Description (from Amazon.com):
From the team that brought you Gravity Words brings you yet another unique and original word game, Slate Words! The game is an original concept from the team with unique play style in every mode. Slate Words features the same vibrant attractive coloring that TS Games has become known for. The game has three modes, two single-player and one multi-player. Slate Words adds a unique function that many if not any of the other word games out there have, and that is of course, Clean Slate. This button is universally the same in Slate Words; it will allow you to clear the board of the existing letters and get a brand new set. Game modes include:
-Time Attack: Time attack mode much like most other games, is a time based point race. Maintain a multiplier, beat the three-minute clock, and score big.
-Challenge: In this mode, you are giving the same unique game board as in Time Attack, but you face a bigger challenge. You can only clean the board three times before it’s game over.
-Multiplayer: Much like any turn-based word game out there; a player spells a word and then passes the game onto the next player.
Overall: 5 stars
Originality: 5 stars
I recently reviewed “Gravity Words” by TS Games, and I thought it was a nice new concept for word games, but it was a little too fast-paced for my liking (although the Beginner modes were slower-paced). “Slate Words” also has a countdown timer, but the letters aren’t moving, so it’s less hectic. The initial screen reminded me of Bookworm, one of my all-time favorite word games, but that’s where the resemblance ended.
Game Play: 4 3/4 stars
The game looked good and played very well on my Kindle Fire. I tried each of the three modes enough to get a feel for playing. For solitaire, I preferred Time Attack over Challenge mode, since the games lasted only three minutes, whereas in Challenge mode, you play until you can’t make any more words. In both modes, you can “clean slate” (get a new set of letters), but use this feature sparingly, since the number of times you can clean slate is limited in the Challenge mode, and each time, your multiplier is reduced, which lowers the word scores afterwards.
I tried the multiplayer mode, which is like pass ‘n’ play. Before the game begins, the two players can agree to play until one player reaches 300, 500, or 800 points. And that brings up a minor negative comment. If the first player reaches the winning score, that player wins, without the second player having a final turn. I know this is the practice for many two-player games, and in any case, it probably matters little in an 800-point game, but it can be a real factor in a shorter 300-point game.
Two nice features: 1) You can share your scores with Facebook friends, and 2) the game keeps track of your best solitaire games, including the score and the number of words you made with 3-4-5-6-7 letters.
Amazon rates Gravity Words as suitable for ages 9 and older. I think that’s reasonable, although younger kids may enjoy playing, since they can score with words as short as three letters.
Replayability: 5 stars
You’ll never know what your best possible score is unless you keep replaying the game. Helpfully, your high scores for each solitaire mode are saved, so you can review them later and challenge yourself to do better.
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Oops! In the last paragraph, I mentioned Gravity Words. I meant to say Slate Words.