Overview: In Lexica, the user is given letters which must all be used to fill the playing field with valid English words.
Lexica (PC) (2014)
Relevant Links:
Lexica (Steam Store Page)
20151227:
Today I played the first 12 easy puzzles and then tried my hand at the first medium difficulty puzzle and the difference was huge. I had trouble starting the darn thing!
Steam: 33 min (total game time)
20151228 AM Hours:
Getting home, I resumed the first medium puzzle an finally finished it. Then I either caught on to some technique or the game got easier, because I managed to complete the next eight medium puzzles.
BANYAN - fig that starts its life as an epiphyte
DIPPY - stupid; foolish
Steam: 79 min (total game time)
20151228 Evening:
Today I resumed the first hard puzzle and surprisingly finished it!
OKAPI - giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa
After the third hard puzzle, I attributed the majority of my success by knowing common letter combinations and possible letter positions within a word.
FECUND - producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile.
BAILEY - the defensive wall surrounding an outer court of a castle.
Interestingly, going back to play some easy puzzles, I find them to be challenging in their own way.
SL - After finishing Puzzle 6 of Easy Pack 2, I googled "SL Lexica" and found a thread which confirmed my suspicion that 'SL' is not a word in the English language. What a strange error.
TRESS - a long lock of a woman's hair.
Steam: 2.3 hours (total game time; Easy: 19; Medium: 9; Hard: 5)
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Lots of levels
+ Automatic save system.
Neutral:
~ I got bored playing several levels in one sitting. This game would be best suited in its iOS app form where the user could play one or two puzzles a day (similar to doing a crossword in the papers).
~ As a word puzzle, the game requires decent knowledge of English vocabulary.
Cons:
- Lacks an undo button.
- Maybe the interface could have been improved slightly. For example, perhaps the game needs a way to keep notes.
Recommendation:
While I found the game fun and challenging, it lacked growth. As such, I reasoned that the best way to consume this game would be in short intervals.
As such, if you like word games and have a reasonably sized English vocabulary, then you might like Lexica, especially if you plan to only play a couple of levels every once in a while (there are a total of 288 levels - 96 for each difficulty).
Lexica (PC) (2014)
 |
| Easy. |
Relevant Links:
Lexica (Steam Store Page)
20151227:
Today I played the first 12 easy puzzles and then tried my hand at the first medium difficulty puzzle and the difference was huge. I had trouble starting the darn thing!
Steam: 33 min (total game time)
20151228 AM Hours:
Getting home, I resumed the first medium puzzle an finally finished it. Then I either caught on to some technique or the game got easier, because I managed to complete the next eight medium puzzles.
 |
| The very first puzzle! |
BANYAN - fig that starts its life as an epiphyte
DIPPY - stupid; foolish
Steam: 79 min (total game time)
20151228 Evening:
Today I resumed the first hard puzzle and surprisingly finished it!
OKAPI - giraffid artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa
After the third hard puzzle, I attributed the majority of my success by knowing common letter combinations and possible letter positions within a word.
 |
| There are eight pages for each difficulty! (That's 96 levels per difficulty!) |
FECUND - producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile.
BAILEY - the defensive wall surrounding an outer court of a castle.
Interestingly, going back to play some easy puzzles, I find them to be challenging in their own way.
SL - After finishing Puzzle 6 of Easy Pack 2, I googled "SL Lexica" and found a thread which confirmed my suspicion that 'SL' is not a word in the English language. What a strange error.
TRESS - a long lock of a woman's hair.
Steam: 2.3 hours (total game time; Easy: 19; Medium: 9; Hard: 5)
 |
| Requires a little trial-and-error. This is error. |
Thoughts:
Pros:
+ Lots of levels
+ Automatic save system.
Neutral:
~ I got bored playing several levels in one sitting. This game would be best suited in its iOS app form where the user could play one or two puzzles a day (similar to doing a crossword in the papers).
~ As a word puzzle, the game requires decent knowledge of English vocabulary.
Cons:
- Lacks an undo button.
 |
| One letter left! |
- Maybe the interface could have been improved slightly. For example, perhaps the game needs a way to keep notes.
Recommendation:
While I found the game fun and challenging, it lacked growth. As such, I reasoned that the best way to consume this game would be in short intervals.
As such, if you like word games and have a reasonably sized English vocabulary, then you might like Lexica, especially if you plan to only play a couple of levels every once in a while (there are a total of 288 levels - 96 for each difficulty).
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