‘Hanging With Friends’ Is Supercharged Hangman & Totally Fun

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXlkPGT3khw&feature=player_profilepage Hanging with Friends trailer Click here to watch on YouTube

[Editor's Note: This review was written on June 13, 2011, pre-dating the launch of our News section on August 29, 2011. It is being re-published so it can be properly archived in the News section.] Hanging with Friends by Zynga is the classic hangman game supercharged with the fabulous technology apps and iDevices have to offer. If you like playing hangman or word games in general, you are sure to love this app. This game is played between two people in a variety of modes: Facebook Friends (connect with Facebook friends and play), Random Opponent, User Name (search for friend by user name), Contact List (choose a friend from your contact list) and Pass and Play (hand off to a friend for local game). We love that Zynga integrated almost every conceivable way to play against someone else. The only one left out is local WiFi but we’re not complaining. Players take turns guessing the word their opponent has put forward. A player is given 12 letters to come up with a word. Each letter is assigned points very much like Scrabble. So the more letters used to create a word increases your points as does the actual letters used (for example, J might be worth 10 points while A is worth 1 point). The word must be at least 4 letters long and can’t b a contraction, acronym or proper noun.

Once you come up with a word, the opposing player is given tiles of the entire alphabet to guess the letter. Some of the letters to the word may be displayed. You are given a certain number of chances to guess the world depending on the word’s length. Three types of lifelines are furnished if you are having a particularly difficult time with a word: Suspects (highlights four letters one of which is in the word), Extinguish (highlights four letters not in the word) and Revive (removes one of your strike). These lifelines cost coins which can be earned by winning games or purchased in-app. For multi-taskers out there, up to 20 simultaneous games can be played. Conveniently, alerts can be activated to notify you when it is your turn so you don’t need to keep your eyes on your iDevice at all times while waiting for your opponent’s moves. There are some nice animations built into the game. The app’s title not only refers to playing hangman but also the fact cartoon characters are picked by players and who float in the air as a result of being tethered to five balloons. Losing a game cause a balloon pop. The first person to have all five of their balloons popped lies the game. While playing a game, you can chat with your adversary in case you want, for instance, to play mind games with them.

Hanging with Friends is a wonderful social word game. It is easy to pick up, chockfull of features, convenient to get back to a game and a whole heck of fun. We highly encourage you to pick up this app and have some serious fun popping your friend’s balloons. Read our other app reviews by clicking here. AppPicker Rating: 5 / 5 Stars App Store Link: Hanging With Friends Other apps by Zynga