[b]Achievements Available:[/b] 18
[b]EST Completion Time (100% Achievements):[/b] 20+ hours
[b]Trading Cards Available:[/b] 8/set
[h1]Overview[/h1]
[i]Ace of Words[/i] is a self-proclaimed “arcade style” anagram game in which players have 120 seconds to solve a maximum of 100 words.
There are 2 major problems with this game that ultimately make it unenjoyable to play:
1.) A small & limited dictionary;
2.) The “HINT” button/feature.
While players may start with only 120 seconds to solve their words, rounds can easily last anywhere from 2-10 minutes due to gaining additional time with every correctly solved word. Once enough words are guessed or solved to unlock the “HINT” button, players may then use that feature to solve all of the remaining words one-by-one until the timer runs out or all of the words are solved. While at first solving 100% of words in the rounds is exciting, it quickly becomes mind-numbingly boring as it eliminates any challenge and renders the game endless. This issue could easily be resolved by limiting the number of hints per round and/or increasing the cooldown of its use; however, the developers having seemingly abandoned this game.
Unfortunately, the endlessness of [i]Ace of Words[/i] also skews the leaderboards. Rather than being ranked based on your skill or intelligence, you’ll ultimately be ranked on your time dedicated to the game as the only way to secure a high-ranking spot on the leaderboards is to either play the game nonstop for hours or leave the game open and running nonstop as you play a few rounds every so often.
Lastly, the most irritating feature of [i]Ace of Words[/i] is its small and limited dictionary, which is missing many common words (i.e., bot, media, omen, rip) and therefore marks them as invalid. What starts as a small annoyance transforms into gaslighting, as you suddenly find yourself questioning your own intelligence and sanity as you repeatedly type a word you know is valid that the game states is invalid.
[h1]Pros[/h1]
• Playable in 8 different languages.
[h1]Cons[/h1]
• Unlocking (and using) the “HINT” button each round ultimately renders the game endless.
• The dictionary is small, limited, and missing many common words.
• In “Best of 8” mode, 8-letter words are rare occurrences; I didn’t encounter my first 8-letter word until over 1.65 million points-worth of attempts (approximately 33 consecutive rounds).
• Leaderboard rankings are ultimately determined by time spent playing consecutive rounds, rather than any actual skill or intelligence.
• Some of the achievements are bugged (i.e., word count for “The Preschooler” randomly stops counting words towards its progression).
[h1]TL;DR:[/h1]
You don’t have to be smart to master [i]Ace of Words[/i] or its leaderboards; you simply have to be committed enough to dedicate an undesirable amount of time to its endless loops of solving words you know, unlocking the “HINT” feature, and solving the remaining words you don’t know with the “HINT” feature – all while using a small and limited dictionary that is missing many common words.
