First impressions
We had always been pretty keen on games like Scrabble, so when we were introduced to Whirly Word we figured it would be a cinch with what we fancied to be our vast vocabulary. We were pleasantly surprised to be quite challenged when we started off.
There was something about those letters being set in a wheel that threw us from time to time, and words like “den” or “gin” did not make themselves immediately apparent as a result. As the game indicates exactly how many valid words you can get out of the letters you’ve been given, and how long each word should be, we had no excuses when we couldn’t guess them all. Who knew “ere” was a word?
How it works
You load ‘er up and then start to play. On each level you get a wheel with six letters and “ENTER” in the middle.
You will also see lines of dots in groups of three, then four, maybe five and finally at least one set of six. The object of the game is to form as many words as you can with the letters you’ve been given, hitting “ENTER” after every one.
Each time you choose a correct or valid word, it will appear above, replacing one of the sets of dots. You will also see a line in the top right corner with a red light at the end of it.
You either have to get enough words to turn it green, or get one of the six-letter words which immediately turns it green. Green means you can advance to the next level.
Now some wordsmiths are going to want to keep going until they get every word. Others will be happy to just move on the moment they get the green light (literally).
If you’re getting stumped on words you’ve missed, you can press the “Whirl” option which rearranges the letters in the wheel. You’d be surprised the inspiration that comes from just seeing them in a different order. One of the main blind spots for players is remembering that some words can begin with vowels, ergo they miss them.
When we played
We were pretty addicted from the beginning, and managed to get through level after level, but didn’t once get all the words.
Sure, there were times we kicked ourselves for not getting things like “stoked” but then we accepted defeat on other beauties like “aspish.” Sometimes we were in the mood to try for all the words, and other times we were just happy to see the light turn green and move on.
At the end of each level we got our statistics, including the longest word we managed to get and our score. We also learned pretty fast that if an “S” featured on our wheel, odds were good that there would be a lot more word options thanks to plurals of almost everything.
Unlike a number of other word games, Whirly Word does not have a timer running. Some players may prefer the pressure, but we were happy to do without it.
Our only complaint about this game? The inexplicable decision by the developers to have some sort of new age, we’d-only-expect-to-hear-it-in-a-spa music in the background. The moment our ears caught wind of it, our finger was on that volume button, stat!
Final thoughts
This is a great game for the gray matter, and it will introduce you to some words with which you were previously unfamiliar. Of course, it might behoove you to actually look up what they mean afterward so you are not just mindlessly using them in other word games, but the onus (another good vowel-opening word) is upon you to do so. Anyone who is a fan of Scrabble, crosswords or the like will enjoy Whirly Word. It’s a great time-passer.
WHIRLY WORD
Cost: Free for Whirly Word, $2.99 for Whirly Word HD
Seller: Red Key Software Corporation
Devices: iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone
Rating: E for Everyone
Three stars (just because of the heinous music)
Pros: Easy to install. Easy to learn. Great that you’re shown exactly how many words you should be able to get. You don’t have to be connected to the Internet.
Cons: Players that can handle the heat might find the absence of a timer a bit boring. Did we mention that music?
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