A fun and challenging game where you battle monsters by spelling words. Longer words are more powerful against the various goblins, undead, etc, but you primarily gain strength through gear and other upgrades (IOW, it’s a game for fun, not learning new words).One thing I didn’t realize until much later — items in your bag are not active until you use them. The first item I picked up was a shield, and I thought that carrying it meant I had extra protection. Nope! The shield is a one-time-use item (like a health potion) vs an equipped item (like a hat). You have to tap the shield, then your character is protected in a temporary bubble. Yes, this game has ads, and they are *fantastic*!! Yea, sounds crazy to say that ads are fantastic, but how many times have you seen ads where the close button moves around? Where there’s no mute button? Where the ad fakes you out by counting down, then counting down again? NONE of that bull happens in this game. All ads have a close button in the upper right, a mute button in the lower left, and only one countdown. I wish all games handled ads the same straightforward way this one does!

If you are into RPGs and also appreciate word games, this is an awesome little game. It’s been many years since I actually had a game that I felt the need to “check in” with on my phone. Some people complained about the timer on your lives refilling... I actually like it a LOT - it makes sure that I don’t play for too long in a sitting, but gives me a reason to keep playing. I do wish they had a version where you paid money up front so you didn’t have to deal with ads. I would pay a pretty decent amount right off of the bat for this option (moving it to a paid app rather than free). Yes, any purchase gets rid of the main ads, but you still need to watch one to get better letters for three rounds or to get a percentage more gold at the end of a level. That being said, great art style and animations, crisp sound effects and a nice soundtrack. Overall, super fun! I’m pretty addicted to it!

I love the new challenges added to Spellspire. However, there are frustrating glitches in which the game is not giving credit for accomplishments. For instance, a new challenge for palindromes did not give actual credit for palindromes submitted. Now does the game total credit for sp long words that begin with various letters (e.g., “Spell 5 words beginning with the letter h”).I love the challenges but of course need the glitches to be fixed before I continue playing. I tried giving feedback to the company, but I’m unable to send a report.

The game is very original and clever. I was super excited when I first got the game, however over time even the game’s originality couldn’t save it from itself. For one, the ad system got to be overwhelming. Every 2-3 levels you’d get an ad and almost all the time you beat a level you’d get one. I guess the developers figured they’d take advantage of your euphoria from finally beating a level and stuck a guaranteed ad in there. Secondly, there should definitely be an affordable infinite lives in-app purchase like Trivia Crack did a couple years ago before they got greedy (it was $25 and then after a year or so they made it $100 which is ridiculous for a phone game). People shouldn’t have to spend $1 every time they want their lives refilled when it should just be $10-$25 for a one time purchase. FORTNITE IS FREE PEOPLE. The game only offers cosmetic purchases; nothing that affects game play. Imagine having 5 lives and then having to wait 2 1/2 until you could play again. It’s ludicrous.