Oh, My Word! 2
by Jamin Smith on Friday 4th Dec 2009

Oh, My Word! 2: Hangman for the touch generation

I won’t lie; I didn’t expect much going into Oh, My Word! 2. I hadn’t played the original and the iTunes description of the game did little to fill me with enthusiasm. After begrudgingly downloading the game, and reluctantly syncing the app to my iPhone, I set aside a very quick 5 or 10 minutes to give the game a quick whirl before inevitably deleting the app and never having to bother with it again. An hour and a half later however, I was shocked to find I was still playing the game and having a jolly good time too. Don’t be like me. Don’t disregard Oh, My Word! 2 purely on principle – there’s more fun to be had here than the game lets on.

The core gameplay mechanic is simple: close in on a hidden 5 letter word based on its location in the dictionary determined by two ‘guide words’. That might sound confusing in the written form, so check the screenshot below to get a better understanding of what’s going on. The example below shows the guide words ‘Never’ and ‘Olive’, meaning that the word we’re looking for is somewhere between the two, alphabetically speaking.  I rather humorously guessed ‘Noobs’, which although a technically sound guess, was not correct. Surprisingly.

The Classic game mode grants the player 50 turns to successfully guess as many words as possible; my top score at time of writing is a pitiful 6, which means I take an average of around 8 guesses per word. Shameful I know. Oh, My Word! 2 is a slightly more strategic affair than simply guessing words willy-nilly however. A lot of thought needs to be put into each guess. Waste your turns with careless guesses that are outside the two guide words and you’ve thrown away a turn without getting any closer to the target word. Much like hangman, thinking carefully about each guess and methodically working through a mental list of words in your head is the best way to get big scores. The in-game dictionary is incredibly comprehensive too, and is likely to include all the fancy words your brain can muster. In fact, I've yet to come across a (real) word the dictionary hasn't recognised.

Should a particular word prove too elusive, a handy hint system allows for certain letters to be revealed. A set number of hints are available from the start of each game, and should be used sparingly. I often found myself using all mine up far too early on, putting myself in a difficult position further on down the line. On the other hand, if you aren’t using any hints and start finding the game too easy, there’s always the option to increase the difficulty. This removes the first two guide words, adding to the number of guesses it’ll take to solve and there are also less hints available.

Three game modes, two difficulty levels and online leaderboards manage to extend the lifespan of the simple mechanic considerably, and give the game some real weight as a package. Time Attack mode is particualry good fun, and challenges you to discover five words in the shortest time possible. This adds a welcome element of competition to the game; passing the game amongst friends on a long train journey or around the table after the ever-boring family meal is remarkably good fun. Alternatively, you could always upload your time to the global leaderboards from within the game itself and see how well your times stack up against the rest of the world.

Presentation wise the game can't really be faulted; the UI is slick and trendy, but more importantly intuitive. Spelling and submitting words couldn't be simpler. The sound effects compliment the game perfectly too, although some ambient background music wouldn't have gone amiss. As well as helping players get 'in the zone', it would have given the game more of a personality, as playing in silence can feel a tad lifeless at times.

Oh, My Word! 2 might fly under the radar of many gamers. A lack of guns, explosions and fancy 3D graphics might immediately write the game off for many, but these people were never the game's target demographic. Saying this, the game certainly has wide appeal, and will surprise many who assumed beforehand that it wouldn't be their cup of tea (like my good self). Give the game an inch however, and it'll steal a mile; Oh, My Word! 2 is deceptively good fun. Word-puzzle fans shouldn't think twice about snapping this up.