Word Scramble for the iPhone and iPod Touch: A Freebie Worth Having

We spend a lot of time in the pile of coal that is the iTunes App Store, looking for those diamonds: those gems of programs that restore faith in humanity (or at least in the App Store). Word Scramble by Zynga is one of those gems. First if you don't like word games skip this review. If you like them though, keep reading.

Word Scramble features a Boggle-like grid of 16 letters, and you have to create words using adjoining letters. It's simple, but addictive. While playing alone is fine, the network play feature is clever, and simple. You and several other players (apx 100-200) play the same board at the same time, with realtime stats of your ranking, as well as the top 3 players. Since the review was recorded, I have noticed at night sometimes the servers get a little funny (perhaps overloaded) but usually it all works without a hitch. Which brings me to my other favorite part of this game: It's free.

Yes, my faith is restored in free iPhone apps. Note: there are two Word Scramble apps in the app store, this one is from Zynga.