Alpha Omega

I find this game fun and challenging. it’s definitely a mental workout sometimes and sometimes the hints are absolutely necessary especially when the terms are words one never heard of. But just a few hints here and there isn’t “cheating;” it just simplifies an otherwise too difficult puzzle and restores the fun factor. The game incorporates relaxing music and I find this to be a highlight of the overall experience, for the gentle music definitely helps me to relax. I do hope that further versions of the game add more tracks of music as I would enjoy more of this kind of “zen” experience. A few things to change: 1. The white “title bar” at the top of the screen is way too big and takes up valuable screen work space. The same information could be stated in just a small corner or narrow band. 2. A little more artistry of the themes would be nice, like subtle pictures in the background and not just solid pastel colors. 3. Maybe more flexibility with the undo function, enabling the player to move letters around when “stuck” would be a good feature. Only two “shots” then you start over is kinda stiff punishment. Finally... there is no such dessert as sherbert! This is unforgivable. Thanks for a great game.

I also have to say - ignore the naysayers! It’s unique and very satisfying to play. After I played for a few levels, I happily paid a couple bucks to get rid of the ads and that was completely worth it for the gameplay, having more hints, and supporting a puzzle game that’s not another run-of-the-mill crossword. The levels range from easy to very challenging, and I like that the harder levels aren’t dumbed down. Even if you know what a word is, the puzzle can be tricky if you aren’t sure where the correct letter should come from, presenting a unique little twist on the usual crossword format. The only downside is that it takes sometimes months for new levels to come out, and when they do it’s only a couple at a time and the game is so addicting that the new levels are completed in a day or two. I would love to see more levels coming, or even a daily puzzle. Simply put, I want to play more! :) Of course that’s not worth taking a star off the rating of such a great game.

I enjoyed the introductory pack so much that in spite of telling myself the entire time that I would not purchase the remaining packs, I did it anyway. Uh-oh, my bad. I did not take the time to read the categories closely enough, or just did not realize how many levels there would be in each category. I’m still on “World of Sports” and I have never watched most of the categories of sports that are in that section and I now realize I know NOTHING about most of them. Of course, the hints are there, but if you have never heard the terms before they don’t help much. Plus, it’s no fun to have the answers given to you. But I’m getting there. At least I can say I am learning something new all the time! And I am addicted - I just can’t stop playing regardless of how hard it gets!!

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So crossword puzzles are not novel, new ones come out monthly it seems or even weekly. How does this one differ? Well it grants initial ‘hints’ by allowing knowledge of the first/last letters- hence the game title. And that part is good and works well. However then you have a closer look at this ‘free’ (uhhuh yea right we all know that’s not true) game and everything else deeper under the first set of levels is an in-app-purchase. And if you’re content with the base package, then you have to deal with the annoying controls and interface. It does a poor job at best of highlighting which letter you have selected, level restart clears all progress even if you have straightened out many words and I’m sure the puzzles get broader, and ‘incompletion of puzzle’ shows up AFTER you’ve spent the time swapping letters randomly in futile attempts. If the files and rows were fluid and could slide to swap letters and the letters were confined to certain files/rows (or the intersections instead were the known letters) they’d have a much better user friendly game.

This game is a unique take on a crossword puzzle. It's not as easy as you might think and they were definitely well thought out. Overall it was a lot of fun. The game does have a couple UX issues. For instance you have to open the menu to restart. A few times in the beginning I accidentally got hints when I was trying restart because I'm used to other games restart in that position. There's plenty of real estate up there, could've had both. My biggest complaint was that the game wouldn't remember my settings so I had to navigate several screens in and out to turn off the music. I like the in-game sounds but the music want my thing. Unfortunately, everytime the game started I had to turn it off. Those were my only two issues. Even the ads are well done. If you like brain teasers and crossword puzzles then this game is for you.