Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism? The only problem is that Alphabear requires an internet or data connection, blocking it on, say, subway or plane rides.Īlphabear is available for free (with minor, optional cash payments to unlock certain options) on both iOS and Android. And the game features enough modes that it's unlikely you'll ever encounter a situation where you don't have time to play a spare stage or two. The difficulty ramps up substantially as you progress, but gradually enough that your gameplay will ramp up right along with it. But it's also surprisingly deep and strategic, with lots of great twists and turns. The sort of postcard you can send to your friends to irritate them.Īlphabear is charming and whimsical, which is one reason it's so addictive. And the challenges connected to each stage change with each day of the week - the letters W, O, R, and K will never appear on Sundays, for instance.Īlso, you can send postcards of the bears to friends or Twitter followers. Some are timed, perfect for when you only have a spare minute or two. Some of Alphabear's stages are more sprawling free-for-alls, perfect for when you have a longer stretch of time to kill.

(Each bear has 100 levels, so you could theoretically beat stages 6,700 times and still earn rewards.) Once you score enough points, you'll be able to open up more stages and hopefully unlock another of the game's 67 total bears, or to unlock a new 'level' of every bear you already have. One bear might give you more S's - the better to make plurals - while another might bestow upon you extra points as a bonus for spelling five-letter words.

Alphabears), which will imbue you with certain special powers and abilities. If you run out of turns for any of your letters, they turn to stone, getting in the way.Īs you play, you'll unlock a series of cartoon bears (some might call them. With every turn, each letter 'counts down' from an initial value between 3 and 10.

The premise is simple: Spell words using a series of tiles set before you, in the tradition of Scrabble or Boggle. Related Inside Neko Atsume, the Japanese cat-collecting game taking over your Twitter feedĮnter Alphabear, the latest game from the reliable Spry Fox (the studio responsible for 2014's thoughtful, melancholic Road Not Taken).

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