There are quite a few word scramble games on the App Store. iWordJuggle (free, App Store Link) is a universal app that is a bit different in the fact that there is no time limit or limit or a given number of chances to unscramble a word. From Roland Leith, an independent iOS developer, iWordJuggle stands out in a number of ways.
One of the things that makes iWordJuggle unique among other word games is that you can choose how many letters each word will have, which makes it more fun and even that much more of a time waster if you choose 6 letters per word. You can also choose any 3 of a set of 15 words. If none of the words in the set are to your liking, you can select a different set, but any other word you choose must be from the same set.
There is one thing, however, that I think can easily make the game too easy, removing the challenge and much of the fun – because you can choose your words before you start the game, you can unscramble the words in your head in the word select screen, then just get a load of points because you already know all the words to unscramble. Even though this is the case, iWordJuggle is still challenging enough for someone who plays often, but at the same time remains easy for the more casual player.
The game is scored depending not only on how many words you can unscramble, but also the length of a word. Each number of letters has it’s own leaderboard for scoring. Even though separating the scoring by the number of letters is good, I think an overall leaderboard should have been added as well. It would have been nice to see some sort of indication on whether you have unscrambled all the words or not or just something simple that pops up and says you have no more words to unscramble for the three words you chose.
iWordJuggle has some basic, but simple graphics. I think the developer went in the right direction with this. Sometimes you don’t want to have anything too distracting or to take away from the actual gameplay, which you see in a good number of word scramble games on the App Store. You can adjust the theme of the game to give it a different look. iWordJuggle contains five different colored themes you can choose from. I think the same can be said about the sound in iWordJuggle. the sound effects are very limited and basic, but with a word scramble game, nothing more is necessary. Maybe some background music would be nice.
Another thing that separates iWordJuggle from other word scramble games is that you can combine letters from all three words to create one word. Other word scramble games tend to limit you to one word at a time with certain number of letters to unscramble. iWordJuggle also contains support for left handed players. I’m left handed and to me it really didn’t make a difference which way I played. The game also has support for landscape mode, which is a good addition. I always prefer to play landscape mode over portrait if that’s an option.
Something that would have been a welcome addition to iWordJuggle is online play or even connecting with a friend over Bluetooth. iWordJuggle does have another mode, compete mode, if you want to compete with a friend: you both start the game in compete mode, enter the same words, and see who gets most points. (Given the fact that you enter your own words/letters, compete mode score doesn’t get saved to the leaderboards).
iWordJuggle is a great word game that will keep you hooked for hours on end. Although it doesn’t have the bells and whitles of most word games such as a timer or number of times to unscramble a word, I don’t think it’s needed. Graphically, the same thing applies. It looks pretty simple, but especially for the more casual gamer, I don’t think you need anything more. Anything else would distract you from the letters and the game itself. If you have a free minutes to kill or even if you want something more intense and challenging, give iWordJuggle a try.
Price: (Free, App Store Link)
Rating: 4/5 [rating:4]
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