Watchword

Buy this game if you want to live. By live I mean truly live. That feeling you get when you wake up to the smell of rain but your bed is dry. The sensation of wind running through your hair as you watch the scenery pass by your un-cuffed hands. Putting on a pair of thick woolen socks and cozying up to a fire that's contained in the fireplace. Curling up with a good book on a couch that you actually own. The sun hitting your face on a beach with sand. Watching ice shatter that you're not standing on. That first scoop of ice cream. Toothpaste. All of these sensations and more are yours to supersede with the experience you get from playing this game. Plus its pretty fun.

Found this game through a YT devlog, and it is awesome. It's Balatro meets Scrabble in a super well done format, and everything is balanced and fun to play with. I spent more time on the demo before release than on some other games I've paid for. If you like deckbuilder rougelikes in any way, there's a really good chance you'll like this.

Yes. https://youtu.be/WdKzLVLsBSw

端的に言うと、古典テーブルゲーム「スクラブル」を下地とした「Balatro」ライク。 ボード上にアルファベットが描かれたタイルを置き、単語を作ることで得点することで、各ラウンドごとに設定された目標得点を達成したらラウンド突破。これを繰り返し、12ラウンドクリアを目指す。 目標得点は急速に上昇するため、「本」という設定のいわゆる「アーティファクト」を獲得することで、そのシナジーによってプレイングも加速させていく必要がある。 まあ、見た目通りの内容であり、プレイフィーリングも想像通りではあるのだが、このゲームの最大の魅力は「優しい」ということであり、特に、日本人プレイヤーにとっては、その点だけでも十分にオススメできるゲームになっている。 まず、この手のワード系ゲームというのは、単語が長ければ長いほど、文字数が多ければ多いほど得点が上がる ように作られているのが常なのだが、このゲームでは、このゲームで設定された最低文字数の三文字や、四文字の単語でも十分に得点を得ることができる。 もちろん、長い方がベースとなる得点は高く設定されているのだが、前述した「本」の効果が言葉が短くとも十分に効果的なものが多く、また、三文字、四文字で単語を作った時の基本点を上げることもできるようになっており、これがこのゲームにおいて文字数以上にウエイトが大きいのだ。そもそも、ゲーム開始時点での、ボードは4×4マスであるため、長い単語が意味を成さない。 英語に不慣れであっても、三文字や四文字の単語が基本なら、心理的なハードルはかなり低い。 また、「Balatro」ライクではお馴染みの「ボス戦」―プレイヤーに対してのデバフ効果やキツい条件の中でクリアを目指すラウンド―がないというのもいい。 自分のビルドしたデッキやバッグの中身が困難な条件であっても通用することでの快感や、突破したときの達成感に繋がることは魅力ではあるのだが、相性の悪いボス（効果）とぶつかり、為す術もなくやられることも少なくなく、それにストレスを感じているプレイヤーもいるだろう。 その点、このゲームなら、純粋に自分の構築したシナジーが素直に活きてくれれば、クリアが可能だ。 こういった「優しさ」がなんとも心地良い。ゲーム全体の雰囲気と相まってリラックスしながら遊ぶにはぴったりだ。 「本」とのシナジーが重要であるがゆえ、バッグの中の文字タイルを構築していくバッグビルド部分の面白さがイマイチなことや、ボード上にタイルを配置するときの純粋なパズルっぽさのウエイトの大きさといった欠点もないわけではないが、気持ちよく遊べる英語ワードゲームとして、高く評価したい。 ※このコメントは難易度「普通」でのプレイを基準に書いています。より高い難易度には当てはまらない可能性があります。

I was lucky enough to be one of the demo playtesters, and let me tell you this game is awesome. Easy to understand roguelike about playing words, much like a mix of Scrabble and Balatro. The UI is very intuitive, gameplay is fun, rewarding, and insanely replayable, not to mention how satisfying it is to get a good board. It's very easy for casual players/beginners to get into, and has a lot of gameplay depth than what meets the surface. There's some really crazy strategies you can pull off, I've seen people score like 100 000x more than my overall high score. The vibe of the game is also just really cosy, I really like the aesthetics and music. Overall, great game, easy to pick up, easy to get yourself lost into, easily replayable. Now let me tell you about my story of encountering this game (because I feel it is necessary as a playtester): I remember the way I first discovered this was I was watching YouTube, and I was recommended the very first devlog of this game. Saw the title and thought "cool" and so I watched the video. Instantly was hyped for the game, I love Scrabble and I love Balatro. I submitted an idea in the comments not really thinking much of it, and then suddenly I saw the next devlog and how my idea got added to the game (the book idea was Overcoming Shyness, by the way) and I was like "oh wow! my idea got in the game! well that is awesome." Around this time I also saw that beta testing applications were open, so I decided to fill that out as well, again, not really thinking much of it. Ended up getting in the playtesting team for the demo. I don't really have much else to say other than I enjoyed the experience, for being a beta it ran really well and had a lot of polish (well not as much as it does now haha) Admittedly, I wasn't too involved with the bug-reporting aspects of it, I was mostly just casually playing the game (but I suppose that's important to have as well, right? Somebody who just casually enjoys your game while beta testing) and the casual gameplay was done really well. Don't have much else to say on my beta testing story as I never tested the full game, only the demo. But you'll still see me in the credits! [spoiler] And as a word... hehe [/spoiler] In conclusion, Thank you Watchword, for... existing. This game will always have a special place in my heart.

Balatro inspired rogue-like but satisfies a completely different niche of word puzzles. I was interested in this game ever since I watched the video on youtube by the dev and how they came up with creative ways to build a roguelite similar to Balatro but different. If you ever wanted Scrabble in a roguelite form, this is the game for you!

Puzzle fans of all ages and skill levels can find some joy in Watchword. "Anagram roguelike" was enough to lure me in, but approachable mechanics, valuable accessibility settings, virtually endless replayability, satisfying progression, and cute visuals keep me coming back.

i havent played the full version much but i have played the demo alot the game in fun the number going up dose make me happy the runs do take awhile to finish i do wish that they kept the demo version of making your board bigger but thaat okay

This is a really neat balatro-style scrabble roguelike. I haven't played enough to make any absolutely absurd builds quite yet but the game is very fun so far.

Very fun. Wish there was a bit more to the game, but I'm still getting a lot of play out of it :)