I think playing Scrabble online is a very wonderful thing. It has allowed me to make many friends around the world. But some weeks ago I had to wait extraordinarily long for my brother’s next Scrabble move. When I asked him why, he said that he is at his wit’s end with the new Scrabble app. Well I can understand that, because lately the app often leaves you high and dry. It’s not just my brother and I who think that way. Many users complain about technical problems and errors. Here’s an overview:
My Criticism of the Current Scrabble App
It was in October or November that my Scrabble app was automatically updated. Unfortunately, the new app has some quirks. Here are the three things that annoy me most:
- The application is often very slow or freezes. When this happens I just go on to play my moves in other word game apps like Words with Friends or Word Chums. As these apps run without any problems I reason that it is not my smartphone that is being slow, it’s the Scrabble app. The creators of the app should be worried about this. I think they are probably not interested in seeing the new app driving online Scrabble players to other word games.
- A second change that has annoyed me is the aggressive advertising. I know that the producers of the app need advertising to finance their work and of course this is important. But since the update, there are often little commercials popping up. Last November I got a bad cold and I was often playing Scrabble in a quiet doctor’s waiting room – and suddenly a video would start up with full sound! Unfortunately, my phone will play the sound of the ads, even if it is switched to silent mode. Such embarrassing things never happened to me with the old app.
- My third point of criticism is an aesthetic one and therefore it may not be the most serious. I think the new design makes a step back. It’s edgier and doesn’t have as much neat detail as the previous one. Sometimes the full names of the players can’t be displayed on the top. That’s why they keep on running from left to right like on a billboard. Above that there is often an animated ad banner blinking like mad and my concentration on the game is totally gone.
This Is What Online Scrabble Players Say About the Scrabble App
Apparently I have not experienced the whole range of problems with the new app in my online Scrabble games. I looked around in online Scrabble forums and noticed that many users of the free and also of the paid version of the app post complaints. Here are a few more things that people playing online Scrabble got mad about:
- The friends you are playing with are no longer displayed by name, but are now called “Anonymous”
- It is not possible to exchange letters
- Scores are displayed incorrectly
- The mentor is missing
- The opponent gets the points for a word that you played
- The player statistics are faulty
- After playing a bingo you are given the same seven letters again, but you can’t put these new letters on the board
How Should I Play Online Scrabble Now?
Yes, this new Scrabble app makes you want to tear your hair out! Playing Scrabble online is definitely no fun like this. Personally, I hope that the problems will be fixed soon. It often happens that new programs or updates have problems and errors occur. I am sure that the developers at Electronic Arts are working on it, because they have posted questions on Facebook like: “We love to hear what you have to say! Please help us by providing feedback on your current gameplay experience.” Until the problems are solved, I recommend drinking a good cup of tea and playing analogue Scrabble.