Wurdweb is basically Bananagrams, which is basically Scrabble Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Wurdweb is basically Bananagrams, which is basically Scrabble Courier service. Feature by Chris Tapsell Reviews Editor Updated on 10 Sep 2021 7 comments I am big into Bananagrams. Bananagrams is basically scrabble without a board: you get a load of letters at the start and you have to get rid of them all by building a giant crossword on the table or floor or airplane fold-out tray bit, whatever you have to hand, first one to get rid of all their letters wins. Part of why I like it is because - I'm not ashamed to say this - I think I'm quite good at it. I'm alright with words and good with shapes - I always did better at those weird conceptual aptitude tests at school than I did at actual proper tests - and I play it against my partner, who is a wonderful artist but also the first to admit she's not really a shapes and words person (she won't mind me saying this, I think, because the flipside is she's seen my attempts at drawing). Anyway, aside from me being a bit of an arse in search of a cheap ego boost (I will never play against my partner in Pictionary), I also love Bananagrams because it's one of those games that is basically just another game, with a very small twist. I respect that a lot, and it's the same deal with Wurdweb, which is basically just Bananagrams, which is basically just Scrabble, which is basically a crossword puzzle (kind of). The twist with Wurdweb - which is on Apple Arcade - is that you do get a board, but you don't get letter tiles. Instead you get whole words, and your goal is to just place a certain number, maybe fifteen, without running out. You only start with two or three, and you earn more by placing them across bonus word tiles - like the score multipliers of Scrabble. Where it departs from the board games, really, is the pacing. Wurdweb is chill. There's no clock, no leaderboard or high scores, no competition. It's pure puzzle, the challenges all internal, the challenge to just get a bit better at something because you want to, and so in a way it's closest, despite the Scrabble trappings, to the original crossword after all. Just you and the board, the little haptic nudges when you put a word in place - pock-pock-pock - and a long, lazy afternoon. This is, also, the pleasure of Apple Arcade. Every game on that service, or at least every really great one, also feels like a pitch for it. It's a game that feels good to play, unpressured and untimed, moreish - incredibly moreish - but also totally uncompulsive. It's all about the typeface - Courier, of course - and the little characters that meander across the board. They don't do anything, or serve any purpose. They're just there, drifting around, because they're just a nice little thing to have. They just make the game a nice place to be. Increasingly, that's all I really want. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 28 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store