WORDSMITH
Designer: Bill Eberle, Peter Olotka, Greg Olotka | Artist: Annika Bruning
It seems almost impossible to create a ‘new’ word game. Yet, the creative minds behind Cosmic Encounters, Bill Eberle, Peter Olotka have joined Greg Olotka to attempt a fresh take. The approach itself is simple, yet effective. Players compete against each other to make words, but before they can commit their many-lettered beast to paper to score points, they will have to assemble each letter by arranging them from fragments.
In Wordsmith, all players begin with the same pool of eight available pieces – sticks of two lengths and semi-circles of two sizes. Combining these shapes (there is a guide of the letter composition on the side of the box) creates the letters and which can then be arranged into a word. Once the word is scored – based on the number of letters it has – players can use the same shapes to create a different word or roll a die that determines the piece they can pick up and add to their personal pool. There is only one catch – unused pieces become negative points as the game progresses, discouraging players from hoarding or spending too much time on creating long, elaborate words.
Players are unlikely to experience the level of satisfaction equal to scoring ‘Oxyphenbutazone’ in Scrabble when creating words in Wordsmith. This is not a game about regurgitating the most impressive word you know from a dictionary. It focuses on the economy of available pieces: using them efficiently to be the first to create six words without wasting to many pieces. This approach focuses on agility and ingenuity, making the game more accessible to a wider range of players. It ‘levels’ the playing field for erudites, novices and even those who don’t have English as their first language.
ALEX SONECHKINA
Lisez l'article complet et bien d'autres dans ce numéro de
The Best Games Of…
Options d'achat ci-dessous
Si le problème vous appartient,
Connexion pour lire l'article complet maintenant.
Numéro unique numérique
The Best Games of 2020
Ce numéro et d'autres anciens numéros ne sont pas inclus dans une nouvelle version de l'article
abonnement. Les abonnements comprennent le dernier numéro régulier et les nouveaux numéros publiés pendant votre abonnement. The Best Games Of…