Customer Reviews

POGO Scrabble Touch Screen

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I was very excited about buying this game when I seen it on Pogo.com. I went to walmart and bought one. I ended up returning it. It had no light to light up the screen so it was difficult to see to play. And glares made it worse. They really need to add some sort of light on the game.

I had read some of the previous review that complained about no backlighting on this game so I was prepared for that and figured I could attach a little light to it if necessary. What I wasn't prepared for is how the game plays unfairly. When it's the computer's turn to create words, it takes a long time to come up with the word it will use. When it's the individual's turn to create words if you take too long the game shuts off. The computer creates words that are highly questionable and there is no way to challenge the words. My husband tried to use the word "sneer" with a triple point score and it was rejected by the computer. I would not recommend this game for those who aren't prepared to be frustrated.

Everything is so tiny, and there is no backlight, so I have not been able to play the game. Having owned 2 of the orginal Scrabble Express electronic handheld, I was thrilled when I saw this version. "My bad", it is nothing liked the original. I owned and played the original for over 10 years, and can only sigh contentedly as I recall the hours of delightful pleasure. Both have stopped functioning. I cannot believe that Hasbro could produce such an inferior product after such a good one.

The packaging was destroyed before I realized how bad the situation was, so I was unable to return it. Thus I lost my money because the product is useless.

Not a happy camper in New York.

I'm something of a collector of various versions of Scrabble. One of my favorites is handheld Scrabble Express. I've played it endlessly in the 5 years I've owned it and was sorry when it quickly went out of production. I was really excited at the prospect of the Pogo Touch Screen version, esp. since it was considerably smaller than the Express version. That's about the only positive thing I can say about it. I've been hugely disappointed since I bought it. Depending on the lighting you're in, the screen is not easy to see. The stylus leaves scratches on the screen -- mine's only about a year old and the screen's a mess. Sometimes the touch screen is very sensitive and the SLIGHTEST touch on a letter moves it when you don't want to and sometimes you have to touch it "just so" to grab the letter. When I start a new game, I usually have to "Quit" and get new letters 5-7 times b/c they're repeats of a tray of letters I'd played no more than two or three games before!

It wouldn't accept a word like "turd" from me, but the computer comes up with the most obscure assortment of words I've ever come up against -- thereby totally debunking the claim in the instructions that the computer plays to the word level that the player has determined -- NOT. In the table game, I've pulled my share of 3 "E's" or 2 "U's" -- sometimes in one turn. But I'm often given the following kind of runs: Had 3 "E's", used 1 in my first turn, got 1 in the letters given, used no E's in my second turn, got 2, in my third turn got 1, used 1 of the 5 I then had, got 1 more. By my sixth turn I was looking at 5 "E's" and 2 "I's"! And that kind of experience is not uncommon! I could go on, but my final complaint is that if you want to pass, you get stuck w/the letters you can't do anything with -- no option to take 7 new letters.
Even tho' it's more cumbersome, I'm back to toting my more cumbersome, but much more satisfactory handheld Express. I'd give the Pogo version to the Salvation Army, but I don't want anyone else to be as dissatisfied w/this loser as I am.

I wish I could return this item, but I opened it and did the online registration(???). It is not what I expected. I have not been able to get it to do anything. It just keeps sending me back to the same start up screeen with no other options and no accesss to a game. I did the online registration thinking that would solve the problem, but it did not. Maybe I am confused, but I thought I was getting a SCRABBLE (personal) type game. I think it must be played on line??? I just want to trash it... because it is absolutely no use to me. Beware before you by this game...I am not sure... Mine might be a "lemon"... who knows??? and getting support is a noun... not a verb!

I should preface this review by stating that I bought this unit for $14 (on clearance) at Super Target. That is the reason I bought it since I thought the original price of $25 was too high. For this reason I am giving it a higher rating than I would have given it if I'd paid full price.

I really enjoy Scrabble, so I use this thing a lot. I will begin with its positive attributes:

1) The size of the unit is perfect: it fits nicely in the palm of my hand. It feels pretty solid, although I've never dropped it on a hard surface.

2) It is a great learning tool. Learning new words that the computer plays against me in a game is easier than learning the words from a boring word list.

3) It has multiple game types, which mixes things up a bit. Even if this game only played regular Scrabble it would be a worthwile product. But it has several additional games too.

Now for the drawbacks:

A) The screen has no backlight, and is difficult to read near the edges since the casing projects so far in front of the screen. When I play the game before I go to bed, I aim an LCD lamp from directly behind my head towards the screen. This mostly solves the viewability problem, although I still have to be careful to hold the unit at the perfect angle.

B) The Scrabble dictionary inside has been outdated for five years! It's irritating when I find a acceptable bingo (such as PERMIAN) according to the newest 4th ed. Scrabble dictionary, and the game won't accept it. One time the game played EMF, which is no longer an acceptable word. Now I could understand this if the game had been produced four or five years ago, but mine has a copyright date of 2009 on it (four years after the dictionary was updated). You can still use about 98% of the words in the newest dictionary, but apparently Hasbro didn't think this unit was worth updating.

C) As with the previous LCD Scrabble game, the racks given to the player are not totally random. I'll bet I've drawn ABERRST twenty times by now. The first time was good since I learned BARRETS (as well as BARTERS) as new bingos. But the challenge is gone now when I see the same rack for the twentieth time, and immediately know the highest-scoring word.

Overall, I've gotten my $14 worth out of it. But it's got some serious design flaws, and that's why it's already on the clearance rack at Super Target. If you see one cheap, snap it up, but don't even think about paying full price for it.

Update 8/11/2010: I found another one of these on clearance at Super Target for $5.02. So paying $20 or more for this unit now would be outrageous.

I didn't mention before that this unit adjusts itself to how well you are playing against it. So if you beat it a couple of times in a row, you can expect it to start making the best possible plays. I do not think I have won a game out of the last ten tries against it. The game can be reset, but I would rather find out what the highest-scoring words are that the computer can play, and then use them for study purposes.

I had been looking for an elec scrabble to carry with me. i play on my cell phone but the screen is tiny. Imagine my surprise when the one on my cell is loads better. Very hard to read the screen with the black on gray. Can't read to bonus squares at all. The regular scrabble game allows only 8 turns. And can't believe the words it allows the computer to play. I can't find "aa", "awa" and many others in my dictonary! I'm sending it back. Hopefully i'll get most of my money back.

I was excited to get this game since I am and always have been a big scrabble fan. I was deeply disappointed when it arrived because it is a limited game board, the screen is very difficult to see unless you manage to hold it at just the right angle, the dictionary is limited, and the computer you play against is slow. I wouldn't recommend buying it.

The concept of the game is great because you have several different games to choose from. Unfortunately until you receive it, you do not realize that the screen size is so very small. Also there is no back light built in to it making it very difficult to see the screen. If there was a light it would be a great game!

My main issue is that the letter boxes for the player are too close to the edge of toy for easy viewing.