WordJong

Mention 'word game' and no doubt the classics spring to mind: Scrabble, Countdown, Boggle and even The Times crossword, if you're that way inclined.

Legendary titles all. And yet, even in this illustrious company, WordJong doesn't feel out of place.

WordJong is a puzzle game that features a series of tiled letters. You must arrange these letters together in order to make a word. Clear the board and you win.

Sounds simple? Wait, it gets (a little) harder. Every time you use a letter it's replaced with another one that you can see lurking in the background. The quicker you can make up a word by selecting the appropriate letters from those available to you, the more points you gain.

In addition, each individual letter is assigned a different value, so the more unusual the word, the better.

So far, so Scrabble, you're probably thinking. And there are obvious similarities, although WordJong throws in its own elements, such as the use of jade and wild tiles to boost points, and it arguably feels more focussed to play.

What WordJong certainly shares with its classic forerunners is an uncommonly addictive quality. Whether on your own or via the two-player pass-and-play mode, WordJong is difficult to put aside, and with over 50,000 words constituting its database there's plenty of scope for play.

What an absolute shame, then, that the dictionary is based on American English. Try 'rumour', 'colour', or 'customise', for instance, and the program won't recognise them. Needless to say, this is something of a considerable blow for UK players (or anyone used to proper English), which is inevitably reflected in the overall score below.

Obviously, US readers should feel free to add another mark – for them, this is a less troublesome and more enjoyable and challenging word game.

For everyone else, WordJong remains an engrossing and very appealing puzzle offering, but one that's prevented from delivering on its full potential.