I was hooked on smart phones after playing with Sarah's for 15 minutes. She got the very first version as a gift from her then boyfriend's parents. It didn't even take five minutes for me to understand what a powerful tool I was holding in my hand. I had to wait until we hit the road before I got to have my very own. Ironically, my new 'phone' has a faster processor than the computer I'm currently typing on - oh, excuse me, keyboarding. I still type and I also still listen to albums.
In addition to banking, searching, reserving, addressing, phoning, mapping, noting, tabulating, reading, listening and watching, I also play games. I like Words with Friends (of course, I'm a retired English teacher), and I've played Word Solitaire for years - found the holiday version last Christmas. I long ago completed through level 250. Currently, I'm working my way up to some unknown level. I just finished Level 319, and you have to understand after I finished 250 levels, they started counting again at "One". I play Word Warp which is a word scramble game. I'd like it better if the music wasn't so annoying. Each game is timed, and there's a countdown musical theme if you haven't found the 'big' word. You only move to the next level if you find the 'big word'. The music makes you feel like there's a gun to your head. Plus, I have the 16 game Solitaire Arcade, but I only play the Pyramid version.
I've found two new games which I really like. They're both by the same company. Seven Little Words which is fun, and a lot like answering crossword puzzle clues. In each game there are seven clues and seven words that answer the clues. I'm often asking Drake questions such as, "Nine letters, means severely annoyed," when I'm playing this game. When I was in Texas, Jim and I watched the Rangers play as well as channel flipping to the NFL Draft between innings while Patsy and I simultaneously played Seven Little Words. So, when the company offered their new game Red Herring for free, I was disposed to try it.
Well, let me tell you, it's even more fun than Seven Little Words. Basically, you're shown 20 words and asked to make 3 categories of five words each. The five words of the 20 words which DON'T belong in any of the three categories are the Red Herrings. In the latest game - the categories were Colors of the Rainbow. Mollusks, and -paint {warpaint, wetpaint, etc.} Sounds easy EXCEPT they don't give you the names of the categories and there are lots of words with multiple meanings (Example: "blind" - loss of sight, window covering, camouflaged hunting?). For each game, you can choose your difficulty level: Easy, Normal, or Hard. Hmmm. Wonder how many psychologists it took to come up with those designations. I'm hooked.
What I like about this game is it uses brain cells rather than finger motion. Games which involve joy sticks, button punching, sliding, highlighting or any type of manual dexterity, and I'm an automatic loser. For pete's sake, I have trouble with left and right in the non-electronic world. I can remember being humiliated by eight year old Ben Tuttle at the dawn of video games. Even earlier, "Pong" gave me trouble. Forget Pac Man, Donkey Kong or Mario Brothers. If you had to jump it or click on it, I could never get past Level One. I still can't.
Ah, but Red Herring is a thinking game. It's just difficult enough at the "Hard" level to be challenging without making me give up in frustration. If you have AirPlay, you can project it onto your TV, and it can be a group game. No pens, pencils, dice, cards or special seats needed. If you're a smart phoniac, check it out. I will be playing during the upcoming 750 mile drive. Next stop: VEGAS and another game - Blackjack!
