Amazon.com: Bookworm Deluxe: PC: Video Games

95 Reviews

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (95 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

195 of 200 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun, Addictive and Educational! High Marks All Around!, April 15, 2005

By	Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

I am addicted to Bookworm and need to acquire more willpower, fast, to limit my daily game time. I find myself spending hours playing, late evenings especially, and, (blush), sometimes at work. Trying to accumulate a high score - my personal best - like at the Olympics, is the most addictive part for me!! I used to play Scrabble on the PC and loved it, but Bookworm is by far the better game - I think. I have limited myself to no more than an hour per day, OK sometimes 2 hours - but that is time used to build vocabulary and other skills, rather than watch one of my favorite TV programs. See how easy it is to rationalize? Actually, Bookworm has helped to improve my Scrabble skills also. There's almost an entire dictionary of possibilities stored on the CD.

The concept of Bookworm is simple. One needs to make words by linking adjacent letter tiles. The more complex the word and more difficult the letter, (z, x, q, like Scrabble), the higher the score. Short, or low scoring words, cause fires to start with letters at the top of the PC screen, the library wall. If a word is not formed from the burning tile letters before they reach the bottom, then the game explodes - kaput! The higher your score, the more burning tiles appear. Thus the level of difficulty increases. Also, the longer one plays a particular game, thus using up a variety of tiles, it becomes more difficult to find either vowels or consonants. Scoring then becomes even more difficult.

There is a leisurely paced Classic Game, and no beat the clock option. I personally prefer this one. It gives one time to really think and look for many-lettered words. Then there's the Action Game, where you have to beat both the clock and the burning tiles. Since one is more inclined to go for short words when the clock is ticking, there are more burning tiles here. It really gets the adrenaline going! There is also a Save Game option which is terrific. Once I begin to score in the high numbers, which can take a while, I get tired, and am able to save the game without losing points, and can come back to it another time. The players' high scores are saved in the Hall of Fame, so it is easy to compete against yourself or another player.

The book worm, Lex, (from lexicon), is a funny and bizarre creature who makes weird noises, supposedly to encourage the player to feed his endless appetite for words. When a particularly good word is formed, he belches! I enjoyed this feature for all of five minutes, and then turned down the sound. However, I think kids would love this vocabulary tapeworm. And Bookworm is perfect for children and adults alike. The game is from Activision. It is fun and educational and I highly recommend it. The CD version is more complex and has many more possibilities than the free download found on the Web. I tried the download before buying the game.
JANA

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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Scrabble, March 23, 2005

By	C. Philipps "Beulahwoman" (Llano, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not a kid but in my mid 50's, and I love this game! It tests my visual perception, vocabulary and ability to foresee what moves are necessary to align higher-scoring words. The fact that words can be spelled out forward (left to right and up and down), backward (right to left and upward) as well as in a spiral, diagonally or in a serpentine manner makes it more fun and challenging. The extra points tiles and the burning tiles, desending to threaten burning down the "library" add to the excitement.

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61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun - It's Addictive!, June 18, 2005

By	Katie "book worm" (PA , USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I happened across this game through "Game Blast", an on-line game site, and after trying it through the 60 minute trial offer, I was hooked. Needless to say, I decided to purchase it, & then my entire family started playing. We all thoroughly enjoy playing bookworm!

Although we are all adults, my neice who is 14 also loves to play it whenever she comes for a visit. In fact, the first place she goes upon arriving is to the computer to play Book Worm. Because it's so educational - in terms of spelling and finding words - we are happy that she enjoys it so much!

The basic premise of "Book Worm" is that you have to find words within a grid, where each letter must touch the next (similar to scrabble or boggle). Each letter is given a certain # of points, and these points are added up for the words you choose.

You want to find longer/higher scoring words whenever possible, as if you choose too many low scoring words, a fire will start to "attack" the tiles, and if you don't use those firey tiles fast, they will quickly move to the bottom and then the board "explodes", and the game is over.

I would highly recommend this game to anyone who loves playing scrabble & boggle, but who wants to find a game where they can play alone; as well as for children (probably at least 10yrs. old) who like, or need help with the subject of spelling. It will provide hours upon hours of fun & enjoyment for children & adults alike.