Overview: In Lexica, the user is given letters which must all be used to fill the playing field with valid English words.
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 Game Time: 33 minutes
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.
Unknown Word Log:
BANYAN - fig that starts its life as an epiphyte
DIPPY - stupid; foolish
Steam Game Time: 79 minutes (cumulative game time) / 46 minutes (session game time)
20151228 Evening:
Today I resumed the first hard puzzle and surprisingly finished it!
Unknown Word Log:
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.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 19; Medium: 9; Hard: 5
Steam Game Time: 2.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)
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.
- Lacks ability to see puzzle after completion [20240505]
Rating: 3.0/5 [20240505]
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).
[20151228 Assumed Entry Date][20240505 Additions]
20240505 Snapshot:
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 22; Medium: 12; Hard: 7
Steam Game Time: 2.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 2h 55m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20160414
20240504:
Unknown Word Log:
GORGET - an article of clothing that covered the throat.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 28; Medium: 12; Hard: 11
Steam Game Time: 3.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session game time)
20240505:
Unknown Word Log:
SUET - "suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys" (Wikipedia)
YEW - "Yew is a common name given to various species of trees" (Wikipedia)
EKE - "manage to support oneself or make a living with difficulty."
UREA - "Urea serves an important role in the cellular metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals" (Wikipedia)
GALLIC - French or typically French.
interesting, as I finished this puzzle, I parsed "DISOWN" as "DI-SOWN" before properly understanding it as the word "DIS-OWN"
CORGI - (breed of dog)
KNAP - the crest of a hill
ROTA - a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job.
KEBAB - (kabob is North American spelling of kebab)
LIRA - (currency)
AERO - (not a word on the internet)
After today's session, I felt like it was time to abandon the game. While the game offers some fun, the difficult levels are sometimes hard because the words used are less commonly known words and that's not the type of difficulty I would find enjoyable in the long run. With that being said, if I just did three puzzles a day for the next 72 days, then I would complete the game. Breaking it down in this way doesn't seem like such a bad task, but the fact that it'd be a "task" is a red flag.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 36; Medium: 24; Hard: 12
Steam Game Time: 5.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.7 hours (session game time)
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 Game Time: 33 minutes
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! |
Unknown Word Log:
BANYAN - fig that starts its life as an epiphyte
DIPPY - stupid; foolish
Steam Game Time: 79 minutes (cumulative game time) / 46 minutes (session game time)
20151228 Evening:
Today I resumed the first hard puzzle and surprisingly finished it!
Unknown Word Log:
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.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 19; Medium: 9; Hard: 5
Steam Game Time: 2.3 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.0 hours (session game time)
 |
| 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.
- Lacks ability to see puzzle after completion [20240505]
Rating: 3.0/5 [20240505]
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).
[20151228 Assumed Entry Date][20240505 Additions]
20240505 Snapshot:
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 22; Medium: 12; Hard: 7
Steam Game Time: 2.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 2h 55m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20160414
20240504:
Unknown Word Log:
GORGET - an article of clothing that covered the throat.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 28; Medium: 12; Hard: 11
Steam Game Time: 3.7 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.8 hours (session game time)
20240505:
Unknown Word Log:
SUET - "suet is the raw, hard fat of beef, lamb or mutton found around the loins and kidneys" (Wikipedia)
YEW - "Yew is a common name given to various species of trees" (Wikipedia)
EKE - "manage to support oneself or make a living with difficulty."
UREA - "Urea serves an important role in the cellular metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds by animals and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals" (Wikipedia)
GALLIC - French or typically French.
interesting, as I finished this puzzle, I parsed "DISOWN" as "DI-SOWN" before properly understanding it as the word "DIS-OWN"
CORGI - (breed of dog)
KNAP - the crest of a hill
ROTA - a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job.
KEBAB - (kabob is North American spelling of kebab)
LIRA - (currency)
AERO - (not a word on the internet)
After today's session, I felt like it was time to abandon the game. While the game offers some fun, the difficult levels are sometimes hard because the words used are less commonly known words and that's not the type of difficulty I would find enjoyable in the long run. With that being said, if I just did three puzzles a day for the next 72 days, then I would complete the game. Breaking it down in this way doesn't seem like such a bad task, but the fact that it'd be a "task" is a red flag.
Cumulative Progress: Easy: 36; Medium: 24; Hard: 12
Steam Game Time: 5.4 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.7 hours (session game time)
Lexica (PC) (2014)
 |
| Easy. |
Relevant Links:
Lexica (Steam Store Page)
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