Have you ever tried playing word puzzles? Most people find it as one of the best things to do when you’re time to pass. With today’s technology, you can play word puzzles anywhere and anytime through mobile word puzzle apps. You can play it while waiting in a long line, on a long bus ride, at home during leisure time, and such. Some word puzzles make people feel calm and help in reducing stress. Some puzzles even get you in a meditative state. However, most puzzles are challenging and exciting, especially when played competitively with friends or playing on a difficult level.
For every number in a crossword puzzle that you get to answer, every high-earning word you’ve played in scrabble, and every multiplayer word game you’ve won, there’s always a feeling of happiness and success. With this, there is a release of dopamine which will get you in a better mood and improve your memory and concentration.
However, puzzles won’t always take your stress away. It can even add to it when you’re stuck on a puzzle you can’t solve, when you run out of words you can think of for the tiles you have, or when you keep losing every game. It’s part of developing a healthy competition behavior to accept the loss, but we can’t deny it won’t make us feel bad a little. Read on to learn more about strategies and tips you can take note of in becoming a better player in word puzzles!
Popular Word Puzzle Game Apps
Because of the pandemic and the lockdown, playing with your friends has now been limited to doing it virtually through software, websites, and, most commonly, mobile apps. Here is a list of some of the most enjoyable word game apps. Some are played individually while other games allow you to have fun with your friends.
- Words with Friends
For years now, Words with Friends has been one of the most popular word games you can play with your friends and new people you can meet from all around the globe. It’s played similarly to the famous board game Scrabble. One of the app’s features includes a chat box where you can talk with your friends and other people while you play the game. You can even play up to 40 games simultaneously, as push notifications notify you when it’s your turn for every game.
- Wordscapes
Wordscapes is one of the best games for your leisure time. Every round can be played in just minutes, so you can unlock higher levels and keep playing. It’s as simple as making words out of the given letters and completing the puzzle shown. Every round gets tricky, but playing the game is excellent for improving your vocabulary and for brain-stretching.
- Alphabear
It’s not only a fun word game, but Alphabear adds a story to your game as you help the bears grow for every level and task you accomplish. It has power-ups, boss fights, and cute little bears. It’s a fantastic app for vocabulary building.
- New York Times Crossword
For some people, doing the crossword puzzle in newspapers has become a part of their daily routine. With the New York Times Crossword, you get to play the classic word puzzle of the day through your phone. Additionally, you’ll be able to gain access to the past crossword puzzles over the last 20 years and more.
Tips in Winning Word Puzzles
Most of the word games existing have the same mechanics as Wordscapes, Alphabears, and such that require you to think of words you can make from the given letters. This goes the same with Scrabble and Words with Friends, but you need to connect it with the tiles on the board and earn points to win the game.
A common struggle that you would encounter with these types of games and with these mechanics is not being able to think of more words for the letters you have. To help you be free from this frustration, it would be best to consider using the unscrambler from Wordgiraffe. You can use it if you need a little help when you get stuck. It will provide you with all the possible words you can make out of the letters you have. It’s a great tool not only when you’re in the game, but also in practicing before you play with others. Enter the letters in the search box, and it will generate results of possible words. You’ll also be able to widen your vocabulary with this tool and be better-prepared for word puzzles.
Words with Friends and Scrabble
Since these are two of the most famous word games you can play competitively with your friends, here are some of the most effective and ingenious tips you can use to earn higher points and win the match:
- Playing Parallel
Playing parallel is a tricky move to do since you’ll have to connect your tiles to existing tiles while coming up with a word. This would mainly consist of two-letter words, so you have to learn more two-letter words to help you utilize this strategy. Although it can be challenging, it can earn you points for up to three words and even more. Besides the score for multiple words, imagine how high the points you’ll get if you have a high-value letter, lay it on a bonus points spot, and play it parallel. You’ll be able to double not only your tile value by playing in parallel, but you’ll also double the bonus points.
- Hooking
Hooking provides you with the same effect as playing parallel; although, you’ll only get the points for two words. However, this is very effective in aiming for the triple word bonus spot. Sometimes you won’t be able to notice that hooking is your opportunity to reach that spot. This goes the same with pluralizing where you use the letter ‘s’ to get the point from an existing word on the board while also earning points for the word you came up with.
Not many know that there are basic strategies that help you win word games with your friends. They may sometimes unknowingly use this strategy, but unlike someone who knows these are known practical tips, they’ll be able to keep this in mind and use it every game.
