Scrabble Free is the Mattel traditional board game brought to life as an app. The premise like the traditional game is to make words using the seven letters randomly selected to get the highest score possible. As per the traditional game, there are different scores available as indicated on the board, such as triple word score and double letter. The thing that makes this game fun is that you can play random opponents from across the globe
and even connect via Facebook and play against your friends, from two to four players. What I liked about this feature was that you can control what is posted to your Facebook page, such as winning a game or getting a highest score.
Another good feature of this app is the chat function that allows you to talk to who you are playing. Nudge functions are also available after you have waited for 24 hours for your opponent to take their go, which was used several times for me! There are also push notifications available to further encourage you to take your go, but these can be disabled.
Although this is a great game, especially if like me you like the board game, the adverts are very annoying and often, even without selecting them, they take you to the app store. They even have adverts that are just dialogue that if you have the sound on are very invasive!
Overall, I like this game as it is interactive and you can play with your friends or other Scrabble addicts!
and even connect via Facebook and play against your friends, from two to four players. What I liked about this feature was that you can control what is posted to your Facebook page, such as winning a game or getting a highest score.
Another good feature of this app is the chat function that allows you to talk to who you are playing. Nudge functions are also available after you have waited for 24 hours for your opponent to take their go, which was used several times for me! There are also push notifications available to further encourage you to take your go, but these can be disabled.
Although this is a great game, especially if like me you like the board game, the adverts are very annoying and often, even without selecting them, they take you to the app store. They even have adverts that are just dialogue that if you have the sound on are very invasive!
Overall, I like this game as it is interactive and you can play with your friends or other Scrabble addicts!
Now for some ratings.....
Ease of use - 3
Starting a game is easy and is self explanatory. When in the individual games you drag the letters to the board it sometimes takes you to the next game if you swipe too quickly which can be a little annoying if you have several games awaiting your turn. Also, some of the options such as trade letters and pass, can be difficult to understand if you are not familiar with the traditional game. Another slight frustration is when you move letters around the board, if you let go the tile can land anywhere, then you need to find it, which isn't that easy when there are several words already played. It would really beneficial if they made the letters in play a different colour.
Price - 3
This was a free app but there is a paid version which removes the advertising. I can really understand the appeal of paying for this upgrade of £0.69/$0.99, as it can be very frustrating and ruins game play! I have observed the paid version and functionality appear identical.
Adverts - 1
One word horrendous! I never been on an app with so many adverts. What is more frustrating is the adverts are for apps that bare no resemblance to Scrabble. The adverts are everywhere, from banners at the bottom of the home page, to full screen invasions which have a delayed option to remove. Another frustration with the advertising is that some don't even require you to select them before being taken to the App Store. There are also adverts that are just dialogue which are very loud and invasive if you have the sound on! This feature really lets the app down!
Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep
Even with the adverts I know that I will keep this App, as I like the functionality and the fact that I can play with my friends through Facebook. I doubt that I will upgrade as I will resent having to pay for something that was originally free.
Where to find it:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/scrabble-free/id623367437?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ea.game.scrabblemattel_bv
