Ladders by POWGI Review

Game: Ladders By POWGI
Genre: Study, Education, Puzzle, Board Game
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer| Publisher: Lightwood games
Age Rating: US E | EU 3+
Price: US $7.99 | UK £6.99 | EU €7,99
Release Date: April 29, 2021

Review code used, with many thanks to Lightwood Games

What It Is

Do you enjoy changing one word into another word? How many steps would you need to change BIRD into SEED if you could only change one word at a time…. AND all words had to be actual English language words?

The answer to these questions, and more, are revealed in Ladders by POWGI! There are no frills, no gimmicks, no extra modes; just pure and simple changing one word into another.

An easy to pick up word puzzle game that is perfect for gamers on the go, Ladders by POWGI will get you through those bus rides, or when you just have to wait in a line for fifteen minutes.

What It Does

The simple premise of the game also leads to very simple gameplay. Each puzzle will present players with two words on a ladder, one at the top and one at the bottom. Your task is to turn the top word into the bottom word. You only have as many tries as there are empty spaces in the ladder.

This starts out very simple and progressively gets more and more difficult as the puzzles go on. One neat mechanic about the game is that you don’t have to work your way from the top down. You can also work your way from the bottom up, or even flip flop between the two until your words meet in the middle! This mechanic can definitely help players come to the correct solution.

Each time you successfully complete a word puzzle, you will be rewarded with a silly little joke that relates to the word you were asked to make. If you’re a fan of dad-jokes, then Ladders by POWGI will not disappoint.

How It Made Me Feel

Half the time Ladders by POWGI made me feel like a genius, and the other half of the time I felt like an idiot. When you finally solve a particularly difficult puzzle, it feels amazing, you feel like a downright scholar of linguistics.

There are times when the words just do not seem to make sense, and that puzzle-game-frustration sets in. It is at that point that it is recommended you turn it off and take a break.

Conclusion

All in all, it is one of those games that you can download, and have around for those brief moments when you want a puzzling distraction for a brief moment of time. With 150 different puzzles to choose from, there’s a lot of wordplays to keep your mind occupied.

So if linguistic games like ladders are your kind of jam, then pick this one up! If you’re more into math puzzles, then this game is probably not the one for you. But hey, who says we can’t expand our horizons and try something new too, right?

Final Verdict: I like it