My Word Coach (Nintendo DS)

== What Is My Word Coach?==


My word coach is a game which is designed to help you develop your vocabulary, you train at the Word Training Institute where you learn new words and use these words in a number of games. Your score is given as an expression potential (EP) which is said to be a measure of how well you are able to express yourself. There are 16500 words in the word bank and you start off playing at an easy level and ...
...after around 30 plays so my target is 150 words. You start off with only missing letter and split decision unlocked but more games are unlocked as you progress.
Here is an overview of the main games;

Missing Letter: In this game, you are given a word with a missing letter and you write the letter on the touch screen using capital letters. Words include cutlass, witless, rhinestone, bollard, geophysicist and canasta at my current ... more

What Is My Word Coach?

My word coach is a game which is designed to help you develop your vocabulary, you train at the Word Training Institute where you learn new words and use these words in a number of games. Your score is given as an expression potential (EP) which is said to be a measure of how well you are able to express yourself. There are 16500 words in the word bank and you start off playing at an easy level and the words get gradually harder as you progress in the game.

Initial Set Up

There are three players slots in this game. You choose a blank slot and to start playing and are scored and the game decides at what level you should play at. I was given a provisional EP of 20% or primary graduate level. You then build your personal profile by inputting your name, date of birth and country of residence and choose your coach.
After you have chosen your coach you go through a list of 36 words saying whether you recognise them or not to get an official EP. There are some nonsense words such as raunt as well as words like carnation and prance. I was given an official EP of 35% or university student here.

The Coaches

You can choose from four coaches
Alistair Archibald: a bald professor with massive glasses and a smug look on his face.
Veronica Munroe: A polished looking businesswoman.
Lucus King: A cool looking guy with an afro and 60s clothes.
Penny: A frail looking young girl wearing a hoodie and with massive sad eyes.

I initially chose Penny but have used them all at some point, you can swap between them using your personal profile. All the coaches give tips on the game and word use in general. They have fixed expressions and lack the charm of Dr Kawashima. All of the coaches give exactly the same tips so there is no difference in personalities between them.

Daily Play

You play the main training games every day and are given a target number of correct answers to achieve, I have a current EP of 67% after around 30 plays so my target is 150 words. You start off with only missing letter and split decision unlocked but more games are unlocked as you progress.
Here is an overview of the main games;

Missing Letter: In this game, you are given a word with a missing letter and you write the letter on the touch screen using capital letters. Words include cutlass, witless, rhinestone, bollard, geophysicist and canasta at my current level.

Split Decision: Split Decision which helps you learn words by providing context to them. You are given a definition and have to choose which one of two choices by scrolling left and right with the stylus. This is one of my favourite games as it is really quick to play.

Word Shuffle: You are given a series of cards with definitions on them and have to place the correct word into the slot. An example from today’s play is a covered entrance to a building usually a large and splendid building which is supported by columns and a choice of answers from smoothies, portico, introvert, inveigle and hireling. I can normally complete a round of 6 questions on medium level in around 30 seconds. A nice, quick game.

Pasta Letters: You are given a definition of a word at the bottom of the screen and have to unscramble the letters in the soup and place them in order to create the word at the bottom of the bowl. The letters look remarkably like the ones you get in alphabetti spaghetti and make a slurping sound when you move them. In medium mode, you have to catch the letters before they sink into the soup and I found play in medium mode really frustrating. Each round consists of nine words and takes a couple of minutes to complete. The first example from today’s play is the definition (of rocks) formed from very hot liquid rock that has cooled with the answer being igneous.

Block Letters; Select the blocks which fall from the top of the screen, gradually filling it in order to spell the words. Game is over when either the screen is full of you spell all the words. I found this game really slow in easy mode, but have yet to complete a full round in medium mode. I love the fast pace in medium mode though, it keeps me on my toes. The first four words in today’s game were hireling, stipend, portico and contiguous. The sound effects on this particular section are great, with each falling block making a nice clunking sound and the blocks all sound really like breaking wood when they are smashed when you lose them game.

Safecracker: You need to spell the mystery word faster than the computer opponent by choosing letters by cycling through the alphabet on a safe. My first word today was again igneous. In easy mode the computer is really slow, I prefer in medium or hard mode.

I have sometimes found daily play a bit tedious. My daily target of 150 words means repeating each game at least twice which can take up to half an hour and gets a bit repetitive. Now I have all the features unlocked, I will just pick it up and do a few words here and there instead of trying to meet my quota.

After each game you are given a list of words used along with a definition, with the ones you got wrong at the top. This is a nice touch allowing you to learn the words you did not recognise in the game.

Mini Games

I have now unlocked all the fun features of the game, my favourite is competition, which is styled like an American spelling bee. You are read a word by a female voice and have to spell it using the stylus. My first word today was doyenne. You can ask for a definition and see an example of a sentence which would use the word. There’s loads of tricky words to catch you out and I rarely make it through a full round of 10 questions.

Cube panic is block letters in advanced mode only you continue as long as you can instead of having a set number of words. It's a bit disappointing having this as a mini game as it simply repeats other parts of the game.

Speed Letters lets you practice your letter writing using the stylus, again it seems like a bit of a waste of time.

Multi card play lets you play against another player but only if they only own the game. Again this is a let down as I loved playing big brain academy with my sister linking up using one game card.

Progress

You are given an expression potential. Having succeeded in using 1536 words my EP is 67% or that of a journalist. This has taken me around a month to achieve as words are repeated. Ultimately, you want to get 97% and get the rank of poet.

Graphics

The graphics are high quality colour graphics with really high quality pictures and animations. Each game has its own music playing in the background. It is multi tonal, usually easy going music. It complements the game play well.

Quirks

I've found that the DS has trouble recognising some of my letters on the written games. It seems to confuse Q and A a lot for some reason and sometimes confuses P, D, and B. This can be really annoying sometimes. The voice in competition can be hard to understand sometimes due to an American accent.

Replay Value

I think that is has a fairly high replay value. I have found it fairly tedious trying to reach my 150 word target and would prefer shorter sessions of say 100 words daily which would probably take around 20 minutes. Now I have unlocked all of the features, it is a game I can see myself picking up occasionally but not every day.

Overall

This is a good game for someone who enjoys word games but can get a bit repetitive and could do with extra games to make it more interesting. I would give it around 7/10 overall, its definitely not as good as the brain training games but still one of the better DS word games out there. I think some of the new words I have learned have definitely gone into my brain so it does have some educational value. It’s a game which is more for adults and teenagers than younger kids and anyone who enjoys word puzzles is likely to enjoy it.
 

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