Ghost

Game Description: Match wits with a ghost in this absurd and hilarious word game. Can you help free a ghost named Boo, trapped in this world? Or, will you fail and become a ghost yourself?

How to Play Ghost:

• Once the game fully loads, and you may need to watch an advertisement or two first, select your difficulty level. Choose from Easy, Normal, or Hard. (You can change your difficulty at any time by clicking on the brain located near the lower right corner of the game screen).
• After you select your difficulty level, Boo will explain how to play the game. Just keep pressing your space bar to go through these instructions, one at a time, until the game finally begins.
• The goal of this simple game is to never be the one to a complete word.
• Made-up words, proper nouns, and names do not count.
• Words must be at least 4 letters long to count.
• Boo always picks the first letter. After that, the two of you alternate turns until someone completes a spelled word.
• You will use your keyboard to select your letter. Simply type the letter you choose.
• When Boo completes a word, he loses a letter from the word Ghost.
• If Boo loses all of his Ghost letters, you win the game, and Boo can get his wings and can pass on to the great beyond!
• When you complete a word, you get a tombstone with a letter.
• If your tombstones ever spell out GHOST, you lose the game and you become a ghost yourself!

Ghost Game Options:

• To turn the game sounds off or on click the microphone icon located at the lower right corner of the game.

Ghost Playing Tips:

• The ghost always selects the first letter. You select the second letter. After that, you alternate turns. So, the ghost selects all odd number of letters: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and so forth. You select all even number of letters: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and so forth.
• The strategy is obvious. You want to try to force the ghost, through your clever choice of letters, to complete a word that has an odd number of letters such as 5, 7, 9, 11 and so forth. At the same time, the ghost will try to make you compete a word, through his own clever choice of letters, that has an even number of letters such as 4, 6, 8, 10 and so forth. (Remember, words with less than 4 letters do not count).
• Let's look at an example where the ghost forces you to complete a 6 letter word. Suppose the first four letters put up by you and the ghost are SQUI. The ghost selects the fifth letter. Let's suppose the ghost chooses the letter 'N' as the fifth letter. This gives us SQUIN. The only possible letter you can chose in this instance is the letter 'T' which completes the 6 letter word SQUINT.
• Now let's look at another example where this time you force the ghost to complete a 5 letter word. Suppose the first three letters put up by you and the ghost are the letters DRA. You select the fourth letter. You select the letter 'K' as the fourth letter. This gives us DRAK. The ghost has no other choice except to select the letter 'E' as the fifth letter which completes the 5 letter word DRAKE which, by the way, means a male duck.
• There is a special rule for the game that both you and the ghost must follow. Each of you must always select a letter that either completes a word or select a letter that allows a word to be completed later. The ghost will automatically follow this rule. You must too, or else you will get a bloody red 'X'. Let's go back to the first example. Remember we said the first 5 letters were SQUIN and I stated that the only possible letter you can choose in this instance is the letter 'T'. The reason you must choose the letter 'T' is because of this special rule. If you selected any letter other than a 'T' you would get a red 'X'. For example, suppose you select the letter 'F' as the sixth letter. This gives us the letters SQUINF. There is no such word as SQUINF nor does any other word begin with the letters SQUINF, hence the red 'X'. If you get three bloody red 'X's in a row you automaticaly lose the word and you get another letter on your tombstone. (If you do get 3 'X's in a row watch the screen carefully. The ghost will show you the word it was thinking of. But, you have to pay close attention because it flashes this information rather quickly).
• Try not to get fixated on one particular word. Remain flexible. You may be thinking of one certain word that you want the ghost to spell, but the ghost is also thinking of a certain word or words it wants to force you to spell. So, when the ghost selects a letter unexpectedly you have to think of a different word to force the ghost to spell... a sort of cat and mouse game.
• Be careful not to accidently spell an unintended word. For instance, suppose the first 3 letters selected are NAV. You select the fourth letter. You may be thinking great. If I select the letter 'E' as the fourth letter the ghost will have no other choice other than to select the letter 'L' to complete the 5 letter word of NAVEL. The only problem is this. As soon as you type 'E' as the fourth letter this gives the letters NAVE. And, guess what? NAVE is a completed 4 letter word that undoubtedly did not occur to you. (By the way in case you are curious, a nave is the central part of a church running lengthwise). So, as soon as you type that 'E' you lose, because you were the first to compete a word.
• Ghost is not that difficult to win. In fact, I would venture to guess that most people would win a majority of the time if they play at the Easy level, or even at the more difficult levels. Don't even think about using a dictionary, or any other type of word reference, when playing unless you want to totally spoil your fun. And, why in the world would you want to do that? It is fun to match wits with the ghost and come up with the words all on your own.
• For more advanced play, and a tougher opponent, try the Normal or Hard difficulty levels.

Richard's Rating: 3 out of 5.

Comments: Ghost is a quick, and I think, quite entertaining game. The graphics and music are extremely cute and clever. In fact, the game is so cute I think most people, including myself, probably underestimate how good the actual game really is. It really is fun to match wits with the ghost, especially on the Hard level. I want to make one further point. I played this game quite a bit for my review and I would have to say that Ghost, unlike a lot of other word games, does not come up with a lot of oddball words that are questionable. On the contrary, it is rather good at not doing that. I am not suggesting that you will agree completely with all of it's decisions about which words are acceptable, but I think the game is very fair in this regard.








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