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F E AT U R E
MAY 2011
WO R D S 5
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theprowl
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Looking for another way to pass time during the day, students and teachers use their phones to play a version of Scrabble to engage in healthy competition
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ROHANNADKARNI SPORTS EDITOR
ou have the last five letters of the game, R-P-O-L-W, and your friend is beating you by 30 points, sound familiar? Words with Friends, the latest iPhone/Android application to take over the school, creates intense moments of competition, such as the one above, amongst the studentry and the faculty. In fact, when looking around one of your classrooms, you can often see someone on their phone, rubbing their forehead, staring at a familiar screen of golden yellow tiles. “I saw everyone with their phones out playing the same game,” senior Scott Vieira said. “I was like ‘oh, Words with Friends?, I guess I’ll play’.” Students do not make up the only players for the game, faculty members such as English teacher Tamara Schoen, TV Production teacher Dan Alonso, and even Guidance Director Danny Tritto have been known to partake in the word brawl. “My students are always playing it and asked me to play. I have only been playing for about two weeks,” Schoen said. For those not familiar with the game, Words With Friends, or WWF, plays like the game of Scrabble. Players try to form words with a set of a certain number of letters they are allotted each round. But instead of a vernacular face off between two human opponents, competitors play on separate phones. Players can also boost their point value with double and triple letter and word scores. Opponents take turns playing words down on the board, building off of each other to create a crossword salad worthy of the next edition of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. The popularity of the game created some memorable matches. Prowl Staff Writer Matt Sheinbaum earned a reputation from his matches with Schoen and Tritto. Sheinbaum had the pleasure of defeating his English teacher. “Matt Sheinbaum humiliated me,” Schoen said. “Matt is a god at this game.” Schoen recommended Tritto, one of the more skilled players in the faculty, take on Sheinbaum. “I had a 40 point lead, but Sheinbaum beat me on his last word by playing ‘Flutist,’” Tritto said. “I beat him in the rematch, and now we have a third game that is currently on going.” Students often times involve themselves in a staggering amount of games simultaneously. Players have anywhere from 5-20 games ongoing at the same time. Some people may not be sure when to stop. “The game finally cut me off,” Mr. Alonso said. “I was in the middle of 21 games and tried to start another but I was not allowed to.” Along with most forms of competition, many players carry the hubris of believing they are the best at what they do.
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TL 343 students polled
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“I mean I do not think I am the best, but I could play with pretty much anybody in the school,” Vieira said. Occasionally, students will even begin to yell and scream when their opponent plays a ridiculous word using three vowels in a row. “I get pretty into it, at times I can lose my temper,” senior Steven Berger said. “I’m not trying to say I’m the best, but I haven’t had a real challenge yet.” Students alone do not believe they can conquer any opponent. “Game on,” Mr. Tritto said. “I think I can take on just about any challenger.” Words with Friends became popular nationwide before sweeping over the school. In 2009, the readers of Wired.com voted Words With Friends as their favorite iPhone application. Originally just an app for Apple, in February 2011, game publisher Zynga launched the game for Android phones, allowing for ‘cross-platform’ multiplayer games. Over 10 million people have downloaded the application. “I would look around and everyone in my class would have their phone out,” Vieira said. “It was pretty popular so a couple weeks ago I decided to try out the game myself. I do not even play on a phone, but on my iTouch.” More than just timepass, the game even factored itself into the friendly rivalry between Social Studies teacher Ryan Newman and English teacher Veronica Cloyd. Newman went as far to tweet about his lead in the game over Cloyd. “Words with Friends is a better way to waste your time than most apps,” Newman said. “But I really joined just to beat Cloyd.” Newman finds that the intellectual aspect of the game serves its players more than other common applications. “Words with Friends actually makes you use your mind,” Newman said. “It’s definitely more engaging than Angry Birds.” For now, teachers and students continue to play nearly every day, engaged in a slew of games. “I play every day, but never for hours or anything like that,” Tritto said. Guidance directors with busy jobs and seniors ready to graduate both seem to enjoy the game for the same amount of time. “I try to play every day,” Berger said. “There are some games where I do not respond for a few days though.” Although many apps flame out after a few months of popularity, such as Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, Words with Friends could potentially have the lasting power of its inspiration, Scrabble. “The attraction to the game really is I guess how much fun you can have with such a simple concept. Also, its ridiculously addicting,” Berger said. Words with Friends’ popularity has made it an exciting app for people of all ages. Now, what word can you make with R-P-O-L-W? Your move.
L W DL T G W TW D I R A O T N E M N number of students E R E who play at least G I five WWF games T at a time L DL T N W L TW D B DL T I G W TW D L T TEL E DL M P T O C W TW D L T DL U O W D TW T D E A M R O L C DL T W R TW D 1
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94
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39
number of students who play ‘Words with Friends’
number of students who play ‘Words with Friends’ with teachers
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4
graphic design by raquel garza
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“I just find it very enjoyable and somewhat educational because you learn new words everyday. The competition is always nice, too,” MATT GREY senior
“I don’t mind playing Words with Friends with students because it fosters literacy. But when they beat me, I feel depressed,” VERONICA CLOYD English teacher
“Words with Friends is challenging and addicting. It is so much fun to compete against your friends and it is an easy way to pass the time,” JENNY ROJAS senior