Mobile Game Review of "USA TODAY Word Txtpert" by Namco

Image via Wikipedia Word Txtpert is actually two games in one... Txtpert, which is sort of crosswords combined with timer and phone keypad, and Word Down, which is sort of Txtpert meets Tetris. Unfortunately, neither game really catches the feverish pitch in the better word games like Wordox, due to a tiny game board, though difficulty level can be set higher.

Default size of board is five by five, and you are given the "numeric equivalent" of the letter as the clue. For example, 2 is A, B, or C (look on your phone keypad). You usually have to solve 4 words hopefully in just a few seconds. You can score bonus points for knowing certain obscure words, and for "accuracy", as in finding the right combo the first time instead of flipping everything a couple times over. You care allowed 2 cheats per puzzle if you have NO IDEA what's going on, but you will lose the 2000 fair bonus if you *do* use the cheat.

The categories are widely varied, and there are quite a few proper names in there, like "European River names", "US City Names", and so on. Some are quite obscure, while others are rather obvious.

Word Down basically is Tetris meets Txtpert, with dropping blocks you must assemble into words before they overwhelm the drop zone.

All in all, Txtpert doesn't quite have the magic of Bookworm or even Wordox to keep you playing, despite the invocation of USA TODAY as a sub-brand.

Overall rating: 6 out of 10 (including +1 for Word Down's inclusion)
Pros: not that hard to learn either game
Cons: too simple, Txtpert has some odd proper nouns included