Link Letter- Old ones are always the best

The old fashioned addictive game of Link Letter from Astraware at first glance may not suit everyone’s tastes, but you all have to give it a go, it really is that good! It is a highly addictive game that is not for those of you who want an easy ride. This game pushes your vocabulary skills to new extremes, with the old fashioned link of making a given word into another word by using other words to get to it. A bit like the puzzles you get when you go on holiday. But as the game progresses you can play time trials and different modes to up your spelling skills.

The Target Trial mode on Link Letter is probably the best for new starts to use first, with this you can try and complete word chains and grasp the skill to create the words and learn how to use the different options on the screen. As you start each level for the first time helpful hints appear to let you know how to play the game, however as with this and many other skill based games the aim is just trial and error. You learn from your mistakes as you go on through the game, learning that certain words are best avoided and how to best complete the chain. In this mode the start word and the finish word are given, and you have to fill in the rest of the chain to reach the end by changing one letter of a word to something else, or taking out a letter completely. For example, you could have the word Dad, from this you can go to Day, then to Pay, then to Pad, to Sad…etc.

You have the option of using the hint function which will allow you to see what words you should be aiming for and to give you a helpful nudge along the chain, should you get stuck in the game this would be the best option to use, but be careful. Should the chain not be able to continue with the words you have used, no hints will appear, so it is probably best just to check each word as you do it at first, until you get the hang of it.

As the game has a built in dictionary there are some words which you cannot use, however, many simple words can be used and you also learn new ones as you become frantic trying to beat the clock in the Chain Race mode.

Chain Race mode was my favourite, you had to make as many words as you could led on from the original word. If you got to the end of the chain then a new chain began. This meant that the more words you found, or created the better, and if you finished the chain then you could start again. You got 3 minutes to create as many words as possible, and reaching higher scores each time. This mode is quite frustrating at times, and I approached this mode by trying to find the end chain word given so that you had something to aim towards, trying to make as many words as possible can get frustrating, especially when you cannot seem to make any more words. The game has given you each end word as you can reach this word by making a few changes to the previous words you have come up with, so probably best to stick to following theses, plus this will increase your chances of getting a higher score.

Chain Challenge is another mode in Link Letter which takes out the end chain letter and allows the user to create new words by selecting the letter which needs to be changed in order to gain more points. For example, should the word be “trap” then the game may highlight the “p” and therefore you must change this letter to a different one in order to create another word. In this case you can change the letter to “y” to create “tray” and so one. At random opportunities the game will ask you to take a letter out as well in order to create a smaller word with the letters you already have. This game is aimed at pushing your spelling skills. The game helps you to grasp a knowledge of which words are best to make together, and also keeps you on your toes as you do not know which letter will need to be changed next. This mode is very much in the games hands and you are led, rather than being in control, which in many ways is a refreshing change from the other modes where you are in control of the letters and the words.

The Astraware game is a must have for all gamers and Palm OS owners, much like the games in built in normal mobile phones, the Link Letter is a classic game for all owners to download, a must have for all!! Happy Spelling!

Link Letters is available for both Palm OS and Windows Mobile. A free trial is also available from the Astraware website.