W.E.L.D.E.R.

W.E.L.D.E.R. is an ingenious and highly addictive word game app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Find and create words by “swapping” lettered tiles that are either vertically, horizontally or diagonally adjacent. You are given a limited number of swaps and you get 5 more swaps for every 250 points that you earn. There are also blank tiles on the board. You can use one of your swaps to fill in a blank tile with a letter. Additional options (like reverse swap and jump swap) are unlocked as you pass each level.

I would also classify W.E.L.D.E.R. as a puzzle app. Having your swaps limited forces you to be careful with your moves. You don’t want to swap any letters unnecessarily and you want to achieve the most points possible with each play. I’ve found myself staring at the screen obsessively trying to save my swaps and figure out what is the best next move.

As of this writing, W.E.L.D.E.R. is free in the app store, though the description states that it’s regularly priced at $3.99. Even for $3.99, I would recommend this to my word game app loving friends. W.E.L.D.E.R. is very compelling; Ayopa Games has developed a real hit!