I have been waiting for a word game and was looking forward to trying this one. Problem is that I tried to download it TWICE and both times the files were corrupt! Therefore I lost out this time. Oh well I guess.

Cactus Words?
Sounds Bad
Keep it up though
:p

Cactus Words? No Ways!:-D
DoubleGames are a waste of time!

East or West, DoubleGame totally sucks! How many more times will you have to repeat this wise proverb to understand it?

My first grade kid likes it

DoubleGames + word game?? Thump down

You'll get so tired of adding words to the dictionary that you'll lose sight of the gameplay. The add-a-word feature should be there as a backup in case you forgot a couple of words in the dictionary. Your users shouldn't have to build the dictionary themselves!

TextTwist this is not.

Downloaded and installed fine.

You do NOT have to clear the entire word, use the backspace key and it will clear letter by letter.

I don't find the letters coming up too fast although for a youngster it could start out slower. I got through round four but lost because I was interrupted!

What I find is the slow keyboard/mouse response when choosing letters. There seems to be too much of a delay between choice and display. I know it's not my equipment, I've got enough of everything in this machine.

I am a big word game fan, well, any game really except for alien type shootum ups. This one doesn't quite rank up there with the other hundreds I have.

Installation - 10 (as usual)
Graphics - 6 (not bad really)
Game Play - 6 (usual word type game play)
Keyboard/Mouse action - 0 (delay from time letter chosen to letter displaying very poor)

So - middle of the road game I would not pay for. Does this average out to 5 - if it does that's too high.

I love word games, but I'm not so great at fast typing or mousing. This would be great for someone trying to improve their skills. It should not be marketed as a game.

Well yes it is almost like any other word games but offers a good premise and although seems to be lacking in the vocabulary list it isn't worth complaining about...its FREE! thanks GGOTD...although today may not be the best game I appreciate any game...

GREAT GAME!!!!! THANKS! Nice interface.

I don't like the sound of this game
So far DG's game are Horrible!!!
Hope they make better games

The games not too bad. I try all most all of them. If it sucks its gone.
This one waqsn't too bad but there were a few words it didn't know.
the good news is, you can add any words to the dictionary so the game gets better as you play.
when I tired of playing, I couldn't exit the PGM.
Quit wouldn't do it. I had to use CTRL ALT DEL .
I'll keep it for a while after all the price was right.
This is the type of game where you buy a CD , it has 50 games on it for $10.00 and this is one of them.

Hello again,

I guess I'm surprised that my review post hasn't been published. I sent it through over 2 hours ago.

I just wanted to add a comment about the dictionary.

Any good on-line dictionary has to have words added as well. Ok - so not usually so many basic words - but hey, it's always been my experience, that gaming dictionaries need a constant (though far less frequent,) input of words to attempt to make them complete.

While I definitely agree that the core dictionary could/should have been much better - it's not something I mind doing. Then again, if I have to do it too often, perhaps it will annoy the hell out of me and I'll stop playing.

Till then - I'm going to continue enjoying the game. :)
~ Swan

It's a rear game.

ARRG!!!IT SUCKS TERRIBLY AFTER ALL!

*sigh* Maybe i will try this piece of crap on my pc.But i expect it to suck.

What you naysayers don't understand about us being "judgemental" towards DoubleGames is the fact that this company budles malicious software into the games you install onto your computer. This is both unethical and illegal. If you don't mind having trojans, spybots, and viruses quickly degrading the performance and stability of your computer, download all the DoubleGames you want. For people who give a damn like me and most of the rest of the downloaders here, we automatically give DoubleGames titles a thumbs down. Open your eyes, people.

P.S. Even without the mal-ware, the games themselves are just plain bad.

hehehehe I love this game! It is great for the kids and I found that I could add so many words including their own names and nicknames along with slang terms and their own spelling lists. Anything that promotes proper spelling is a plus in my book. Yes it is fast but that makes it even more fun. I do wish that there was a scramble command but I give this game a thunbs up and at least an 8/10.

John says, the game is too fast. It dosent have enought words in the dictonary. We agree with #28 Kevin. The only true fun for us was adding words that are only used by children to discribe bodily functions and rude noises. We will keep it for this purpose. To the developers, add controll for slowing down the game and a better dictionary. Do not disable the add word feature. It makes it a lot more fun......Heln and John. John is nine. John says Hi everybody....

"A little bit too fast, but if you are a good typist, that shouldn’t be a problem"

If only the game could handle more than one keypress per second, that is. It will regularly skip one or two letters you type, leaving you with a non-word that you even have to erase letter by letter rather than just reject the word when you press Enter. Why would anyone play this rather than Text Twist?

P.S. There were NO icons created on my desktop - Double Games has been listening to us - remember when they first came to us? There were icons left all over the place!

Just thought it worth mentioning as so many people complain about this happening. Me? I just pop them into the recycle bin?
~ Swan

Good morning everyone! ;)

Please - let's give credit where credit is due. It seems to me, that Double Games has been listening to us and IS attempting to turn us around by giving us better quality games to review, than what we had from them a couple of weeks ago. Plus I happen to love word games! :P

So let's review each game on its merit.

Review:

The game downloaded/activated and installed without issue, either during the process, or during game play. In fact I didn't experience any technical issues at all while playing.

Launch screen: You have choices of 'Play;' 'Hi Scores;' 'Options;' 'Instructions;' 'Exit;' and a link bank to 'More Games,' with which I can live. The game opened in full screen mode, though you can change this two ways, which includes the little Windows box at top right of the screen, as well as the 'Options' screen.

Graphics: Like their last game offer, these were a nice surprise from Double Games. While they are cartoon-type graphics, they're not the 'cutesy' type that appeal only to young children - and they're very well done. The graphic artist doesknow what he's doing.

All the graphics render well in windowed or full screen mode. The little American Indian girl however needs a few more toes, or she's going to topple over! :)

Options screen:

- Sound and music sliders (no mute,) for music and sound volume;

- a (weird) slider for full screen which you don't slide; but click to toggle for yes or no;

- you can pick your starting level at 1, 10 or 20.

- There is a remarkable feature that I don't see often enough in word games: adding words to the dictionary. This is excellent and the developer is to be commended for adding this feature. I've often wished I could do this in other word games :)

Music: I really don't know why game developers can't get this right. It can't be that difficult to choose a nice piece of music, or offer an 'add your own music' function, instead of the canned junk that we hear so much with (many, not just DG) games;

Instructions:

There are two ways to choose and submit the words:

* You can either click around the screen choosing letters, clicking enter to submit the word and clicking clear to remove them before entering;

* You can use the keyboard only, typing the words, using backspace to clear words or letters and enter to submit the word. Such choices assist in appealing to a much wider audience.

Different colored letter tiles are worth differing amounts of points, obviously attributing the higher scores to letters like X, Y, Q, J and Z.

Playing field and game play:

The game has a 'Tetris-like' feel to it, with letters being constantly introduced to the playing field by rows appearing from the bottom. When the playing field is filled and all the letters have reached the top - the game is over.

To the top right of the playing field you can see your letter choices and the word it makes. This (to me,) is a design flaw, as your eyes need to keep traveling from the bottom (left) of the screen to the top (right) - and in a game that depends on speed, (playing against the clock,) these additional eye movements affect your ability to think fast - as they are not in the optimal position. It would be better to place these closer to the bottom of the playing field.

An exception for me today (as with all word games,) is that I choose to use the keyboard. My wrists sit comfortably on the wrist pad (can't do this with keyboard arrow games,) and (and at 70 odd words per minute,) I can get the words formed and entered much faster this way.

Also to the right - is your 'Score;' 'Level;' 'Rows left;' 'Pause;' 'Options;' 'Instructions;' 'Exit' and (unnecessarily,) 'More Games.' The latter is displayed on the opening screen, there is no need to include it again. The game is an enjoyable experience, there is no need to nag the player with this link again - besides, who can't find 'Double Games' on the net anyway?!

Saving: This has become a pet peeve of mine with most Double Game offers as you cannot save. So the only choices you have, are to play till you lose, or abandon your game. This is a game that can take quite a while if you're a good wordsmith and having to abandon a game that is going well, is very disappointing. It will however, record your high score if you qualify for the board.

Speed of play: Even though I love word games and consider myself something of a wordsmith, the play is too fast in this game. With mostly difficult letters and few vowels, the mind needs a second or two more than usual to come up with valid words. The developer should address definitely this issue.

Points:

3 - well done graphics;

1 - functionality to add words to the dictionary;

1 - clear instructions;

1 - access to other screens in-game (options, instructions;)

2 - enjoyment factor and return play;

2 - educational for children (only if play is slowed;)

1 - originality - I haven't seen a game method quite like this before;

-1 - music;

-1 - design; details at top right should be closer to where you pick the letters for maximum speed;

-1 - no save feature - this should definitely be addressed by the developer.

-1 - speed of play is too fast.

TOTAL: 7/10 - and thumbs up!

Thank you Double Games for today's offer, I'm hoping to enjoy playing this many times, if I can ever get past level 3 and the speed required! If I can't, it'll become nothing but a frustration and not worth playing till (perhaps) another release where the play has been slowed.

Thank you once again to GotD - I continue to appreciate your efforts in this arena and finding a way to please both developers and gamers.

Enjoy your day everyone!
~ Swan ;)

well the graphics look pretty from the screenshots, but i dont think i'll be downloading this one, the last thing i want is a word game that cant spell...seems a little pointless really

I haven't read the description this time but it must be terrible from the reviews I've read but game isn't! I'm delighted to see a word game. But... after reading review #38 if I find that it's true that it does't recognize real words then I too will delete it. For now it stays and I look forward to playing it more!

I Really wanted to download this,finaly a game from double games that sounds like its worth downloading!


but NOOOOOOO there is always some mistake thats core to the gameplay,in this case its lack of words...


Why should I have to add in 200 words and up to gain the full experience!!!???


We need a word game that runs off of marian websters dictionary website database.



so no download for me,Ill just keep playing word whomp.

Well i think we are being punished for something here or "DoubleGames" owns GGOTD or is a majour sponsor for them, either way there's got to be end to DoubleGames somewhere right..right?
There's no way a company can produce so much rubbish and still be going if so many people don't like there games like me and so many others!
GGOTD is still my most visited site just to laugh or cry at some of the comments/Games.
Thanks GGOTD.

Please no more DoubleGames. The games are buggy and poorly written. I can get better free online flash games. (These feel like bad flash conversions.)

I stopped playing after it refused to recognize "foot" as a word. How much more basic do you have to be? I love word games. This one has been deleted.

I don't think it is fair to judge a product by name alone. Just because this is a game from doublegames, does not mean that it has to be bad. I downloaded and played it. The only fault I can find with it at this point is the minimal number words programmed into it. You can add words to it's dictionary which is a plus, but then again you have to do that one at a time. I had no real problem with the speed, but my grandson will definitely need it to be a bit slower. All in all not a bad game,, we have been offered better ones, but also definitely worse ones!!!..

The game could actually be a really good game. It is a cross between collapse and boggle, but the letters don't need to be connected. The main problem was that it was missing sooooo many words, it just wasn't fun. I could add them, but from the simple 3 and 4 letter words it was missing, I imagine it would take weeks of playing to build the dictionary to an acceptable level. Sorry, too frustrating at this level.

Cactus Words....Had a great laugh at the discription. My excessive adventurism has carried me to dangerous America to find a rear cactus. Ouch+%%^& Pass the Hemorrhoid cream and angle soft toilet tissue. The game downloaded without problems.You gotta be fast to play. I will reserve my thumb until the rest of my pack have a chance to play. I have decided to try EVERY Double Games game BEFORE judging it. I have found a few suprisingly fun games mixed in amoung the lot.. Double Game is busy making games and generous to give them away.The odds are that a good one will show up occasionally. It only takes a few minutes of your time to install, try the game and uninstall if you do not like it. After all, A small fish IS better than an empty dish. I agree with Vampire Rat, Ricky2, you need a job at NASA. They my need someone who can count down from ten. This website is a "glass half full" expierence. If you try a game and find it horrible you have the joy of expressing your opinion right here. Its all good. Thanks to all of you for the helpful and intertaining comments. Thanks to Double Games for the intertaining discriptions. Thanks to Give Away for another opportunity to try a new game.

Comon ggaotd. when are you going to actually give away a major real game. Like Fear, or Doom 3 or such. just once...a real $50 game. Thanks for all the free ones we have gotten but just one game for the older kids..

This is a nice little game. It needs more options or features before I would actually buy it. This is actually what keeps me from buying games like this. I know they will be too limited and after playing for a while they will lose thier charm and interest. This game could be better by expanding the word base included. I'm spending way too much time adding words. There could be themes or variations on play, or it could be offered as a package deal with other word games.

lmao i had to read that whole description of the game to find out what a rear cactus was. If they cant spell RARE how can they make an english word game....just my thoughts anyways. Im not gonna try it cause i can go and play other similar games for free, such as Tumblebees on pogo.com
Always tomorrow....

A good game, long time coming - a little bit too fast, but if you are a good typist, that shouldn't be a problem. It would be nice if DoubleGames would offer a link to download an extended dictionary file on their website, because the one with the game is limited as it doesn't accept some common words (this game is not as bad as Intricate Words, offered a few weeks back - that one I deleted after going trhu level 1 and having over 50 percent of my words rejected). I am a Word Games fanatic, so maybe I am biased on my evaluation of this program - anyway, for those that complain every day, you have the choice of not coming back to this site. I come in, check what is being offered, and if I don't like it, I get out without complaining. It takes less than a minute to check in every morning and get out - do like you do when checking your mail box - check what is in there, keep what is worth keeping and throw the junk out, you don't go to the mailman and complain about the junk mail do you? So, don't complain to GGOTD, they are nice enough to OFFER FREE GAMES, you decide wish ones you want to keep or try, or get out of the site and check in the next day.

Ok, so it's not the best game out there.. but gee's ppl, you are getting this for FREE! Get over it and go and buy them so you can complain legit.

Interesting game. The rows move too fast, therefore it didn't hold my attention long enough to find the dictionary lacking. It's a good start, but evidently needs more tweaking. That's what this site is about, right? Thanks!

This is a great start in developing an educational game. Here are some of my suggestions for improvement:

* slow the play, think towards 6-9 year olds working on spelling
* make it possible to import dictionaries instead of one word entry
* use true letter to letter ratios (vowels have a higher percentage of usage than consenants)
* one game option could be hiding a word in each line--using words from a custom word list
* release it with a publisher other than DoubleGames. They are known for spamming clients and delivering viruses. This iformation is from McAfee SiteAdvisor.

that may be the worst plot description of all time

How about Text Express 2? I prefer word games designed by people fluent in English.

GOTD gives you a nice opportunity to try all kinds of games.
It is not fair to write very negative about a softwaremaker like Double Games without even trying the game!!
That is absolutely not the meaning of this website!

About the game today:
Nice game! Graphics are OK.
Gamefun is also good.
A little difficult if you are Dutch like me.
But I made it to level 3.

Double games I am glad you took away the pictures out of my favourites and the desktop.
It is much better now you can choose for it.

Reading the comments of others is helpful before attempting to install a game, but the comments of posters who post comments in the first minutes of a download are rarely useful. It appears most of these "regulars" are more interested in being among the first posters, and not as interested in helping others. Based on their comments, you have to wonder if they even install the game?

Catus Words is a fun game. True the rows of letters appear a little fast and a control for this would be nice, but it's the first word game offered since I have been visiting GAOTD. Adding words to the dictionary is a nice option and after a few game plays of adding missed words, it should play more smoothly. I recommend it to those who prefer word games to arcade games.

I'm afraid I don't have time to post again today but I too have Super Text Twist and the dictionary is crazily low on words - I then came across GameHouse who have the Official Scrabble Game to play against the computer or a human opponent for $19.95, just $5 more than this game.

All words that exist are included in the Official Scrabble Dictionary that you can access whilst playing, it also gives definitions. There are 7 different computer player levels, the highest being Genius and, I suspect, unbeatable. The best word game you will ever get, I am certain of it. I don't buy games online often but this was an exception http://www.gamehouse.com/gamedetails/?game=scrabblegh&navpage=downloadgames

If you have hemorrhoids, you understand the concept of "rear cactus" - pain in the bum, much like the majority of DG offerings. As I said the other day, DG is going to have to change their name to convince me to try.

I'll look again tomorrow, but no download today.

Thanks, #10 for comfirming my suspicion that the game is running a bit fast, and 13 and 14 for reassuring me I DID have some of those rejected words correct. I feel a bit less dumb.

And to #13 for reminding me of the ability to add a word to the dictionary. I meant to mention that, as well as the fact that it was a nice idea, but too much trouble.

I've been looking through the archives of the earliest offerings on GAOTD and the early games site. For those who are so upset with the DoubleGames giveaways, please comment on my suggestion in the forum:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/1290?replies=1#post-7364
under "Very few got early games/progs"

Except #4, Rick2. Why don't you stop counting and just go away now, hon.

I have Super Text Twist which I found is seriously lacking in the dictionary department but this one is sadly lacking. I do like the add a word to the dictionary feature but this game needs to have it's word list quadrupled. I found it strange that it would accept many 3 letter words but not the plural(s). It failed to accept "fox, fix, jury..." simple words. I too cannot be bothered to add 15 or 20 words to their dictionary each time the game ends.

I too tried the 60 minute version of 'Secrets of Great Art'. Lovely game. Too bad they aren't offering that one.

Thank you gaotd for allowing us to try out these games free of charge. At least we'll know which ones aren't worth paying for. :)

I hate to give Double Games a bum rap, but it sounds as if this word game is ... cactus.

As word games go this is okay. The ability to add words to the dictionary is a big plus.

As comment #8 by Lorraine and comment #9 by Vampire Rat suggests, the movement of the letter rows is a little too fast. Maybe there's a way to open up the script and changethe timing. If it can be slowed dow, it will be aworthwhile game to keep as it will promote quick thinking in your Children. As it is at the moment, it would be too fast for the average user.

You can delete singlewords by using the back space key or just clicking on the letter you wish to clear. The whole word can be removed by clicking on DELETE. The instructions are easy to understand (for me at least), there being two pages to read. The options menu has the usual toggles for music, sound and fullscreen/windowed mode as well as a field for entering new words into the dictionary. You can exit the game by pressing ESC and pause it by pressing the space bar. Words that are not accepted, such as west and muck can be added to the dictionary at the end of the game.

Apart from the speed, everything else about the game is fine. I'll report back sometime soon if it's pssible to edit the script. I haven't time at the moment as I'm frantically trying to repair my main computer, which I nearly destroyed yesterday. It now needs a new hard drive........Don't ask, lol

I'd give this a 7 out of 10 if it wasn't so fast. But it's still worth a 5 out of 10 as it is.

At least try it before you complain that it's Double Games again.

Have a great day folks. Thanks DG and GGAotD