Taking the fun out of games

Some months back, my employer forced us to switch to iPhones. Up to that point, I was a Blackberry user. For what I do with a phone (95% work) a Blackberry is a far superior platform. However, the iPhone is better for use as a toy (that is, to be played on), so I decided to make good use of that, and play the occasional game.

Given my mental makeup, I prefer games that require thinking. Chess With Friends quickly became a favorite. On a similar note, I also tried Words With Friends, as I've often been accused of having a strong command of the English language. Well, something interesting happened on the Words With Friends app... I saw an odd pattern developing.

Friends I played against who are not known for their intellectual capacity were using words that I'd rarely if ever heard. My immediate thought was that they were going to a Scrabble website and pulling words from it. So much the better.. if it causes folks like that to learn a new word now and again, then I would be all for it!

However, that was not the case!

The problem with playing against someone with a near photographic memory is that if you use a word against me, I'll remember it and store it for later use myself. I tried just that and lo and behold... the same word didn't work for me!

So I asked myself: why could they use a word and I could not? Was there a program such that one had to "earn enough points" to be able to use certain words? (This is a known strategy used by game makers in older video games - the earning of certain abilities / weapons / tools / etc.) So I used Google and found no such thing to be true!

However, my Google search did reveal some very interesting information!

It seems that I was not the only one to notice this problem. Here, a blogger sees it, and takes screen shots (which I did, too). So how does this happen? Seems that the program will allow a word if entered enough by a single user or multiple users, regardless of the word's validity. That same author figured out that if a person simply keeps trying to use an invalid word or combination, it will eventually be allowed. Regardless of validity!

The creators even said this was not a bug, but was a "feature!"

And to top it all off, there is a "jailbreak" app that will allow an over ride on any word at any time. It provides a "pay word anyways" option. So much for fair play and luck of the draw!

So after seeing a number of these get played, and then see the results of the research, and then seeing it work for me in a single instance of experimentation, I decided to quit Words With Friends. Just like the author stated above, there is a desire to win, but these "features" and/or jailbreaks go directly against the clear intent of the game. What's the point?

And no, I didn't directly accuse any family member or friend of cheating. Because what would that have accomplished, even with the proof I acquired? I am a better wordsmith, and they clearly know that to be the case, too. Why rub it in?


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