Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Software That Can Get You Fired, Part II
Posted by Brad Adrian in "ARTICLE" @ 01:00 PM
You may recall that a few days ago there was a discussion thread about the new Scrabble game for the Pocket PC and a Scrabble clone, called WordGame.
Well, I've been addicted to WordGame for several months (don't tell my boss) and quickly grabbed the "official" Scrabble game when it was released. I've been able to play with both games for a while now, so I thought I'd share my impressions with you.<!>
Scrabble And WordGame Comparison
Features
As far as the general features and functions are concerned, Scrabble and WordGame are very similar to each other. To make it easier to describe how they compare to each other, I put together a little table.
These are the main areas for comparing the two versions:
Save/Load Games
Both Scrabble and WordGame allow you to save games in progress and reload them. Scrabble allows you to save a game to essentially any folder on your device or storage card, while WordGame only saves games to the directory in which the game is installed. That's not that big an issue, except that it takes WordGame much less time to locate all saved games than it takes Scrabble.
Maximum Number of Players
Both versions allow the user to play against other human players or the computer. When playing against other humans, the Pocket PC is simply passed between players as each takes his turn. If you like to play in larger groups, though, only Scrabble will allow you to play with up to three other human players.
Multi-Player Via IR
If you do want to play against other humans, Scrabble offers a unique feature: beaming game plays via infrared. Instead of passing the device from player to player, each can use his own device and simply beam his moves to the others.
Simulation
If you would like to see how two really smart people might play a game, then WordGame offers a simulation mode. It essentially demonstrates a two-player game, showing each move taken along the way. It's an interesting feature for seeing how the game works, but its novelty wore off pretty quickly for me.
Word Lookup
If you have a vocabulary as limited as mine is, this is a feature that you will use a lot. If you're not sure of a word's validity or spelling, both versions allow you to check it against the built-in dictionary.
Suggest Move
Another feature that I end up using a lot is the ability to find out what words my tiles might spell. Both versions provide this capability, but with very different results.
The Scrabble version typically suggests words with which I am much more familiar, and as a result seems a bit more realistic. The words suggested by WordGame are no less valid, but (as the screen shot shows) I have often never even heard of them before.
View Remaining Tiles
Both versions allow the user to see exactly which game tiles remain in the pool. For all but the most devoted strategic player, this feature may be superfluous.
Adjustable Penalty For Wrong Word
If you have ever played the board game version of Scrabble before, you know that part of the fun is trying to convince other players of the validity of the words you try to create. With the Pocket PC version of Scrabble, if an invalid word is placed, it is simply removed from the board. However, WordGame keeps the play a bit more on the up-and-up by allowing you to stipulate penalties for invalid words. Again, this is a feature for the most hard-core Scrabble players, so I usually turn it off.
High Score Tracking
I was a bit disappointed to find out that the Scrabble version does not keep track of high scores, only WordGame does. I mean, what's the fun in playing a game if you don't have a target score to shoot for?
Scoring Summary
On the other hand, Scrabble offers another scoring feature; it keeps track of each play of the game, allowing the user to review the entire game from start to finish, complete with attempts at invalid words. You might not use this feature very often, but it is a fun way to recall a game, especially if it's been a protracted one.
Edit Word List On PPC
Both versions allow the user to add or delete words from the dictionary. With WordGame, the edits are performed on a desktop PC and the changes are then synchronized to the Pocket PC.
With Scrabble, the dictionary file can be edited directly on the Pocket PC, right in the middle of play. This ease of editing can be very helpful, unless you're prone to trying to add words like "qwoszrbduzs" just to gain a few points.
Editable Boards
If there is one feature of WordGame that really stands out, it's the ability to edit the playing boards. With a very easy-to-use interface, players can create a board with any type of configuration, complete with bonus squares and blocked areas. This flexibility insures that you will never tire of playing the game. In fact, WordGame doesn't actually include a board that is laid out like the original Scrabble game; if you want a traditional game, you have to create your own Scrabble-like board. I don't view this as a problem though, because it only took me about five minutes to create a traditional board.
Price
Ah, yes, the final -- and sometimes most important -- point: the price. As I mentioned, I've been using WordGame for several months and, at $14.95 I feel I've really gotten my money's worth. At $29.99, the Scrabble version seems a bit steep, and many people will balk at the game based on price alone.
Availability
You can download both demo and final versions of Scrabble and Wordgame from the Handango Web site.
Gotchas
The only real gotcha is the price differential; Scrabble is just too expensive for some people.
Conclusions
Each of these games is a blast to play, and I'll probably keep both of them installed on my Pocket PC because they each offer different benefits. In the end though, I have to say that I prefer Scrabble, even with the price difference.
The reason I prefer Scrabble is that when I play against the computer it seems to be a bit more realistic and true to how the game usually flows with a human competitor. I like that WordGame suggests things like "aceta," but find myself stymied when it plays similarly-obscure words against me. Both games offer a challenge when playing against the computer, but it feels like Scrabble gives me a bit more of a fair chance.
And where my vocabulary is concerned, I need all the help I can get.
Well, I've been addicted to WordGame for several months (don't tell my boss) and quickly grabbed the "official" Scrabble game when it was released. I've been able to play with both games for a while now, so I thought I'd share my impressions with you.<!>
Scrabble And WordGame Comparison
Features
As far as the general features and functions are concerned, Scrabble and WordGame are very similar to each other. To make it easier to describe how they compare to each other, I put together a little table.
These are the main areas for comparing the two versions:
Save/Load Games
Both Scrabble and WordGame allow you to save games in progress and reload them. Scrabble allows you to save a game to essentially any folder on your device or storage card, while WordGame only saves games to the directory in which the game is installed. That's not that big an issue, except that it takes WordGame much less time to locate all saved games than it takes Scrabble.
Maximum Number of Players
Both versions allow the user to play against other human players or the computer. When playing against other humans, the Pocket PC is simply passed between players as each takes his turn. If you like to play in larger groups, though, only Scrabble will allow you to play with up to three other human players.
Multi-Player Via IR
If you do want to play against other humans, Scrabble offers a unique feature: beaming game plays via infrared. Instead of passing the device from player to player, each can use his own device and simply beam his moves to the others.
Simulation
If you would like to see how two really smart people might play a game, then WordGame offers a simulation mode. It essentially demonstrates a two-player game, showing each move taken along the way. It's an interesting feature for seeing how the game works, but its novelty wore off pretty quickly for me.
Word Lookup
If you have a vocabulary as limited as mine is, this is a feature that you will use a lot. If you're not sure of a word's validity or spelling, both versions allow you to check it against the built-in dictionary.
Suggest Move
Another feature that I end up using a lot is the ability to find out what words my tiles might spell. Both versions provide this capability, but with very different results.
The Scrabble version typically suggests words with which I am much more familiar, and as a result seems a bit more realistic. The words suggested by WordGame are no less valid, but (as the screen shot shows) I have often never even heard of them before.
View Remaining Tiles
Both versions allow the user to see exactly which game tiles remain in the pool. For all but the most devoted strategic player, this feature may be superfluous.
Adjustable Penalty For Wrong Word
If you have ever played the board game version of Scrabble before, you know that part of the fun is trying to convince other players of the validity of the words you try to create. With the Pocket PC version of Scrabble, if an invalid word is placed, it is simply removed from the board. However, WordGame keeps the play a bit more on the up-and-up by allowing you to stipulate penalties for invalid words. Again, this is a feature for the most hard-core Scrabble players, so I usually turn it off.
High Score Tracking
I was a bit disappointed to find out that the Scrabble version does not keep track of high scores, only WordGame does. I mean, what's the fun in playing a game if you don't have a target score to shoot for?
Scoring Summary
On the other hand, Scrabble offers another scoring feature; it keeps track of each play of the game, allowing the user to review the entire game from start to finish, complete with attempts at invalid words. You might not use this feature very often, but it is a fun way to recall a game, especially if it's been a protracted one.
Edit Word List On PPC
Both versions allow the user to add or delete words from the dictionary. With WordGame, the edits are performed on a desktop PC and the changes are then synchronized to the Pocket PC.
With Scrabble, the dictionary file can be edited directly on the Pocket PC, right in the middle of play. This ease of editing can be very helpful, unless you're prone to trying to add words like "qwoszrbduzs" just to gain a few points.
Editable Boards
If there is one feature of WordGame that really stands out, it's the ability to edit the playing boards. With a very easy-to-use interface, players can create a board with any type of configuration, complete with bonus squares and blocked areas. This flexibility insures that you will never tire of playing the game. In fact, WordGame doesn't actually include a board that is laid out like the original Scrabble game; if you want a traditional game, you have to create your own Scrabble-like board. I don't view this as a problem though, because it only took me about five minutes to create a traditional board.
Price
Ah, yes, the final -- and sometimes most important -- point: the price. As I mentioned, I've been using WordGame for several months and, at $14.95 I feel I've really gotten my money's worth. At $29.99, the Scrabble version seems a bit steep, and many people will balk at the game based on price alone.
Availability
You can download both demo and final versions of Scrabble and Wordgame from the Handango Web site.
Gotchas
The only real gotcha is the price differential; Scrabble is just too expensive for some people.
Conclusions
Each of these games is a blast to play, and I'll probably keep both of them installed on my Pocket PC because they each offer different benefits. In the end though, I have to say that I prefer Scrabble, even with the price difference.
The reason I prefer Scrabble is that when I play against the computer it seems to be a bit more realistic and true to how the game usually flows with a human competitor. I like that WordGame suggests things like "aceta," but find myself stymied when it plays similarly-obscure words against me. Both games offer a challenge when playing against the computer, but it feels like Scrabble gives me a bit more of a fair chance.
And where my vocabulary is concerned, I need all the help I can get.
