This article originally appeared on Modojo.
This week saw the release of yet another zombie game and even one starring He-Man, butLetterpress is by far the most popular. Conceived by atebits' founder Loren Brichter, the addictive and free app benefits from minimalist design, user-friendly controls and of course, engaging play.
An asynchronous multiplayer effort, Letterpress pits you against another person, with the goal of outscoring your opponent by spelling words using a five-by-five grid of randomly selected letters. It's an online affair that connects people through Apple's Game Center, and you basically take turns, as you would in Zynga's Words With Friends. A key to success involves surrounding letters, thereby claiming these tiles as your own. The game ends when every tile has a color (in your case, blue). From there, the game tallies points, and the player with the most emerges victorious.
To that end, the game is surprisingly strategic and a great way to pass the time. Some people take forever to respond (for this, a timer may be necessary), but when you find someone invested in winning, Letterpress shines, especially when you pay the $0.99 to unlock the full version, which displays previously used words, different themes to select and the ability to enjoy more than two games at once.
That said, improvements could be made. A computer opponent would be a welcome addition for users interested in faster-paced games, while the aforementioned time mechanic would help speed things along.
Of course, with the developer already talking about an update, you should view Letterpress as a work in progress. For now, it'll just have to settle for being one of the sharpest games on the App Store.