provide delicious entertainment, but they don't always stimulate our intellects. Brainiversity, a new game from Red Sprite Studios, aims to change that.

Charlotte's Web: Word Rescue Review

admin — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 09:42:33 -0600

E. B. White's book about the unlikely friendship between Charlotte the spider and Wilbur the pig is one of the most beloved children's novels of all time, and also serves as the theme of the latest word game from MumboJumbo.

Just as Charlotte wove words into her web to try and save Wilbur from ending up as a tender pork chop on someone's dinner plate, the goal of Charlotte's Web: Word Rescue is to weave words into your own web to score points and earn different coloured ribbons.

Bookworm Adventures Deluxe Review

admin — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 09:40:06 -0600

With such celebrated puzzlers as Bejeweled, Zuma, Inasaniquarium, Chuzzle and Feeding Frenzy 2, PopCap has more than earned its reputation as a trusted casual games publisher.

Guess what? The company has done it again with its latest game: Bookworm Adventures Deluxe.

Babel Deluxe Review

admin — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 10:54:48 -0500

According to the biblical tale, people built the Tower of Babel because they wanted to reach up to the heavens. As the tower stretched higher and higher, God sensed that the builders were becoming too cheeky for their own good and threw a wrench into the works by making it so that each person spoke a different language. Since the builders were now unable to communicate with each other, the tower could never be completed.