Customer Reviews

Scrabble

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was the first time I ever pre-ordered a game; I was so excited that Scrabble was coming out for the DS. I started playing as soon as it arrived. I became frustrated pretty quickly with the whole placement of the tiles thing. I really thought it was just my DS which has seen a good amount of use. Thought my touch screen was getting worn out or something. I'm glad to see others are having the same issue, only because it means it's not just me! You try to place a letter on a particular square and more often than not, it jumps around somewhere else. It's spastic! I'm getting used to it now and I actually try to touch the square with the point of my instrument while placing the tile, which seems to give it a better chance of staying where I put it! This is a pretty serious glitch.

I really think they could have done a better job with the graphics and the colors. To make other schemes unlockables is a drag. And the music! Ick!

I give it three stars because I just love the game so much, just not this particular format. I'm really surprised by EA for releasing this out to the market when it doesn't seem ready.

I got my Scrabble game over the weekend and have played about 75 games so far. The first dozen or so games were frustrating because this is most sensitive DS game I own, including Brain Age 1 & 2 and Flash Focus which are extremely sensitive. I even re-calibrated my DS to make sure I was touching the correct part of the screen, but it is the game that is ultra-sensitive. It takes a very fine touch to play the game, but once control and self-correction (compensating for the game's inefficiencies) is achieved, game play is very fun.

The features that are nice in this game are the ability to have the dictionary available, the list of two letter words and being able to select the skill level of your partner.

Hints can be turned on and off which was good when I was first learning to use the game. One feature that is interesting is being able to swap out blank tiles that are being used on the board for letters in your hand. This feature has the option of being turned off, but it is fun to always have a blank in your hand.

I am a huge Scrabble fan, owning the traditional board game, the deluxe version and even the Onyx version of the game. I've played Scrabble since I was very little and this is a fine addition to my Scrabble obsession.

SCRABBLE for the Nintendo DS is the second electronic version of SCRABBLE I've played. I've also played SCRABBLE for PC Windows and its infamous "Maven" artificial intelligence (AI) player. I therefore can't help but draw comparisons to see how far SCRABBLE has come in the e-gaming world.

First, the AI player for the DS version is a kinder and gentler opponent. It does not audibly gloat (chuckle or give the raspberry) after it makes 7-letter bingos or scores above, say, 60 points on its way to ALMOST inevitably trouncing players. (More about ALMOST later.)

Ever polite, the DS Lite version displays a bursting star on the screen when you make a bingo: "50+ points"..."Excellent!"

But SCRABBLE for the DS has a big problem for seasoned players.

They will be bored playing any level below 5. In fact, Level 5--although it does play 7-letter bingos--too often makes clumsy use of its tiles.

And going from playing Level 5 to playing Level 6 is noticeably harder! The Level 6 AI scores multiple bingos in every game and seems to acquire a fortuitous combination of consonants and vowels. I've marveled at its "luck" while staring at the three Us, two Is, and two Os on my rack.

I read somewhere, perhaps it was in Stefan Fatsis's bestseller _Word Freak,_ that players suspected Maven of cheating. I know for certain that Maven was able to see my rack and was therefore able to thwart my plays.

A healthy bit of paranoia makes me think that the DS's Level 6 AI is cheating, too, but in a different way or ways. It seems to place tiles where I am about to place them, for maximum points. Sure, this simply may be a matter of both of us seeing a good spot on the board; however, Level 6 has done this for a scant amount of points on its behalf.

It seems, too, that the DS's Level 6 player is able to pick from the bag the tiles it needs to score the maximum amount of points per turn.

Also, I have never seen Level 6 trade in any tiles, a practice not uncommon even during human tournament play. (For the record, Maven exchanges tiles.)

If Level 6 has an Achilles heel, I have yet to find it.

On to the training exercises...

The DS version has a training mode. This is fine, although I wonder why the training sessions are limited to 1 minute, after which the screen abruptly states, "You got X number of words right" and moves on. Why the 1-minute limit?

I also have several peeves with the DS's SCRABBLE dictionary, which claims to be "...the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary." (See the back of the box.)

Probably because of the game's "E" rating, the game would not allow me to play TURD, even though this word is in the OSPD and in other references such as _The SCRABBLE Word-Building Book_ (comp. by Saleem Ahmed).

Also, weirdly, it would not allow me to play FEATURETTE, which I know is a perfectly acceptable word.

This kind of human-AI interaction can be frustrating, especially when you see it put down ZA (for pizza) or URANIUMS.

Uraniums? I thought that "uranium" was the plural of uranium. It is, after all, an element.

As other reviewers have suggested, playing SCRABBLE on such a small footprint as the DS Lite takes some getting used to for those who think of the board game or even the PC versions of this game. For example, several times I have inadvertently passed my turn without intending to, and moving letters around on the rack is cumbersome.

I'll probably play this game more; however, its AI software needs to be modified to create a more credible opponent for the advanced player.

Oh, and unlike the DS's Level 6, Maven didn't ALWAYS beat me.

I love playing Scrabble, but the version for the DS has very poor gameplay. It likes to just drop the tile in a random location or pulls the tile back to your tray. It sometimes takes up to 5 trys to get a tile in the right position.

I've been waiting for a good Scrabble game for my Gameboy DS. This is perfect. I mostly play the classic game. I like the option of having the dictionary open to give definitions of each word played. I don't need dazzling graphics for Scrabble since they only slow the play down. The touch screen makes this very easy to play. You can zoom in and out of the board but I prefer to see the whole board. All in all I am very pleased with this version of the game.

I bought this game in early June and have played it every day since. Few, if any, of the reviews here fail to mention the problem of the letters being difficult to position on the board, and my review is no exception.

I have found it nearly impossible at times to position the letters on the board. They jump back to the rack or anywhere on the board, over & over again. This problem severely impacts the enjoyment of the game. It is far too frustrating to try to play this game, and nearly impossible to play any of the timed training exercises.

I read here that if you recalibrate your Nintendo screen (you can do this on the opening screen prior to tapping the game card), it will eliminate the problem. I've tried doing that two times, and it has made absolutely no difference. The letters still are difficult to place.

The most frustrating thing that happens frequently is when you shuffle or move the letters around on the rack, and the "pass your turn" key is somehow activated. Suddenly you've lost your turn when you had no intention of passing. You have to be extremely careful when shuffling your letters not to activate "pass-your-turn" and frankly, I'm not sure it's possible NOT to have it happen occasionally, randomly.

The training games are pretty much useless because of one's inability to position the letter tiles quickly. All the training exercises are timed, and yet you'll spend precious seconds trying to position letters over & over again on the screen. There's no way you can get an accurate time based on your ability and knowledge because of that.

All in all, I am extremely disappointed in this game. I think the company that produced it should offer a free upgrade to everyone who purchased it to date -- if and when they debug and fix the numerous problems with this current edition.

I agree with the reviewer who complained about the 'locked' Avatars and Themes. It's silly to do that. Scrabble is not a game where a player needs to be 'rewarded'. Winning a game and doing well during that game is reward enough. Most people buying this game are more sophisticated than that! However, if that were the only problem with this game, I would be a very happy customer.

[...]

While I've never heard the music/sfx (I play mine muted) I think this game is very fun and eliminates the frustrations of human players. Nobody wants to play me generally because they assume they are going to lose- real bummer for a Scrabble lover.
I've noticed that during each tile placement the spot it will be placed will glow red before you let go with the stylus. Once in a while I won't be paying attention and it won't place but it generally gives me no problem whatsoever. Besides, it is very easy (double-tap) to zoom the screen for ensured placement precision.
This game replaces any "Travel Editions" from the stone age for me...no losing tiles, parts, etc.
If you are a vocabulary buff that enjoys the unending possibilities of puzzle fun this is for you! I'd let my friends borrow it but it's been in my system since it's release date!
Other plusses:

-Three game modes for extra fun twist: Classic, Slam, or Speed

-Offers training in case you would like to brush up, learn new strategies for optimizing scores

-Adjustable AI (computer player) with several attainable comfort levels of skill play (1-6)

-Shows you what skills you have excelled in after each game

-Give you game statistics of your own averages of game play

-There are several different adjustable options to offer a relaxed game mode or different time limits for a challenge, recyclable blanks, extra challenge, optional dictionary/two word suggestion list access or hints

-You can rack up skill points to increase your ranking, which I think adds a little something extra to work for that rewards you for all your hours of fun

It was well worth the money, I seriously can't see myself wanting to trade this in- ever.

I love Scrabble, so I was excited when I heard it was being released in the DS format. My frustration with this game began immediately. The game passed my turn as I tried to place my first letter. I thought that I may have hit the wrong button by mistake, but later gameplay confirmed that this was not the case. It does all kind of crazy things...passes your turn, drops the letters in random places, brings up the dictionary as your selecting letters, replaces all your played tiles back in the rack, etc. Very frustrating!

This game is so much fun. It can be played by two people or played against the computer. A friend and I borrowed it from another friend while we went on a week long cruise and we played the game every single day. We both had Nintendo's so we played against each other and had the best time while relaxing at the same time. When we got home we both purchased the game and we play against the computer. It is amazing the words that the computer can come up with and it has helped us learn some new words that we would never thought to be words. We are both having a great time with the game and recommend it even if you are by yourself. It is fun to challenge the computer, sometimes, we do beat it. Good luck and hope you purchase the game because you will be so glad you did. Believe us, it's worth it!

The game is too sensitive. Once they fix this the game will be great. It has a dictionary available where I used to use [...] , and being able to select the skill level of your partner is good for AI playing. Hints can be turned on and off. Overall, it is ok, but they need to work on the screen sensitivity.