a bold interface that features chunky
coloured vertical letter columns that
you drag back and forth. On an iPhone,
this makes for a visually bold game
infused with clarity that’s the opposite
of fiddly. On iPad, it’s a joy, with you
dragging even bigger columns left and
right, sounds playing as you do so.
Gradually, additional gameplay
mechanics are wisely introduced to
shake things up and make your brain
work a touch harder: on-off characters
and columns that can be switched
between multiple letters. This adds
useful variety to stop Letter Rooms
from getting samey. A daily puzzle
would be a welcome addition too,
but in its current incarnation, Letter
Rooms deftly fulfils what it sets out
to achieve, being a pleasant, refined,
focused anagrams game.
- Ord.
Price: £1.99
Imagine a text-based adventure from
the early 1980s devoid of the vast
majority of its narrative and you get
Ord. Here, every scenario plays out
as three words. There’s a single-word
setup that describes each situation.
You then select from two options to
define your action, after which point
you’re treated to the most concise of
written outcomes. If you’re fortunate,
it will make
you laugh
or at least
progress your
story. Make the
wrong choice
and your fast-
paced exploits
of lexical
brevity come
to an abrupt
conclusion.
It sounds
crude, limiting
and minimal,
but the game’s
atmosphere is heightened by sound
effects and subtle visual flourishes.
Mostly, though, you quickly find
your mind starts to fill in the blanks.
Despite every tiny scene featuring
just three words, you’ll find a sense
of horror when caught in a time loop,
or tension when picking your way
through a dangerous forest.
Ord. is, however, at least as much
word game as adventure, hence its
categorisation in this round-up. It’s
about recognising a situation and
figuring out what might be associated
with that word, rather than traditional
adventuring that affords you plenty of
context and logical pathways through
a quest. Regardless, Ord. is a must-48.