s most developers have figured out by now, the Nintendo DS is just about the perfect puzzle-game platform. Even though it may not have the graphical horsepower that the PSP enjoys, its touch screen and dual-screen setup is especially suited for quick bouts of head-scratching gameplay. While WordJong has been available for PC and mobile-phone users for a while, the DS version really shines.

WordJong is a clever mix of Shanghai and Scrabble, with players forming words from tiles in arranged stacks. As words are made, those letters are removed from the stack, revealing the letters beneath. The longer the words, the more points they’re worth. While the game offers several different gameplay modes, that’s the gist of the basic gameplay.

Single players will find a number of different options available. The Daily Puzzle lets players pick challenges from the calendar interface, with the goal of beating a target score. The Temple Challenge mode keeps track of scores over time, with players earning higher rankings by performing well. Finally, the Battle mode has players face off against AI opponents of varying difficulties. Gameplay alternates between the human and AI players, with victory secured once a player passes his opponent by 30 points or by having the highest score after two rounds. There are seven different characters to play against, each more difficult than the last.

Scoring is slightly different depending on the mode. As letters are selected, they fit in a Scrabble-like tray at the top of the screen. Extra points are given for words that use slightly unusual letters, such as J, X and Z. In the Daily Challenge and Temple Challenge modes, point bonuses are added when words are six letters or longer, with a maximum of nine letters. Additionally, words of five letters or more will earn you either bombs, which destroy one letter tile of your choosing, or wild-card tiles, which function similarly to the blank tiles in Scrabble. In the Battle mode, you only get points for the length and composition of your words.

The multiplayer modes function similarly to the Battle mode, with players taking turns. However, the powerups are available in multiplayer. If you’re so inclined, you can also send puzzles to your friends as gifts. The game supports Nintendo Wi-Fi and local connections, so players will have easy access to multiplayer matches.

WordJong is a simple, but addictive experience. Publisher Destineer says the in-game dictionary features more than 100,000 words. We found that it didn’t recognize vulgarity or slang for certain body parts or certain bodily functions—which wasn’t a big surprise. Hey, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t try.

To make things a little trickier, particularly in the Daily Puzzle mode, a game doesn’t end until the board is cleared. As you might imagine, things get pretty tough when there are only a handful of tiles left—try making a word when all you have left are four I’s and a B. Fortunately, you can undo your past moves, all the way back to the start of a level. It’s a little different in the head-to-head modes. Rather than informing you that there aren’t any usable words and kicking you back a step, in these modes you can pass your turn if you’re not able to come up with a word. Then, your opponent removes a tile of their choosing and tries to form a word.
As you progress through the game you can acquire little achievements, including recognition for scoring your first 100-point word, playing your first multiplayer match and completing a certain number of Daily Challenges. They’re a fun little extra that encourage repeat gameplay.

We had a lot of fun during our hands-on time with WordJong. Sometimes the AI opponent took a while to come up with a word, but it’s understandable considering how many options are available at any given time. Once you blow past the first few opponents in Battle mode, the computer puts up a good fight, too. Multiplayer was fun, too, and gave us plenty of opportunities to give our co-workers some well-earned trash talk.

Games only take a few minutes on average, so if you’re looking for a quick but stimulating gaming fix, you might want to consider checking out WordJong.