Wordking Poker Hands-On

To say that the mobile market is oversaturated with poker games is an understatement. At this point, it's tremendously difficult for a new poker game to distinguish itself and to claim a piece of a fan base that--if the truth be told--is dwindling. Wordking Poker is without peer, however, as it does away with the traditional deck entirely and instead uses Scrabble pieces as cards. Left-brained folks should rejoice, as this game will test your linguistic deftness rather than your ability to calculate for probability and play styles.

You can either play five-card stud or Texas hold 'em, although the latter is much more interesting, because of the shared cards that are laid faceup on the table. With five letters common to all players, victory is less a product of chance and more an indication of skill. The computer opponents are surprisingly good, especially on the "insane" difficulty setting. Even self-proclaimed wordsmiths will have a run for their chips and for their dignity. If your genius proves too much for the computer, you can invite up to three fellow MENSA members to participate in a pass-and-play round.

Each card has a single letter emblazoned across it, as well as a numerical score that represents the points earned by incorporating that letter into a valid word. You'll have several chances to raise or call, depending on how strong you believe your hand to be. Bets are usually only a few dollars, but you can bankrupt yourself quickly if you're not careful.

The game's Nokia 6620 graphics aren't particularly notable at this point, and the sound is practically nonexistent, but that hardly matters in a word or poker game. What's important is the interface, which seems to be quite manageable.

Wordking is actually likely to appeal to all those wordgame fans out there who aren't necessarily interested in conventional poker. Celebrity Poker regular Sarah Silverman continues to prove that nice Jewish girls can bluff with the best of them, but she can only inspire so many to ante up. Digital Chocolate has broadened the genre and will likely widen its demographic in the process.