There’s probably no genre harder to break into in the world of mobile gaming than the word game genre. Word games have been around since, well… probably since written words themselves, and in terms of video games every conceivable version of a word game that you can think of has likely been done already. So what the heck do you do if you’re a developer of a word game and want to stand out? In the case of solo developer Ryan Robinson aka Small Bedroom Studios, they’ve thought of a simple but clever word game mechanic and used it in a format that fits into small bursts of play and has basically endless replay value. The game is called simply Words Master, and it’s a frantic race to see how many words you can come up with in a limited time.

One thing I always struggle with is word games that are open-ended, meaning they task you with making whatever words you can out of a jumble of letters. In Words Master each time you play you are given the first two or three letters to start with, and you must make as many words out of that starter that you can in the given time. I love having this “starter" because you can immediately start forming words instead of staring at a jumble of letters just hoping something jumps out at you. Also, for rounds that start you off with more than two letters, as time is running out in the round additional letters will begin to drop off the end, increasing the number of words you’re able to make. A full game is 3 rounds with the first being 30 seconds, the second 60 seconds, and the third 90 seconds with your score being a total of all three rounds.

Words Master uses a very friendly monetization system. The game on iOS is 99¢ initially and you can play to your heart’s content. In-game coins are available as IAP as well as earned through playing, and you can use those coins to buy optional cosmetic changes, like new colors of keyboards or backgrounds. You can also buy a few different power-ups using those coins. One power-up lets you freeze time for 10 seconds, one that will add a random extra word to your list of found words, and one that will suggest a word for you to play. And that’s it! On Android, things are basically the same except it’s initially free with ads. No energy mechanics, no forced social features, no daily grinding or gacha mechanics. If you don’t want to spend beyond the initial dollar to get the game, you don’t have to.

For those who enjoy stats Words Master keeps tracks of your total number of words made, the longest words you’ve made, and your highest scores. There are also online leaderboards available for those same three categories, so you can see how you stack up against the rest of the world. Words Master is also available on both iOS and Android, and the leaderboards are cross-platform, so you can compete for bragging rights against your Android-owning friends or vice versa. If you enjoy words games and like ones that are built on simple mechanics that can easily be played for less than a minute or for hours at a time, be sure to check out Words Master on both the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store for Android.