I love word games, and PopCap's Bookworm series has always treated me right. I've spent countless hours playing Bookworm and the epic role-playing hybrid Bookworm Adventures, knowing full-well that once I start playing a game in the franchise I'm not stopping for anything. That is, unless it's the new turn-based Bookworm Heroes.
Bookworm Heroes is one on those turn-based multiplayer social games, where one player hooks up with another, takes a turn, and then waits for the other player to respond. It's a game mode that has seen plenty of success in games like Words with Friends or Letterpress. I'm just not sure it's a fit with Bookworm.
The game works well enough. Players choose an opponent, use coin earned through playing or purchased with real money to recruit a hero character to enhance their game, rent a support pet (that bit can be skipped) and then take turns building words from a 16-letter grid. Both players have a health bar, and whittling their opponent's down to nothing is the goal. As the round progresses, more special tiles appear on the board, upping the word-crafting ante.
It's actually a rather enjoyable way to play. In fact, were this real-time multiplayer instead of turn-based, where I could make sure my opponent wasn't feeding letters into a word generator and didn't have to wait forever for my turn, I'd probably be in heaven.
Instead I wait. I create new games, and wait some more. When my opponents finally take their turns, they come back with 12-letter monstrosities that I know they didn't pull out of thin air. Or maybe they did, but I don't trust them.
It all comes down to this: Don't make me wait to play a Bookworm game. I get testy.
Bookworm Heroes
- Genre: Multiplayer Word Puzzes
- Developer: PopCap Games
- Platform: iOS
- Price: Free
Get Bookworm Heroes in iTunes
An Annoying New Way to Play One of the World's Best Word Games