4 Pics 1 Word – A very popular puzzle game

by Bernhardt Fischer on 3/5/13 8:30 PM

Tested version: 2.4.1
Latest version: 3.0
Requires Android: from 2.2

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Summary

The game concept is very straightforward—and yet, it managed to hold me in thrall. As the 4 Pics 1 Word’s name suggests, the player sees four pictures that have a common denominator (i.e. something fairly obvious in common). The goal is to guess that word. Find out the deets in our review after the jump.

Features & Use

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Tested on: Samsung Galaxy S2 (I9100G)
Android version: 4.0.4
Root: No
Runs as of: 2.2

It’s not like there aren’t any puzzle apps available for Android. I mean, there are TONS of them: simple ones, complex ones, cutesy ones, weird ones. It’s a mixed bag that yields hit and miss results. So what do we think of 4 Pics 1 Word?

In this game, the player might see a picture of a nutcracker, a locksmith, a code cracker and a nut—and the question is: What do these four things have in common? The answer is simple: cracking.

There are over 200 questions in total, many of them more challenging than the example listed above. You are given several clues to help solve the riddles, such as the letter count per word. Still, it may very well happen that you are unable to solve a riddle. This is where the coins come into play. Collect them as you go (you are awarded three coins per solved riddle), and should you ever get stuck you can use them to buy your way out of the tight corner. An answer will cost you 60 coins, so use them wisely. There’s also an in-app shop for those users who wish to literally buy answers. You can support the developers by purchasing a few coins, otherwise just do a good job at answering everything correctly and you won’t need to resort to the in-app store at all. My tip: You can also do an internet search for the correct answers.

Bottom line:

4 Pics 1 Word is currently occupying the second place in the free app list and is tremendously popular—and it’s not hard to see why. The gameplay is simple but addictive and the scope of the app is large enough to keep users occupied for a good while, though this is more of a time-killer app in my book.

Screen & Controls

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4 Pics 1 Word is set up in a very logical way and the design is nice and minimal, so the content and design go hand in hand.

Speed & Stability

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4 Pics 1 Word ran smoothly throughout and didn’t crash once.

Price/Performance Ratio

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4 Pics 1 Word is free and can be found in the AndroidPIT App Center as well as Google Play. What’s more: There are absolutely no ads to contend with and the in-app store can be circumvented easily.