Alphabear
Alphabear is a unique beast. It started off as an Android word game, but its most polished iteration has since been released on Steam and as a direct download on PC and Mac. Few games have successfully made that jump, but Alphabear earns it. Alphabear puzzles challenge verbal and spatial reasoning at once, using the classic "select letters to spell a word" mechanic, but rewarding players with useful (and adorable) power-up bears for unscrambling letters.
Just Jumble
If you’re looking for a word game that will scratch your puzzle-solving itch while also tickling your funny bone, try Just Jumble. Based on the classic newspaper puzzler, Just Jumble challenges you to unscramble keywords to make sense of a hidden message. Your reward for doing so? A much-needed daily allotment of punny humor.
Kryss
Kryss is a game for anyone who loves to see twists on classic games. While it is a crossword game, Kryss sets itself apart by implementing the two-player elements from games like Scrabble and Words With Friends. You play with random letter tiles, and the clues for the words on the grid are short and sweet. Try the game out if you want to experience a new and creative way to solve crossword puzzles.
Shortyz Crosswords
Shortyz isn't a game, it's an aggregator. Specifically, it's the best aggregator out there for American crossword puzzles. It even has the biggest name in the game: The New York Times crossword puzzles. Though, you’ll need to have a paid subscription to The New York Times to access those. Shortyz Crosswords gets most of the major names in American news and provides a clean, convenient digital interface in which to cross your words.
Typeshift
Originality is hard to get when it comes to phone gaming. Even some of the best entries in the Google Play Store for Android (we’re looking at you, Words With Friends) are slight variations on well-worn gaming tropes. Typeshift gets extra props, therefore, for presenting something legitimately unusual. Presented with vertical columns of letters, you will rotate your racks like discs on a combination lock, spelling word after word in the central row until you've found everything the game has to offer. It's a whole new way of thinking about word puzzles.
Wordament
Originally a Microsoft product, of all things, Wordament is simple, clean fun that harkens back to the old Windows Entertainment Pack. It lays out a layer of letters and tasks the player to swipe words in a line, the standard for Boggle-like games. However, its over-map "Adventure Mode" and discrete challenges for each puzzle give it just enough depth to be worthy of your attention.
Wordscapes
Why Wordscapes, as opposed to Word Cookies or Word Connect or any of the other "swipe the letters, fill the blanks" word games? One word: style. In a marketplace where everyone is effectively selling an identical product, it all comes down to how you present. Wordscapes' laid-back vibe, beautiful nature photography and cool ambient music make it the perfect companion game. Whatever's happening during your day, you can take five, pop in your earbuds, and Wordscapes will help you chill. You can't beat that.
Word Search Pro
You can't go wrong with a classic when looking for the best word games for Android. Word Search Pro is just that: a professional, intuitive, painfully pretty interface for approximately a zillion word searches. If hunting down words in blocks of text is your jam, this is what to put on your Android phone.
Word Swipe
No collection of Android word games would be complete without one of the “falling block” games. One of the best ones you can find for your Android device would be Word Swipe. This game delivers on everything you’d hope for from such a game: clever puzzles, relaxing visuals, helpful power-ups and fun unlockables. When playing Word Swipe, you can just let the good times fall into place.
Words With Friends 2
Yep, it's basically Scrabble. Yep, there are in-app purchases and occasionally intrusive ads. And no, none of that changes the fact that, at the heart of it all, Words With Friends 2 is a good game. The Solo Challenge mode is a satisfying addition (there's just something about challenging Harriet Tubman at fake Scrabble); Lightning Mode is a lot of fun; and the massive community means there's always a game waiting.
Second Best No Longer
The openness and accessibility of the Android platform has bought it a lot of love from developers. Game developers in particular, and word game devs in very particular, have gone in for Android in a big way. At this point, we're willing to call Android the better word game platform of the two phone giants. The iPhone has beautiful apps available, but some of the most interesting, innovative game design happening on phones is Android-specific. Your move, Apple.
Zac Pricener has been a content creator for the past eight years. He’s a bit of an all-around nerd, and he has a bad habit of working movie and TV show references into conversations whenever possible.