Bookworm (video game)

Last updated
Bookworm
Bookworm Cover Art CD-ROM.jpg
Cover art for the CD-ROM release of Bookworm
Developer(s) PopCap Games
Black Lantern Studios (Nintendo DS and DSiWare)
Publisher(s) PopCap Games
Designer(s) Jason Kapalka [1]
SeriesBookworm
Engine PopCap Games Framework
Platform(s) Windows, Macintosh, iOS, Game Boy Advance, Xbox Live Arcade, PDA, Smartphone, Java ME, BREW, DSiWare, Nintendo DS, TAG TV
ReleaseFebruary 25, 2003
November 30, 2009 (Nintendo DS and DSiWare)
Genre(s) Puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer (DS and TAG version only)

Bookworm is a word-forming puzzle video game by PopCap Games. From a grid of available letters, players connect letters to form words. As words are formed, they are removed from the grid and the remaining letters collapse to fill the available space. Players earn more points by creating longer words or words which use less common letters and earn less for smaller words. In November 2006, PopCap Games released a sequel, Bookworm Adventures . Bookworm was released for the Nintendo DS digital distribution service DSiWare on November 30, 2009. [2] It has also been released on the regular Nintendo DS cartridge. [3] Bookworm is the most downloaded word puzzle game, being downloaded over 100 million times. [4] The Deluxe version of the game features updated graphics, Action Game, and the Hall of Fame. [5]

Contents

Gameplay

The board with a rewarded Gold tile "T" Bookworm (game).jpg
The board with a rewarded Gold tile "T"

The game requires players to match adjacent letters to form a word in the English language. Longer words are worth more points and have a greater chance of producing bonuses.

In addition to standard letters, tiles of various colors can appear depending both on the current level within the game and on the length of words being formed. The tile colors are as follows:

The game has two modes. "Classic" mode is untimed, while "Action" mode uses randomly appearing burning tiles to create a time-limited game.

If the player clicks on the game mascot Lex, found off to the side of the play area, all of the tiles will be scrambled; however, this will produce a rush of red tiles.

Additional points are given for bonus words displayed in the game; additional bonus words formed during a single game produce increasing bonus values. In some versions one can also collect and complete "books" which are groups of words in a similar category. Once one completes the first of any of these words in a particular category it unlocks the book, and displays a complete list of the words needed to complete the book and get bonus points.

Reception

The editors of Computer Gaming World presented Bookworm with their 2003 "Puzzle Game of the Year" award. They wrote, "PopCap's ultimate achievement is in taking simple elements that anyone can learn and turning them into raging, overwhelming obsessions. It's something commercial games with 50 times the budget (hey, Deus Ex 2 !) often can't match." [6] Guinness World Records named Bookworm the most downloaded word puzzle game in June, 2010. [4] The American Library Association awarded the game with the "Notable Computer Software for Children" award in 2007. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Bookworm Readme: Credits Archived June 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Nintendo Offers 10 Downloads to Help You Recover from Your Holiday Weekend". Nintendo of America. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Bookworm on Amazon.
  4. 1 2 "Most downloaded word puzzle game". guinnessworldrecords. Archived from the original on 2024-09-11.
  5. ↑ "PopCap Games - Bookworm". 2004-02-05. Archived from the original on 2004-02-05. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  6. ↑ Editors of CGW (March 2004). "Computer Gaming World's 2003 Games of the Year". Computer Gaming World . No. 236. pp. 57–60, 62–69.
  7. ↑ "Bookworm Deluxe | ALA". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
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