I see. Thanks for the explanation. On a side note, don't you find it lame when people know they are going to lose and don't dare to finish the matches? I have two 23-0 games opened and it's the other guy's turn, but they've decided to stop playing. It's a real pitty that people don't know how to lose...
Likewise. Hopefully an update will fix this, as I'd like to play Letterpress but don't want it messing up my other games on GC.
The issue of the word list is sort of a mystery since it isn't stated anywhere what word list is being used. Also, the developer has said on Twitter that he'll be adding words to the list if they're frequently attempted by players. I'd be for allowing proper nouns since in Scrabble the entire alphabet is (theoretically) available to players whereas that's not the case with Letterpress. I'd also be in favor of tweaking the game so that it doesn't drain my iPhone's battery like it does now.
Earlier in the thread the developer said that there's ~270k words in the dictionary so I presume that means it's SOWPODS and not the US/Canada Tournament World List (~180k). I don't see any reason to change the dictionary. Anyone into word games knows the rules.
Rules should be stated clearly Rules, if they are actually rules, should be stated as such, not left as something "understood". Right now, Letterpress has only 3 stated rules for words: 1) Words must have at least two letters 2) Words may only be played once 3) Words may not be a prefix of a previously played word. If you look at the tweets people are posting about Letterpress, then you'll see examples of regular English words that aren't in the wordlist. You'll also see words that aren't in the SOWPODS that evidently are in the Letterpress wordlist (like "milf").
I agree that it should be mentioned somewhere in the rules rather than left to be inferred. Words with Friends mentions their dictionary at the bottom somewhere I think. But I don't like how WWF added a random selection of words from SOWPODS on top of their TWL dictionary, they should have just used SOWPODS. "Milf" is actually a noun is the Collins English Dictionary so that more or less confirms that Letterpress is using SOWPODS. I can't find any tweets of words not being accepted, but they're probably mostly proper nouns. My main problem is still that the game is too easy. My win/lose ratio is now something like 50/1 and the only time I lost (to someone named "bensomething") was because I screwed up and used an uncoloured tile when I shouldn't have. It seems to be like Tic Tac Toe where if you know what you're doing it's impossible to lose a game and there needs to be a way to end the "trench warfare". I have another game going with "bensomething" right now that is up to 40 turns and doesn't look like it will ever end even if one of us lost all of our tiles. EDIT: Spoke too soon. Managed to push through the trench warfare to get 18 protected tiles which was enough to make a move.
Vote for your favorite GOTW !!! [thread=119439][/thread] [thread=162515][/thread] [thread=162862][/thread] [thread=162636][/thread] [thread=162688][/thread] [thread=162635][/thread] [thread=162717][/thread] [thread=162632][/thread] [thread=162500][/thread] [thread=162852][/thread] [thread=162644][/thread] Click on above icons to discover more about the games! [size=+3]LETTERPRESS WORD GAME[/size] is a nominee for [size=+2]Touch Arcade Game of the Week 24/10/2012[/size] Do you like to find words, steal tiles, and color the board? [size=+3][thread=162877]VOTE HERE[/thread][/size] - Devs cannot vote for their own games - Poll close 11-01-2012 at 10:08 AM
WoW I didn't know about this game (it's been a busy week with punch quest and nyz2 already) but I have to say that it is really amazing. This is the first letter game that I really like, it's more like a board game ! My only complain would be the art in the game icon, it is ugly compared with the aesthetic of the game, which is simple but really cool. I wish Zynga don't come around in the future to f*** this game, as they did with other games in iOS.
LOVE this game! Here's my short list of things that would be great to see in the next version: 1. Statistics: I'd love to know my won-lose ratio against each of my opponents, as well as my overall won-lose percentage. 2. Rematch option: There are several people I play over and over again. I'd love to be able to click a button and play them again as soon as the game ended. 3. Achievements: Certainly not necessary, but I think achievements would add another layer of enjoyment to an already great game! 4. Master word list: At the end of the game, I'd love to be able to see an alphabetized list of all possible words, with the words I used in my color and the words my opponent used in his/her color, with all other words in black. 5. Various board sizes: 5x5 is perfect, but would love to play a longer game of 6x6 or 7x7. And one more random idea: 6. How about a board with one (or more) squares preset to your color and that same number of squares set to the opponents color. These would be squares that never change, so you'd need to account for them while making your strategy.
The more long running (40+ move) games I have the less I think that the "trench warfare" is actually a problem. I've managed to push through it several times now. Is it true that the free version limits you to 1 game at a time? Today when I woke up 6 people had forfeited and I imagine that's because they're limited to so few games. This is probably also why so many people are asking for a time limit. The way to play async games is to play 20+ opponents at once, so limiting the free version so low might have been a mistake.
Some quick strategy: word building: Remember to add suffixes onto your words, even if they don't gain you extra tiles! if you build a nice word, it's legal (if cheesy) for your opponent to just tack an -s onto the end of that word as his next move, but he can't do it the other way around. Keep an eye on your opponent's actual words; it's possible he might find a combination you missed, and you can make a similar word. early game: build out of a corner and get as many tiles defended as possible. Your primary focus should be expanding your defended area by moving adjacent to your current tiles and your secondary focus is stealing tiles from your opponent, especially tiles that are defending others. Try to defend your one-point scrabble letters, and be more willing to leave difficult letters exposed. mid/late game: the strongest defensive position is to have control of two entire adjacent rows or columns. At that point, if your opponent has not achieved a similar board state, you've probably won; keep defending your position and expanding it a little at a time. If you get to three rows it's pretty much a lock. As kylemac points out, you need to keep an eye on the available letters in the middle. If you're behind, you should focus on defending your position and flipping only tiles your opponent controls, but if you're ahead, try to reduce the white letters by one or two every turn. The big exception is, do not leave your opponent with the ability to clear all the white letters in one turn unless you're very sure he'll be unable to simultaneously flip enough of your tiles to win the game. If you have got two of your rows defended, that's probably safe because he'll only have 15 tiles available and will need to control 13, but take a look at the possibilities. Feel free to add me on gamecenter as well; username is creedofhubris.
Love this game. I think all the pros and cons have already been covered in this thread. If anyone wants to add me, I'm: "Joe Perth" (minus the quotes). I'll always complete a game, even when it's clear I'm going to lose and only play words in my own vocabballery
I would like to see a rule change that if any version of a word is used, all versions of that word that include adding suffixes are blocked. One of my games went MUZZLERS, MUZZLED, MUZZLES If you want to fully max out your possibilities you have to check the words played list and see which forms of words have been used so you can bust out some slightly different form. -ER, -ED, and -S are all counted as different words. And it can be unrewarding to play a long word if some other form of the word can be immediately tossed back at you.
Agreed! It's not like the game keeps track of wins and losses so why not just play? I got a forfeit after a played a long word that gave me control of half the board. It's a great position to be in but it doesn't guarantee a victory :/
I don't see this as a problem as if you played your original word right some of its tiles should now be protected and an opponent throwing a variant back at you hopefully won't cause as much damage as you originally did to them. Where would you stop anyway? What about "sought", "bought", and "nought"? I'm still playing regularly so anyone up for a game should add me as "KyleMac7" on GC. I've still only lost that one game I screwed up but people are figuring out strategies so it's getting harder. I've got one game up to 110 turns at the last count and I thought I had them beat but they've pushed me back pretty far recently and now I'm worried.
Congrats on a great game! Bought right away. Try for some server fixes, I have a few dead games already.
Well, the game already blocks you from playing MUZZLE after someone plays MUZZLES. The logical extension is to block all forms of the word rather than trying to guess which forms are blocked. BTW, I did actually beat you in our recent game, by using up the white GNYY
Is anyone else having a problem loading the game? I know that it is my turn for 2 games, yet it doesn't show them. It just says "Waiting for Turn". It is also taking very long to load them as well. This has just been occurring to me. I rebooted my iTouch, reinstalled the game and it still doesn't work.
I have the same issue and it looks like a lot more people on twitter. Hopefully the developer is working on this and update us as soon as possible
