Words with Friends

Words with Friends dominates the Scrabble-knockoff world, and for good reason: The app’s a fun clone that connects you with friends or random strangers no matter where they are and whether they have an iPhone or an Android phone. (That’s right, this is a cross-platformer!) Invite a friend on your contact list into a game; search for an opponent via Facebook, Twitter or by user name; choose a random opponent; or “pass and play,” which is a way to start a game with the person sitting next to you.

Words with Friends has an in-app texting option (“hey, that’s not a word!”), allows you to play up to 20 games at once (we dare you) and has push notifications so you know when it’s your turn (great for multitaskers). The big difference between the iPhone and Android versions is that iPhone users can load the Word Lookup dictionary (there’s no in-app dictionary); no such thing exists for Android.

One flaw with the free version is its heavy advertising. After every single turn, players are directed away from the game to a pop-up ad. Even though you’re waiting for your opponent to go, it can be irritating. iPhone peeps win on this — they can buy the ad-free version. 

Reviewed: May 23, 2011 | Caitlin M. Foyt

This app is included in a scenario called Best Free Game Apps of 2011