Come make words with me. (Yahoo! Literati)

Name: thingywhatsit

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Product:	Yahoo! Literati
Date:	17/04/07 (416 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interaction and fun.

Disadvantages: Occasional idiots that prefer to ask your age and sex than to play.

I am a regular player of Literati, and although it bears no comparison with the original concept of Scrabble, other than placing words on a board to link up and score points, it's a great laugh, and if you can find an online player with a sense of fun, then is certainly worth exploring.

This is a yahoo game, and in order to play, you need a yahoo name. If you already have a yahoo email address, then you have an ID that can easily be used to play this game online. Access to the game is pretty easy, and just by typing 'Yahoo Games Literati' directly into your google search box, the site is easily accessed, and you are given a choice of rooms where you can play.

If you are new to the game, try a quieter room, as many of the busier rooms are serious competitors, and you are likely to get into a heavy battle of wits and wisdom, not so much on what words are good words, but on which words work. There's a knack with Literati, and many of the words make little sense off the board, though regular players know which ones work.

Starting a game.

To open your own table is easy, and here you get choices of a simple game, a timed game, and also the number of players. For group games this is great and I have played this with online friends before, although when playing with strangers, be aware that people are not always responsive and quick with their games, and that many drop out during the course of a game. Two players is a better option, though there are two modes of play, challenge and normal. You will need java to activate the game.

Timed games

Beware of playing games with those who insist on using a timer. If the time given is reasonable, i.e. 20 minutes upwards, then it's ok. That just means that they are seeking games that are quickly played, although you get a lot of people who play speed Literati, which I admit takes some dexterity but to my mind is less likely to satisfy a true wordsmith, since many of the words placed are questionable at best.

Normal play

Normal play is untimed. You and your competitor have to make words out of the letters given to you, the first player playing across the centre of the board. Different squares have different values, and notably the ones to look out for are the double and triple words, as leaving these open for an oponent will lose you valuable points. In the normal play mode, Yahoo itself decides which are good words, and which are not acceptable, and nothing is left to dispute.

Challenge Play

In this mode, there is more fun to be had, since each player is able to challenge the opponent's play though will lose their next go if they are wrong. It's great fun, and I must say I prefer the challenge mode, although most players prefer normal mode. Challenge is a slower game, though careful attention is needed to play the most difficult words that you can, in order to gain the advantage over the opponent.

In all games

Swapping of tiles that you don't like is acceptable in all games, though loses you a turn on the board. Moving pieces onto the board is very simple putting the curser on the piece in question and simply moving it into it's place. Blank tiles are counted as any choice you care to make, and can be used by tapping the tile and typing in the letter you require that tile to be. Scores are shown during the game, and if you feel like a laugh, you can tap the little character that represents you as a player and change your look. I've been a blonde, a brunette and a little boy with a silly hat. As for the different colours of letters, these represent different values for the level of difficulty for placing such a letter, with vowels scoring much less than for example a letter like Q.

The purpose of the game.

Literati have a league and many of the players take league playing very seriously. Personally, I am not that interested in what ranking I have, though always play games that count towards ranking since otherwise you tend to get players that are not that serious about the game. Rated games do bring out the more serious players and are certainly the way to go.

Rudeness

As you play, there is a talk box at the bottom of the screen, and although many of the contestants are amicable, some are plain rude. Many want to know your age, sex and location, although you usually get a feel for those that are there to play and those that are there to talk. I have experienced very rude players and my advice in the case of encountering one of these people is to leave the game, and find someone who is a decent human being to play a game with.

My thoughts on the game.

It's a good game, and one I feel would be better if the dictionary used was the same as that used for Scrabble. What detracts from the quality of the game is the use of American words as opposed to recognizable English words, though once you get over the culture shock, you can still have a pretty good game.

You come across many characters that you bump into regularly, and can message players in the room where you set up a game by tapping their name twice and sending a greeting. I think it is one of the most consistent of online games for interaction with others. There are better one player word games, though I find meeting people from all over the world, and playing sometimes two games at a time is great fun, and passes the time in an amicable way.

See you there.

Rachel

Summary: A good game for those that like words.