7 Little Words Review

7 Little Words is a new word game from Blue Ox, the creators of Moxie. Like Moxie, 7 Little Words strives to be a different word game in a genre cluttered with Scrabble and Boggle clones. It's a very simple game, and not particularly revolutionary, but then again, it's free. Word aficionados should find it entertaining at the very least.

The premise of 7 Little Words is very simple. Each "level" presents players with a grid of letter tiles, as well as seven clues. The letter tiles contain two or three letters each, and the clues read something like crossword puzzle hints, albeit simpler. The goal in each level is to "answer" all seven clues using the available tiles. For example, a clue might read "fourscore," and the answer may be "eighty." At the end, all tiles will have been used up.

7 Little Words doesn't deduct points for wrong guesses or slow answers. In fact, points aren't involved at all. The app doesn't bother keeping track of time, incorrect answers, or any other competition-inducing metric. It merely remembers whether or not you'e completed any given level. This feature cuts two ways; while I appreciate the relaxed nature of the game, sometimes I wish there was something to make it a little more difficult.

That's another problem with 7 Little Words; it's just not that difficult. The free app includes 25 levels, which really isn't that much; additional packs of 25 may be purchased for $0.99 each. (Currently two extra packs are available.) Besides the limited selection, the clues tend to stick to fairly literal synonyms, and the nature of the game means that elimination can be a huge help in deducing the last few answers.

Still, despite these factors, 7 Little Words is a fun game. Everything about it, from the design of the game itself to the app's sparse graphics, focuses on simplicity. While I wish that it was a little more challenging, or at least introduced different puzzle types, 7 Little Words is a perfectly fine game on its own. Plus, it's free, so I really can't complain. I believe I prefer Blue Ox's previous game, Moxie, but 7 Little Words is a nice attempt at a new type of word game regardless.