Contrary to popular demand, I do not spend all of my free time blowing things up and killing creatures. I also run people off the road in Blur. (Just ran someone off a bridge last night: Challenge complete!)
But for those times when I need to give my thumbs a rest or just want a quick game fix, I turn to word and puzzle games. Here are three games that caught my attention in recent weeks on my iPhone. Two of these have earned an honored place in the first two screens, meaning they get nightly play. The third, not so much - but it's still worth a look.
IsoWords
Price: $2; lite version offers full gameplay minus a few modes and features.
I'll admit I didn't get this game at first. You start with a cube covered in smaller letter cubes, which you must turn into connected words. Using a letter cube three times removes it, revealing more sides of the adjoining cubes.
You play to score either against a timed mode or endless mode. Color coding indicates how far along you are in eliminating a cube: Light blue is not used, dark blue is used and red is one click away from being removed. Yellow shows the word you're spelling, which also appears at the top. 
I played the game once and put it away, then picked it up a few weeks later on a second-try whim. And now I am completely addicted! I love the strategizing involved with picking off cubes, and the ability to twist and turn around the cube to make words.
I was frustrated with orphaned cubes that couldn't be eliminated – or so I thought. After mentioning it on a recent podcast, developer Opetopic tweeted us that tapping a cube three times will remove it, along with my frustration. Thank you for thinking through the player experience... it doesn't happen nearly enough! Did I mention I love this game?
Speaking of games I love, it looks like it's my turn in...
Words With Friends
Price: $3; free with ads displayed between moves
This virtual word game, which happens to look a lot like another game but totally isn't (see, the name is different!), is my other major game crush right now.
Words With Friends is exactly what it says: a word game you play with friends, assuming you have friends who like word games and happen to have this particular iPhone app. The game is exactly like Scrabble (there, I said it...), complete with Double Letter, Double Word, Triple Letter and Triple Word tile locations and a giant star in the middle to show you where to start.
You know the drill: Player 1 puts down a word using up to seven tiles, Player 2 makes a word using one of those letters somewhere, etc. Tiles are played. Points are earned. Trash is talked. What? Your EA Scrabble app doesn't do that? Well this one does. The "Chat" option in the upper right hand corner allows you to leave a message for your opponent, which will be delivered when they boot the app. It's a nifty little extra, and I appreciate the developers including it here. Another nice addition: Notifications for when it's your turn, which you can allow or block if they annoy you. The app also displays the number of games in your court on the app icon, so you don't have to open the game to see if it's your move.
The main limitation is finding opponents. Words With Friends has a convenient option to send a message out to your Twitter and Facebook friends. I hooked in several people this way, but a few weeks later and only a couple friends are still playing. The game has a solution for that, too. The "Random Opponent" option will connect you with a stranger who happens to have an iPhone and the app.
And if anyone wants to start a game with me, I'm GrrlGotGame.
AlphaBattle
Price: $1; lite version available
This is a sort of stealth puzzle game buried in a timed spelling challenge. The screen is divided in two by a glowing white line that looks like the opening of The Twilight Zone. Vowels descend from the top, consonants rise up from the bottom. All are on a collision course with the big white line.
If a letter slips into the Twilight Zone, it becomes inactive. Only YOU can stop them from going into the light by screaming "Carol Ann!" – oh wait, that's Poltergeist, which was actually entertaining. No, you make words and then slide your hand to the right to submit, which is probably way easy if you're right handed, or slide left to wipe out your word. Being left handed, I can tell you that sliding left is real easy. This is why I've never come close to winning a game. Yes, it's that rant again – a simple lefty flip might make the game enjoyable, or at least feasible for me to play.
The developers say your goal is to make as many long words as possible. My experience is that your struggle to make as many elementary school words as you can before losing, even on Easy, I found it just too difficult to move back and forth, up and down the screen and find the letters I needed to form a multi-syllabic word. Three power ups at the bottom will shuffle your letters, freeze the board or clear the top row. Unfortunately, they are right next to the consonants, making accidental activation a major hazard.
The alternative: Wait for the letters to creep up screen, losing time in the process. Or, better yet, go play another game.
Word up.
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