Spell Collapse Review

Initially simple to get the hang of but surprisingly complex when fully understood, Spell Collapse isn't the prettiest of word puzzle games but it's got a certain charm to it that should impress many a word gaming fan. Even despite a relatively high asking price.

Players are presented with a hexagonal grid full of letters. It's down to them to find words by connecting the tiles together, thereby clearing them from the screen. Hit the top of the screen and it's game over. Unlike something like Tetris, there's no timer so players don't have to worry about additional tiles appearing until they've completed a move. That doesn't make it easy, though - far from it. Instead, players must think carefully about each move.

While conventional word games might require one to line up tiles that spell out the word for the player, Spell Collapse offers up much more flexibility. Providing the tiles meet up, it's possible to select a bunch before moving the letters around to spell the word. This immediately opens up plenty of possibilities and the chance for much more lateral thinking from the player. At first, it's almost bewildering how much choice this opens up but it's quite satisfying as one adjusts to a different way of thinking. A glance at the leader boards demonstrates the power, courtesy of the high score for longest word being a 20 letter beast of a term!

Spell Collapse doesn't stop there. It keeps going with the addition of power-ups that can destroy surrounding tiles or swap them around, as well as bold letters that must be used in two different words in order to clear them. Different colored tiles provide a threat too, given that they can't be used together.

All these elements combined sound a little overwhelming and, admittedly, the choices available to players at times is. After a time, though, it clicks and it's really quite fun being so unhindered by too many rules.

Spell Collapse won't win prizes for looks, occasionally looking a little bland, but there's no denying that its heart is in the right place and the plentiful supply of achievements to aim for should keep word fans happy for a while to come.