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[centracore]

Developer: Self Aware Games
Platforms: iPhone, Palm Pre & PC
iPhone Release: September 1, 2009 (Word Ace - iTunes Link | Word Ace Pro - iTunes Link)
Palm Pre Release: August 20, 2009
PC Release: September 29, 2009 (Facebook App Link)

Word Ace combines the strategy and competition of Texas Hold 'Em and the intellectual challenge of Scrabble-like word creation into a fast-paced, challenging multiplayer online game you carry in your pocket. Do you have the cards and the skill to build the highest-scoring word, or are you going to have to bluff your way to victory?

• Online Multiplayer: Play with (or against) your friends online any time. Jump into a public game and compete against players across the globe, or set up a table for you and your friends.
• Infinitely Replayable Fun: Play Word Ace for a day, or play it for a year, and every time you pick it up, you’ll face a new challenge. Like any classic, Word Ace never gets old.
• Friends List: Add people to your Friends List, and you can play online with them any time. Invite a friend to your game with a simple click, or hop into a game they’re playing just as easily.
• Unique Picture-based Emotes: Win with an incredible word? Show your opponents you’re gloating. Smile or frown at your opponents with a simple click & drag.
• In-game text chat: Drop your friends a quick message through Word Ace's in-game chat system! Someone win with a lousy word? Let them know what they should have spelled instead.
• Daily Chip Bonuses: Every day you play you earn a free chip bonus - so don't let a day go by without a game of Word Ace!

The best feature yet? All this is free. Play Word Ace online as much as you like, and it’ll cost you exactly nothing.

A dude from Self-Aware Games dropped by the booth to thank us for allowing ads for Taxi Ball, which I was only too happy to do, because the game is great. In the zone of pure joy that was created by our friendly meeting, he whipped out a couple phones to show off their new game, Word Ace. Similar to Quiddler, it boils Scrabble's bones for stock - but adds Texas Hold 'Em instead of Rummy, replacing the lid and going to "low" for a long simmer. The aroma fills the house. Apparently, I need to eat some Goddamned breakfast.

We played against each other there in Ad Hoc, he on the iPhone and I on a Palm Pre, which made me smile - and I told him so. Something that's been especially disheartening this generation is that fiefdoms have become even more entrenched, even though there are many market players with power spilling o'er the ramparts. He said it may be out next week, which is good, because the constant fantasies are becoming a distraction.

Playing with real opponents and the ability to upload and view player photos makes this game very engaging and life-like. This Palm Pre app also comes with real-time chat capabilities, which you can use during the game itself. The achievements and gameplay will ensure that you keep coming back, and the ability to play regularly against the same opponents will help you hone your skills and make the game so much more competitive. Icons, menus, and other design aspects are simply top-notch and interface is surprisingly uncluttered and straightforward for an app that is relatively complex and feature-rich. A highly recommended download for all Palm Pre users.

This game is absolutely fantastic, and a real creative twist on one of the most popular games around these days. Plus, as a former English major, I loved the vocabulary building aspect of this game. Like I said, by far this is the best game available for the Pre today. If any of you are playing, keep an eye out for me (username: lawyerboy) and make sure to hit me up with a friend request.

Palm Pre Video Walkthrough

helava - 1447431795
centracore - 55251
anachronous_one - 55253
Foob - 55292
vesp - 55293
N Coward Parody - 55508
SnakeXs - 55603
Prezhulio - 55415
Costanza - 55757
pilonv1 - 55595
mrkgoo - 55732
Gunstar - 55835
Matrix - 55676
DieselRainbow - 55844
dream - 55259
kaizoku - 55872
Borman - 55968
lawblob - 55990
Remy - 55999
Khanage - 55933
BenjaminBirdie - 56058
jessecuster - 56175
Vyer - 56231
garrickk - 56644
DoctorWho - 56197
Flunkie - 57242
Stumpokapow - 59016
spunibard - 58476
LCfiner - 56258
butzopower - 55565
SpeedRazor - 2375
Dacvak - 60819
Reno7728 - 62848
ZZMitch - 63433
Meatpuppet - 55773
x3n05 - 70915
dock - 73990
Undeux - 75503
Aptos - 69417
Stoney Mason - 89701
dark_preacher - 81191
---added in last list update---
Banzaiaap - 175859
Slacker - 65613

 

[helava]

Awesome!
Add me, my code is: 1447431795

Wooohooo!!!
seppo

 

[anachronous_one]

Word Ace code: 55253

 

[SnakeXs]

Played a few games, and the idea is great and I can't imagine asking more of the execution. Bravo.

My code's 55603. :]

 

[Costanza]

Just got it. FC: 55757

 

[helava]

There's some useful info that we posted on the Self Aware blog the other day that might come in handy for new players.

1.) The dictionary that Word Ace uses is the "Tournament Word List" (TWL), which follows what you'd consider standard Scrabble rules. So no proper nouns, foreign words, etc. This might catch you up, because some things that sound like foreign words have been turned into regular words, but others (like Zen) are still considered proper nouns. So, we are using a dictionary that's widely considered to be an "industry standard" as it were, but it may lead to some confusion. We're going to be posting the rules in-game in an update.

2.) The letter distribution, so you can make some strategic decisions with the letters you have, is posted here:

http://www.selfawaregames.com/blog/?p=177

Hope that's useful!
Cheers!
seppo

 

[mrkgoo]

There's some useful info that we posted on the Self Aware blog the other day that might come in handy for new players.

1.) The dictionary that Word Ace uses is the "Tournament Word List" (TWL), which follows what you'd consider standard Scrabble rules. So no proper nouns, foreign words, etc. This might catch you up, because some things that sound like foreign words have been turned into regular words, but others (like Zen) are still considered proper nouns. So, we are using a dictionary that's widely considered to be an "industry standard" as it were, but it may lead to some confusion. We're going to be posting the rules in-game in an update.

2.) The letter distribution, so you can make some strategic decisions with the letters you have, is posted here:

http://www.selfawaregames.com/blog/?p=177

Hope that's useful!
Cheers!
seppo

This is indeed awesome, thanks.

Pretty close to Scrabble. I was probably wanting scrabble distribution, but this is a different game - since it has a communal pool, I would think the number of vowels can be a bit less, as I guess you have implemented. AS I study this game, it seems like all the right decisions were made.

For example, I was a bit curious as to why you start with $400, despite having a larger pool - but since you are at a particular table, it shows who's been playing for a while, who hasn't, how much you've earnt and lost....brilliant!

Also kind of prevents people from pushing their weight around too much.

I still marvel at the concept. Seriously amazing. You guys deserve to become millionaires, which only serves to highlight my mediocre position in this society.

 

[Acid08]

I feel like an idiot but where do I find my online add code?

 

[Gunstar]

Awesome game, really fun to play even though I'm not a native English speaker. My FC is 55835.

 

[mrkgoo]

I feel like an idiot but where do I find my online add code?

Try to add a friend code and yours will be listed at the top.

All those hours playing Dungeon Scroll, Scrabble, and Twisty TExt will finally pay off...

 

[helava]

There's sort of a funny story about how we came up with the concept of Word Ace. I'll post it tomorrow (though you can maybe find it on precentral.net's forum) - we're looking at this freezing bug now, and have a big meeting tomorrow, and I had a red-eye flight last night, so I'm totally, totally beat. So we'll search for this bug 'till I can't stay awake, but I'll post that story tomorrow.

seppo

 

[VOOK]

Do you need to know how to play Poker? Probably a dumb question...

 

[Dizzan]

Do you need to know how to play Poker? Probably a dumb question...

You should try learn poker regardless. It's simple and damn fun with a group of mates and a bottle or two of scotch

 

[Matrix]

Game is awesome....

friend code is : 55676

 

[Chris R]

3.0 only??? iPod Touch users like me am cry.

 

[Costanza]

3.0 only??? cheapskate users like me am cry.

fixed

 

[VOOK]

You should try learn poker regardless. It's simple and damn fun with a group of mates and a bottle or two of scotch

I know, I've tried many times but I just give up.. I'm more of a Blackjack person...

 

[helava]

Do you need to know how to play Poker? Probably a dumb question...

It helps, certainly, but you don't have to know how to play. The game should teach you the basics.

Thanks!
seppo

 

[vesp]

its awesome, but one thing id like to see is the option to make the countdowns shorter, game can feel a bit slow when you get a full table and theres not much chit chat

 

[Chris R]

fixed

Why should I pay 10$ to upgrade to something I don't need? Hardly see how that makes me a cheapskate.

 

[mrkgoo]

I know, I've tried many times but I just give up.. I'm more of a Blackjack person...

Poker itself is not as interesting as Texas Hold 'em.

Oh my god, is that game fun. The intensity is amazing.

Seriously, I'm crap at counting and calculating probability, but the whole idea of Texas Hold'em is that there is a communal pool of cards that everyone can 'use' to make the best hand, combined with their own secret two cards.

The suspense is in that the communal cards are only revealed 3, then 1, then 1 at a time with betting in between each round. It's like you are playing the probabilities on what you have in hand vs what's out, what other people are likely to have, combined with strategic bidding. Say, if you have an awesome hand, you can just bet a little, hoping everyone else matches, as a large bet can just scare people off - that kind of thing.

I'd say word ace is not as suspenseful as that, because it's much harder to guess what other people have, but it's much more friendly, plus it's a word game to boot so you can learn as you play.

My ONLY beef so far is that I tend to get dropped connections, but I think that's an issue on my end.

Playing with other players really has a pretty good feel to it.

 

[mrkgoo]

Why should I pay 10$ to upgrade to something I don't need? Hardly see how that makes me a cheapskate.

Doesn't really make you a cheapskate, but increasingly, that $10 upgrade will become something you need to keep up with the software.

That said, I have an iPod touch 1st gen on 2.2, and it runs more smoothly than my iPhone with 3.0. 3.0 is pretty laggy. I can live with it, it's like clicking an app or screen and waiting a few seconds for it to load.

 

[mrkgoo]

Dammit. I had a 7-letter word 'entropy', and I got all excited and over bid, everyone folded

 

[Gunstar]

mrkgoo is beating on me hard here with his ingenious wordplay. Really fun game though.

 

[pilonv1]

pilonv1 55595

 

[dream]

jonathans 55259

 

[kaizoku]

count me in

Binh - 55872

 

[Deleted member 284]

What a great little game. I started at 1am last night and ended at 3:30am. Time flew by. I would easily have paid 4.99 or more for this. Polish is amazing for a free game. To helava and the devs, I hope you guys have trademarked this game. I can see it catching on in an digital and analogue way really quickly.

Please add me guys. My Friend Code is 55505. User name is olubode.

 

[mrkgoo]

What a great little game. I started at 1am last night and ended at 3:30am. Time flew by. I would easily have paid 4.99 or more for this. Polish is amazing for a free game. To helava and the devs, I hope you guys have trademarked this game. I can see it catching on in an digital and analogue way really quickly.

Please add me guys. My Friend Code is 55505. User name is olubode.

Agreed - you could sell real decks.

I just got off - it's 3:40am :0

 

[Borman]

55968 - Borman
Playing on the Pre

 

[Barrett2]

55990 - Jim

Although... I am loathe to play a game against anyone motivated to buy a Pre because of those disturbing albino-girl commercials.

 

[Remy]

55999. Love the game so much I'm going to cry when I go out of network range.

 

[Costanza]

This game is sooooo good <3

 

[kaizoku]

got a friend from the office to download it as well, we spent a good half hour playing it against people (not on the same table) and laughing at the words we were trying to make:

"is tingy a word?"
"is vay a word?!"

"help me make a word!", "coiled", "damn your good at this" *F drops* "FOILED! even better", "go all in!" "ok!" *LOSE* "noooo!"

 

[Gunstar]

I just found out it's better to write nothing than to write a bullshit word if you don't see any possibilities. I just had two people split the stash who both had no word at all and I got nothing because I had a non-existing word.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

56058. Holla!

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

The only thing is the red return arrow is a little on the slow side. Anyway, slick game and ridiculous that it's free. It's way nicer than a many paid games I've gotten.

 

[Barrett2]

Just sent an email to family / friends telling them to get this. Really solid game, except I just lost a hand because I thought "peet" was a word. -_-

 

[N Coward Parody]

Brilliant game. Congrats.

55508

 

[jessecuster]

56175 Lightning

 

[jessecuster]

So about how many point words are you finding the most success with?

 

[Khanage]

55933 - khanage

 

[Khanage]

This game is awesome!

 

[helava]

re: real decks & trademark...

When we designed the Word Ace cardbacks, we did 'em up in print resolution so that we could do real decks. Also made sure that the total number of cards was small enough that a real deck wouldn't be ridiculously enormous.

So sometime in the future, once the digital versions are mostly done, we'll work on printing up actual cards.

Trademark-wise, we're as covered as we can be.

Glad to hear all the positive comments, and if anyone's having any trouble, please don't hesitate to mail us at support (at) (name of the company).com, or just send me a PM here.

Thanks!
seppo

 

[jessecuster]

I am totally and completely hooked. I still want to figure out what the equivalent of pocket Aces or Kings would be.



Now I am trying to figure out how I could play the game in real life. Scrabble tiles would seem to be the only way I can think.

 

[Vyer]

Very cool. For some reason I thought 'mook' was a word though.

Friend code:
Vyer
56231

 

[helava]

I am totally and completely hooked. I still want to figure out what the equivalent of pocket Aces or Kings would be.



Now I am trying to figure out how I could play the game in real life. Scrabble tiles would seem to be the only way I can think.

Hey, Jesse - Scrabble tiles would get you close, but the points/letter are slightly different. Since you don't have multiple turns to use a letter like Q, it becomes much harder/less likely that you'll be able to use it, so it's worth slightly more...

Still, you can get close.

seppo

 

[mrkgoo]

Hey, Jesse - Scrabble tiles would get you close, but the points/letter are slightly different. Since you don't have multiple turns to use a letter like Q, it becomes much harder/less likely that you'll be able to use it, so it's worth slightly more...

Still, you can get close.

seppo

I love this. It really means thought has been put into the game, and probably a heckuva lot of play testing. Basically, the care and balance has been put into this title has demonstrated to me, and that translates into a trust for the developer that they know what they are doing when it comes to game design.

While I think the wait at the end for the word comparison can be excruciating, that adds to the suspense (which, frankly, a lot of this game and Texas hold's) - it would be a little less exciting, but to the point, I guess if it just ended. This makes it more like a real life game in some ways, and less like an artificial computer game.

For those who think that it should exit as soon as a word is locked, they should keep in mind the 'use this word' button isn't a 'lock'. It allows you to have a word submitted, while still being allowed to experiment for a better one. If the locking mechanism were to be used, it would require another button, in my opinion, as the above feature is pretty well thought out.

Re: Scrabble: There are more vowels in Scrabble, for example. This is most likely due to the use of a communal hand as opposed to several separate hands, each requiring lots of vowels. I imagine game design went down something like from Scrabble distribution, but adjusted.

Also, no wild cards, and the backwards (S) and (E). They really add a twist.

A neat thing this has over Texas Hold 'em is that it requires the user to submit a word - the best hand isn't automatically assumed, providing for a bit more interaction besides just the bidding.

 

[Gunstar]

A neat thing this has over Texas Hold 'em is that it requires the user to submit a word - the best hand isn't automatically assumed, providing for a bit more interaction besides just the bidding.

True. There have been many occassions where for example I made a four-letter word using my two letters and two letters from the general stack; while another player made a five-letter word using just the 5 letters from the general stack, beating me in the process.

 

[greenmatter]

good find