Word Boxing combines general knowledge, spelling and punching into one strange, amiable and ultimately pretty darn entertaining package. It’s weird, but it knows it’s weird, and it has enough fun with its strangeness that it’s hard not to get swept …
Word Boxing combines general knowledge, spelling and punching into one strange, amiable and ultimately pretty darn entertaining package. It’s weird, but it knows it’s weird, and it has enough fun with its strangeness that it’s hard not to get swept up in its rhythms of pugilism and puzzles.
Each level gives you a set of incomplete words that refer to an object – it might be a hot dog, it might be a shark, it might be a human mouth – and a series of moving letters that you need to smack into place with a boxing-gloved fist at the bottom of the screen.
It’s a really simple set-up, and while it never particularly grows out of it, there’s a crunchy joy to it that’s almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Often the letters you’re punching spell out something to do with the object, or else are designed to throw you off by creating words that fit but don’t make sense.
The dodging and weaving of the letters adds an extra layer of skill to the experience. You need to time your tap-based punches just right or you’ll end up hitting the wrong letter. Do that and you’ll lose a life. Lose four and you have to start the level all over again.
Things do get a little repetitive, but the whole experience is built with a smile on its face, and it’s clearly designed for short play sessions. It loses its shine when you play it for too long, but dipping in and out is a great way to pass some of those spare moments of dead time between doing other stuff.
Word Boxing is a bright, sometimes silly and always fun word game. It mixes things up, tricks you into thinking it’s not a word game, and manages to be just the right kind of challenging to keep you entertained in short bursts.
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