The Nintendo Switch is clearly built to play at home or on-the-go. Guess what else is good for multiple settings… You got it: word puzzles. Lightwood Games has married the two together by bringing a solid experience in Word Search by POWGI.
If you are unfamiliar with games like this, essentially you are looking for hidden words in a giant grid of letters. You will find the words horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. The more letters, the more difficult the puzzles.
The game contains 324 puzzles, all increasing in difficulty, among 27 different categories. And if you want some help on screen, you can have up to three other friends join you via local wireless or online. I was really shocked that this level of multiplayer was included in a word searching game. I did not really use it much, but it is a welcome addition.
Most of my playtime occurred while I traveled. Word games have been a hobby of travelers for quite a while, and with Word Search, I did not have to bring a book. I could easily fire up the game right on my Switch. And with that many puzzles, it is going to keep me busy for quite a while.
The best way to play this game is in handheld mode with the touchscreen controls. It operates just as you would expect without any problem. If you wish, though, you can use a controller to play in either handheld or docked mode. Simply move the cursor, and use use the buttons to begin and end your circled word.
If you are wondering if the game is good, the answer is a clear yes. What I bet more of you are wondering is if it is worth your money. Many 300-puzzle books I found on Amazon were between $6 and $16 in the US. The nicer books with less puzzles were approximately $10. In comparison to a book, this Switch game looks good. If you were to compare with similar games on your smartphone or tablet, however, you are looking at free to $2.99. This makes it much harder to pay $7.99 on the Switch.
POWGI’s Word Search is a solid game on the Nintendo Switch. It does exactly what you would expect, and it contains extras like local and online multiplayer. If those extras are worth the premium price over a smartphone app, then this game is for you. If not, you should probably check out the plethora of mobile word searching games on your phone or tablet. In fact, POWGI (Lightwood Games) even has a few of their own on there.
GAME: Word Search by POWGI
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Lightwood Games
ESRB: E for Everyone
MSRP: $7.99 US
RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2019
OBTAINED: Code provided by developer/publisher for press purposes
Steve is the Senior Editor of NintendoFuse and co-host of the NintendoFuse Podcast. He’s been a Nintendo gamer since age 6 and has been on staff with NintendoFuse since 2008.