Like many longtime iPhone possessor and game aficionados , I had a sizeable obsession withWords With Friendsyears back . When it was still fresh and new — well , as fresh and new as an obvious Scrabble knock - off can be — I beguile several games at all times , savor each close victory over a confrere or pal and simmer over the unvarying losses to my married woman . I even happily buy the game again on iPad simply for the perquisite of a larger board scene .
It ’s the same language With acquaintance that many of us work obsessively years back , albeit with a modernised UI and new features .
But like most play addictions , particularly those with unoriginal origins , the spark faded . I pared down my active matches , started ignoring invitations , and finally delete the app entirely . That was back in 2011 , and I ’m sure enough not alone in lose the quiver over time . More than 100 of my Facebook friend have play Bible With friend , and all but a few of them last competed “ over two weeks ago , ” tell the app — which in many cases likely intend calendar month or years .
But there ’s a young speech With Friends in Ithiel Town . No , really : It ’s yell “ New Words With Friends , ” and it launched on October 9 on the App Store , replace the previous version and putting a unused case on the experience with add together features . Is it compelling enough to draw a long - lapse player back into the word - construction fray , or is it really just more of the same ?
Fresh features
New Logos With Friends is n’t like New Coke : This is n’t a striking duty period in approach , but rather the same essence formula with a fresh pelage of blusher . The UI is much sleeker than the years - honest-to-god one that I recall , and anyone who ’s played Draw Something 2 orother competitive Zynga gamesof late will get a conversant feel from the menus . Irritatingly , the game is n’t optimise for the iPhone 6 , despite launching weeks after its acquittance , so everything looks a little blurred on Apple ’s new hardware .
Solo gambling matches appear in your regular list , and the calculator takes two instant per act to sham a real player — albeit one more heedful than most .
Beyond that , however , the actual game experience remains unchanged . It ’s still a slimly rejiggered version of Scrabble played asynchronously with on-line pals , challenging you to place your missive tile strategically on the board to make run-in and maximize your points tally . Finding your friends is easier than it was right smart back in the day , thanks to the aforementioned Facebook integration , plus you’re able to still equal up with random player when active pals are in unforesightful supply .
Interestingly , New Holy Writ With Friends bestow a raw Community Match feature of speech , which lets you flip through actor listings to pick your opponent . You ’ll see a profile image , username , and skill ranking , and you could even use location services to try and pinpoint nearby players , as well as sort by gender . The latter feature almost give this version a punk - same solicitation , and the possibility of that getting really creepy really chop-chop seems inevitable . Luckily , you may turn the feature off so you do n’t turn up in others ’ event . ( I did . Quickly . )
And if you really do n’t require to mingle with random password fiends , fresh Words With Friends total one other all-important new feature : The power to spiel calculator - see adversary , even while offline . To better simulate the virtuoso of wager a real - sprightliness foe , the computer take a couple of minute to execute its routine — and each match seems to pit you against a differently - skilled A.I. player , as I found myself quickly dominated in one match and comfortably in the lead in another .
New? Not really
Many Community Match profiles feature real human exposure , which gives it a weird , dating app - like appeal . I ’ll sting with the brainy cat , thanks .
All told , young Words With Friends is much like older Words With Friends , albeit shinier and with a mates added selection . But did we really need a new app for this ? You get the sense that Zynga is running out of ideas after spinning the “ With Friends ” brand into a few other avenues in recent area — including Hanging , Scramble , Gems , and track — with none matching word ’ phenomenal success .
Also , there is one minus takeaway to the New version : It ’s a barren , advertising - supported app that supplant the previous adaptation , and anyone who possess the early premium release is hypothecate to have ads disabled in the current app . That ’s been the case for many kinfolk I ’ve watch comment online , but not for me — objectionable full - screen advert appear after each turn , and there ’s currently no choice to pay a fee to wipe out the ads . Perhaps it ’s because I had n’t played for so long that I did n’t have a Zynga account synchronise up anymore , but that rubbed me the wrong way , having pay back when .
Does Modern Words With Friends have the force to reignite the letter - pair rage of erstwhile fans ? maybe . It ’s the same biz , albeit in a much sheeny package , with more ways to find opponent ( either real or faux ) . It was decent to jump back in for a bit , like encounter an old friend for drinks and reminisce about the glory solar day , but I did n’t finger the inviolable desire to stick with it for long . Luckily , it ’s a detached download , so you have little to lose — aside from brainy battle with your buddies — by seek to reboot your own Words fixation .
