Mobile devices make for great time wasters, with simple, casual games you can dip into without a major time commitment. Some of my favorite games are word games, most often spelling-focused games. Some greats:
Letterpress
Letterpress is a spelling game, where you pull tiles from a grid in order to score points for yourself, take points from your opponent, and attempt to lock up portions of the grid. It is the kind of game that you play at your pace; there’s no timing for a turn. You can invite friends to play, or allow the app to match you up with an opponent.
Words with friends
This august title is a take on the classic game of Scrabble. I paid for it once a long, long time ago. There are features you can pay for through microtransactions, but a good player is a good player.
## NYT Spelling Bee
Subscribers of the NYT Crossword puzzle can enjoy more casual fare in both the Daily Mini and the newer Spelling Bee. In Spelling Bee, you spell words from a wheel of seven letters; the words you create must contain the center letter of the wheel. You can rotate the wheel to get a fresh look at the array. Longer words yield higher scores. The board refreshes daily, and you can go back to yesterday’s puzzle and see what you missed. Spelling Bee appears simple but is delightfully beguiling.
WordSmyth
If you like Spelling Bee, then WordSmyth is up your lexical alley. In WordSmyth, you spell words of varied length from a grid of nine letters. Unlike Spelling Bee, however, you can’t use a letter more than once. The game is feast for the senses; the music is tranquil, the visuals fluid and smooth, and the tap and swipe gestures make smart use of your device’s touchscreen. Like Spelling Bee, you can play one new grid per day; unlike the NYT’s offering, however, you can always go back and work on an older puzzle.