| Bookworm | |
| Developer: | PopCap Games Black Lantern Studios (Nintendo DS and DSiWare) |
| Publisher: | PopCap Games |
| Designer: | Jason Kapalka[1] |
| Series: | Bookworm |
| Engine: | PopCap Games Framework |
| Released: | February 25, 2003 November 30, 2009 (Nintendo DS and DSiWare) |
| Genre: | Puzzle |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Platforms: | Windows, Macintosh, iOS, Game Boy Advance, Xbox Live Arcade, PDA, Smartphone, Java ME, BREW, DSiWare, Nintendo DS |
Bookworm is a word-forming puzzle video game by PopCap Games. From a grid of available letters, players connect letters to form words. As words are formed, they are removed from the grid and the remaining letters collapse to fill the available space. Players earn more points by creating longer words or words which use less common letters and earn less for smaller words. In November 2006, PopCap Games released a sequel, Bookworm Adventures. Bookworm was released for the Nintendo DS digital distribution service DSiWare on November 30, 2009.[2] It has also been released on the regular Nintendo DS cartridge.[3]
The game requires players to match adjacent letters to form a word in the English language. Longer words are worth more points and have a greater chance of producing bonuses.
In addition to standard letters, tiles of various colors can appear depending both on the current level within the game and on the length of words being formed. The tile colors are as follows:
The game has two modes. "Classic" mode is untimed, while "Action" mode uses randomly appearing burning tiles to create a time-limited game.
If the player clicks on the game mascot Lex, found off to the side of the play area, all of the tiles will be scrambled; however, this will produce a rush of red tiles.
Additional points are given for bonus words displayed in the game; additional bonus words formed during a single game produce increasing bonus values. In some versions one can also collect and complete "books" which are groups of words in a similar category. Once one completes the first of any of these words in a particular category it unlocks the book, and displays a complete list of the words needed to complete the book and get bonus points.
The editors of Computer Gaming World presented Bookworm with their 2003 "Puzzle Game of the Year" award. They wrote, "PopCap's ultimate achievement is in taking simple elements that anyone can learn and turning them into raging, overwhelming obsessions. It's something commercial games with 50 times the budget (hey, Deus Ex 2!) often can't match."[4]