Webster: The Word Game

IBM PCjr version of Webster: The Word Game

Webster: The Word Game is a word recognition game published by CBS Software. It was initially released in 1983 for Atari computers and the Commodore 64 and a year later for the Apple II and IBM PCjr.

The goal of Webster: The Word Game is to fill in the missing letters of words corretly. On each round of the game a word appears at the top of the screen with one or more letters shown as a blank space. Along the bottom of the screen is the entire alphabet along with a hand the player can move left and right. Players need to guide the hand to the correct letter to fill in all of the blanks which will earn points. There is a time limit for each word, however: the word will slowly move from the top of the screen towards the bottom, and if it reaches the bottom the player loses a life. Players begin the game with five lives, and the game ends when all of them are lost. When a player fails to solve a word, the solution is revealed at the end of the round. The game includes a vocabulary of over 700 words. The letters that are missing can vary, so even if the same word appears multiple times it won't necessarily have the same letters showing. Several skill levels are available as well; the skill level selected will affect how much time is provided for each word as well as the length and difficulty of the words presented.

Along the bottom of the screen in addition to the alphabet are several asterisks. Each asterisk represents a hint that can be used during the game to reveal a single letter if the player becomes stuck. Hints can only be used if more than one letter remains missing and if players do use one or more hints to complete a word fewer points will be awarded at the end of the round.

In addition to the regular words in the game, the more difficult levels will also have demon words. Demon words are indicated by a red color and are more difficult and move faster. Hints are not available to help with demon words, however players don't lose a life for failing to solve a demon word (Unlike normal words, the game doesn't provide the solution if players don't provide a correct answer). Level 7 of the game is a challenge level; in this skill level there are only demon words and players do lose a life for failing to solve them unlike on other levels. Players cannot select level 7 to start at, it can only be reached by completing level 6.