by It’s almost certainly not pulling in as many users as Words With Friends, but the App Store’s buzziest word game right now is Letterpress, an elegantly designed asynchronous experience that even loops in territorial control elements. And it’s a slick freebie that actually lives up to the hype.
Spawned by Tweetie creator Atebits, Letterpress is a marvel of minimalistic design. From the main menu, it almost looks like a Windows Phone app, featuring multi-colored tiles on a stark white backdrop, with only the relevant details and Path-esque circular player images in view. Click on any icon and you’ll reveal the game board, with its 5×5 randomized letter arrangement split between each player’s distinctive color.
Letterpress is a back-and-forth game of word creation, and with only 25 total points available on the board, each move tips the momentum as players claim (or steal) tiles. The only tiles not in play are the ones you can seal off by surrounding them with other secured titles; foes can still utilize them for words, but until uncovered, the points will remain yours. Words cannot be repeated or lazily pluralized for reuse, and each game continues until the last free tile is utilized or both stumped players pass a turn.
Simple as it may seem on the surface, winning requires real strategy – not just in word creation, but also letter usage and positioning, as well as anticipating an opponent’s moves. And while ad-free and functional without purchase, it’s well worth paying the dollar for the premium upgrade, which allows more than two active games, plus unlocks new themes and a list of used words.
The bottom line. Letterpress could use additional UI tweaks (no rematch feature?), but this winning word-builder delivers a delightful and dashing turn-based experience.
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