Scramble with Friends: Zynga's Newly Released Word Game for iOS

Zynga just added another game to their Zynga with Friends series called Scramble with Friends. If you've ever played Boggle, it's basically the same thing, but is dedicated to playing your buddies just like Words with Friends or Hanging with Friends.

Chances are you've already played Scramble from Zynga, because the new Friends version is a remake of the regular Scramble game, which I still have on my iPhone. The big difference? You could play solo games on the old Scramble app, something that's sadly missing from Scramble with Friends. Solo play missing from Words with Friends and Hanging with Friends is perfectly acceptable to me, but any Boggle-like needs a speedy solo function. Actually, solo play would be nice for Chess with Friends, too.

Sadly, you can not download the old Scramble version anymore. It's no longer listed in the iTunes App Store, and Zynga has since stopped supporting it. Plus, mine keeps crashing, so I guess it's Scramble with Friends. But I'd like to test drive it before committing to a game against a living person, which is why I'd like solo play.

But you can dive right into the new Scramble with Friends for free (iPhone, iPod touch) in the iTunes App Store here. If you want to skip the annoying ads, you can also shell out $2.99 for the ad-less version. But be prepared... the tokens feature is more annoying than the any of the ads.

From the press release:

"Scramble With Friends takes one of Zynga's earliest games and sprinkles the magic of 'With Friends' games to enhance play and bring players a raucously fun mobile social experience," said David Ko, chief mobile officer for Zynga. "Our 'With Friends' franchise brings new twists to classic favorites and Scramble With Friends is no different. We're dedicated to innovating in mobile social games and bringing more play into everyone's day wherever and whenever they want."

Scramble With Friends is a made-for-mobile game where players compete against opponents to beat the clock and find as many words as possible on the game board. Each match consists of three rounds of two-minutes, and the player with the highest point total at the end wins. The game is social, simple, fast, and bonus-packed.

• Multi-Round: When the clock starts, find as many words as your eye can spy and watch the points rain down. The game consists of three rounds:
  • Round One: Classic play with standard point values for each letter.
  • Round Two: 'Double Down', includes double letter and word values strewn throughout the game board.
  • Round Three: 'Triple Crown' with triple letter and word scores.

• Power-Ups: Before each round, players are able to stock-up with special Power Ups:
  • Freeze: Take a moment to chill by temporarily stopping the clock to find more words.
  • Inspiration: Got scrambler's block? Inspiration highlights up to three words you haven't found yet.
  • Scramble: Shake things up by using Scramble to give a new view of the game board (5 uses per match).

• 'With Friends' Magic: Scramble With Friends offers all of the elements that make 'With Friends' games easy to pick up and hard to put down:
  • Turn-based, allowing players to play at their own pace.
  • Similar scoring and the same dictionary and match-making engine as Words With Friends.
  • In-game chat included – great for trash talking, or whispering sweet nothings into each other's phones.
  • Connect "with friends" – players can connect Scramble With Friends with their existing 'With Friends' account or utilize Facebook Connect to easily find new friends to challenge.

• Tokens of Play: Players start each match with tokens that are replenished over a period of 20-minutes. Each players can choose to spend a token for an additional Power-Up, adding a layer of strategy for how the game is played. Additional tokens are available through In-App purchase on the App Store.