Ruzzle Review

Developer: MAG Interactive
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 1.4.6
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

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Word games have always been massively popular, from Scrabble to Letterpress - but Ruzzle has several tricks up it's sleeve to differentiate itself from it's more established competitors.

Like most other word games, the objective of Ruzzle is to find the longest and highest scoring words possible. Except in Ruzzle, players only have two minutes to do so. Over the years word games have developed a reputation for being relaxing, casual games that players could enjoy just before they drifted off to sleep. Ruzzle flips this cliché on it's head by only giving players two minutes to find as much words as they can and by placing a massive emphasis on the multi player elements of game play.

Ruzzle is without a doubt one of the first word games that actually gets the player's heart racing. This is all down to it's multi player focus, challenging time limit and bonuses that can increase the player's score exponentially if utilised skilfully. Ruzzle is without a doubt a beautiful game to look at, with it's vibrant and cheerful color scheme. With regards to controls, players shouldn't have any hassle in picking up this game and playing it without a tutorial thanks to the game's simple "slide-to-select" mechanism.

I've been rocking the free version of Ruzzle for a while, but recently I decided to support the developer and pay for the full version. In the free version, obtrusive ads are shown after every round, some of which are very difficult to skip. This is understandable as the app has to make money somehow, but I know I speak for others when I say I would much prefer a constant banner ad at the bottom of the screen. The paid version of Ruzzle also allows players to practice against the computer - which can be handy for when none of their friends are up to playing.

When starting a new Ruzzle game, players can choose to play against a Ruzzle, Facebook Friend or random opponent. It's great to see such choice in where players can find their opponents - and so a player should rarely find themselves without an opponent to play! Ruzzle also allows players to chat to the person that they're playing against - which is the perfect outlet for the trash talker inside every one of us! Achievements play a major part in Ruzzle, with players getting them for trivial achievements such as playing 20 matches - to more challenging ones such as finding 30 words in 30 seconds.

Ruzzle is without a doubt one of my favourite word games currently available - and why wouldn't it be; with it's super tense game play, fun social elements and unique take on the word game genre, it's definitely worth a try in my book!