PAX East Boston Indie Showcase Preview: ‘Spelltower’

This year’s Boston Indie Showcase, the impressive list of independent games featured at PAX East in April, is a bit different than in years past- because the games are all mobile based, we’ll all be able to play most of them before the show even happens. Pretty cool, right? Here’s the first of the Boston Indie Showcase that I’ve tried out for myself, a word game that goes beyond Scrabble and Boggle.

SpellTower is like Words with Friends meets word searches, and will appeal to anyone who loves any kind of word puzzles. It’s a pretty simple concept: create words using the letters you’re given. In Tower Mode, you’ll only get 100 letters, but as much time as possible to rack up as many points as you can. In Puzzle Mode, a row is added for each word you make. Rush Mode is timed, meaning the quicker you create words, the longer you’ll survive. Words can be created diagonally, backwards, and even overlap, so you can really get creative in how you form words and clear the board.

Spelltower works great on iOS. Conceptually, it’s perfect for a touchscreen, since you create words by sliding your finger across the letters. The game also connects with iOS’ Game Center, so you can compare scores with friends and rack up achievements. This tiny game delivers everything you’d expect from larger titles, so it’s definitely an impressive indie.

Overall, Spelltower is well worth the 99 cents, and is a great addition to this year’s Boston Indie Showcase at PAX East. If you’re attending the convention, it’ll be a great way to pass time in the lines on the showfloor, but if you’re not attending, it’s a great way to sample the fantastic games that PAX East will be offering.

Spelltower is available now for iPhone and iPad.