Zynga on Thursday is rolling out a sleeker, more robust version of Words With Friends, the Scrabble-esque mobile game that first came out in 2009. The company also released exclusive data to TIME about the world’s top scoring cities and the most common incorrect words that people try to play (which you can peruse at the bottom of the post).
The company has been tweaking the new version for months after polling their users about possible features, hosting focus groups at their San Francisco HQ and soft launching the rebooted app in countries like Australia and Canada. After reporting disappointing earnings earlier this year, it appears Zynga isn’t taking chances with loyal users of their most widely-played game.
Words With Friends, the hugely popular app which many tech writers credit John Mayer for popularizing with a shout out from his Twitter feed back in ‘09, gets more than two billion ad impressions a month, has tens of millions of players worldwide, and, surprise, is now owned by gaming powerhouse, Zynga.
For those attached to the older version of Words With Friends, never fear — no one will be forced to upgrade. For those who choose to get the new app, ongoing games won’t be interrupted. And players who download the new version can still swap tiles with players who don’t.
A few months ago, I wrote - okay, ranted - about my decision to quit playing Words With Friends over what I see as its fatal flaw: the way it rewards random guessing over knowledge and skill. Q: I love playing Words with Friends and have been doing so for several years now. I play with old friends as well as strangers, sometimes becoming friends with the strangers. But in the past week. Up until last week I have been playing words with friends on facebook on a daily basis, no problems. (IE9) Now when I am not able to play at all the game appears to load but never finishes, no error.
For those ready to move on, here’s what’s different:
Solo Play: This was users’ most requested feature. Word nerds can now practice against a computer even when they’re offline (like, say, Alec Baldwin on an airplane). The computer opponent plays based on the human’s skill level, surmised from every move they’ve ever made in the app.
Community Match: This feature is a bit like Tinder for people who play word games. Before, users had only the option of requesting a “Smart Match,” in which the app would pair two strangers of similar abilities for a game. Through this new opt-in feature, players can now choose to challenge someone nearby and select whether that person is male or female; when going through potential opponents, one swipes left to skip them and swipes right to ask for a match. If they accept, the game begins.
Word Strength: This feature, which used to be an in-app purchase, is now available for free. When a player puts tiles down, but before they commit to that word, a little green icon will pop up. Users can click on it for an assessment of how strong that word is—in points—compared to every other possible move they can make. The Word Strength feature can be turned on or off as a user so chooses.
Dictionary: Zynga partnered with Dictionary.com to give players an in-app dictionary that will not only tell them whether a word is eligible for play, but its definition and rarity (based on how often it’s played in Word With Friends). Abhishekam serial today episode. The dictionary is searchable, provides audio pronunciations and churns out a Word of the Day, just like Dictionary.com does.
Statistics: The new version will offer “head-to-head” statistics, so players can see how they’ve stacked up against each other over time, in terms of total wins and losses, average game scores and so forth. The new game board also gives prime space to players’ names and profile pictures, all part of an effort to make the game more social.
When asked how Words With Friends is further departing from word games that came before it — like Scrabble — Vice President of Games Jonathan Knight says the social aspect is the key. “Words With Friends is really capturing that sense of games that we grew up with but really merging that with the zeitgeist of smartphones and online connectivity,” Knight says. J cole sideline story album sharebeast.
Lots of things about Words With Friends won’t change with the update. The list of some 170,000 playable words remains just the same, as do basic game rules. Users’ ongoing games are still presented in a “to-do list” format, with games in which it’s their turn at the top. But there is more animation, easier navigation and other bells and whistles that Zynga hopes will lure lapsed users and new ones.
Though Zynga won’t say exactly how many people are using the app, Knight says there are more players of Words With Friends than any other Zynga game, and 55 million matches are happening at any moment. “The new features are really responding to what we hear from our players,” Knight says. “We’re taking it very seriously, and we’re investing deeply in the franchise.”
TOP CITIES
The city with the highest average scoring in the U.S. is the home of the Banana Slugs: Santa Cruz, Calif. All told, four of the top 10 cities for Words With Friends players are in California, and many of the top 25 are in university towns. Here is the complete list:
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Boulder, CO
- Sunnyvale, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Honolulu, HI
- Chapel Hill, NC
- Berkeley, CA
- Renton, WA
- Bladensburg, MD
- Arlington, VA
- Fairfax, VA
- Bellevue, WA
- Oakland, CA
- Rockville, MD
- Astoria, NY
- New York, NY
- Columbia, MD
- Swarthmore, PA
- Pasadena, CA
- Falls Church, VA
- San Diego, CA
- Redmond, WA
- North Miami Beach, FL
- Apex, NC
- Ashburn, VA
INVALID WORDS
The invalid word that Words With Friends players most often try to get down on the board is te, which, though allowed in Scrabble, is not allowed in the Zynga game. (In Taoism, te describes the essence of Tao inherent in all beings.)
In fact, almost all of the 100 most commonly rejected words are two letters. Kamidori alchemy meister save location. The legitimacy of qi, a high-scoring word that no one uses in real life, has perhaps helped lead players down a path where they repeatedly attempt to play combinations like ri, yu,ec,ix and zat.
WORDS PLAYERS COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING INVALID Kumpulan soal toeic dan pembahasannya.
Presumably someone thinks they have nothing to lose when they have a go at some random letter combination like ke. But there are some words that players get downright angry about being rejected, taking to social media to express their complaints. Often, it appears, the root problem is a poor understanding of what qualifies as a proper noun, which are traditionally banned in such games. Here is a selection of such words provided to TIME by Zynga:
Jedi. Zeus. Cajun. Santa. iPod. Yoda. Texan. Satan. Virgo. Botox. Asian. Hindu. Lego. Reveal formatting in word 2016 for mac. Monday. July.
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EDIT POSTTroubleshooting steps for Android
Many game performance issues (i.e. loading, crashing, missing features, sync-ing of game) can be resolved in the following ways:
Check your Internet connection
Check your Internet connection
- Make sure that your device is connected through WiFi, 3G, 4G or LTE.
- If you play through a WiFi connection, make sure your router is on. Additionally, try not to play too far away from it, as you may lose the WiFi signal.
Restart your device
Make sure you have the latest version of your game app installed from the Google Play Store:
- Open your Google Play Store by tapping the icon from your homescreen.
- Tap the Menu button, then select 'My Apps & Games'.
- Find the game in the list of pending updates and tap the 'Update' button.
Friends Dress Up Games
![Tv show friends games Tv show friends games](https://img.texasmonthly.com/2002/03/Treva-1-8x5.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=6248&ixlib=php-1.2.1&q=45&w=10000)
Restart your app by force-closing it:
- Go to 'Settings' > 'Applications' > 'Manage Applications'
- Select the app and tap 'Force-Stop'
- Return to the Home screen and re-start the game app
![My Words Friends Games Keep Disappearing My Words Friends Games Keep Disappearing](https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/180x300/https://blogs-images.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/files/2012/03/WWF-Srceenshot_Zynga-180x300.jpg?width=960)
Force close unnecessary background apps using the same steps as above.
Make sure that you have the latest software version of your device's operating system.
(Note: Instructions may vary slightly depending on your device.)
- Open your device's Settings app.
- Go to 'System' > 'Advanced' (or 'About Phone') > 'System update'
If the issue persists, uninstall/re-install the app (*).
(*) Important: This step may cause your game progress to reset. Do not proceed with this step unless you made sure that your game is backed up either through Facebook Connect or your email address from within the app. If your game is not backed up, Zynga may not be able to retrieve it.
(*) Important: This step may cause your game progress to reset. Do not proceed with this step unless you made sure that your game is backed up either through Facebook Connect or your email address from within the app. If your game is not backed up, Zynga may not be able to retrieve it.
Friends Show Games
* We do not recommend uninstalling the app if you are playing the following games:
Tv Show Friends Games
- Go to 'Settings' > 'Applications' > 'Manage Applications'
- Select the app and tap 'Uninstall'
- Go to the Google Play Store to find and re-install the app.
- Open the app
- Re-connect to Facebook or log in with your email address
Happy Tree Friends Games
Note: You won't be charged again for previously purchased apps if you are using the same Google Play account.